Rigly on Nostr: 1. #Bitcoinminers need hardware. When #Satoshi invented #Bitcoin, mining was done on ...
1. #Bitcoinminers need hardware.
When #Satoshi invented #Bitcoin, mining was done on a CPU. Remember the Dell desktop that your grandfather used to run his eBay store selling pens, then gave to you for schoolwork but instead you downloaded 100K songs on Napster? Yes, that CPU was mining in '09.
As the Bitcoin network grew, the first major innovation in mining hardware came. That was the move to GPU. GPU made Bitcoin mining ~6X more efficient with roughly 2X cost. (https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2020/04/26/the-rise-of-asics-a-step-by-step-history-of-bitcoin-mining/)
In 2011, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) were re-modeled to mine bitcoin. FPGAs (often used for gaming) made mining ~2X more efficient than GPUs, but were labor intensive as they required both hardware and software configuration.
And then in 2013, the first device was built specifically for Bitcoin mining. Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) were built by a Chinese hardware manufacturer called Canaan Creative. This innovation led to other manufacturers like Bitmain and MicroBT building their own versions of ASIC Bitcoin mining devices.
To put things in context, the ASIC mining devices today are 100 billion times the speed of your grandfathers CPU from 2009.
While the chips used in ASICs get marginally faster and more efficient, the race for better hardware amongst miners has leveled out a bit, forcing miners to look for a competitive edge elsewhere.
Tomorrow, we'll explore the race for cheaper electricity.
*image below taken from Coindesk article linked above
When #Satoshi invented #Bitcoin, mining was done on a CPU. Remember the Dell desktop that your grandfather used to run his eBay store selling pens, then gave to you for schoolwork but instead you downloaded 100K songs on Napster? Yes, that CPU was mining in '09.
As the Bitcoin network grew, the first major innovation in mining hardware came. That was the move to GPU. GPU made Bitcoin mining ~6X more efficient with roughly 2X cost. (https://www.coindesk.com/tech/2020/04/26/the-rise-of-asics-a-step-by-step-history-of-bitcoin-mining/)
In 2011, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) were re-modeled to mine bitcoin. FPGAs (often used for gaming) made mining ~2X more efficient than GPUs, but were labor intensive as they required both hardware and software configuration.
And then in 2013, the first device was built specifically for Bitcoin mining. Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) were built by a Chinese hardware manufacturer called Canaan Creative. This innovation led to other manufacturers like Bitmain and MicroBT building their own versions of ASIC Bitcoin mining devices.
To put things in context, the ASIC mining devices today are 100 billion times the speed of your grandfathers CPU from 2009.
While the chips used in ASICs get marginally faster and more efficient, the race for better hardware amongst miners has leveled out a bit, forcing miners to look for a competitive edge elsewhere.
Tomorrow, we'll explore the race for cheaper electricity.
*image below taken from Coindesk article linked above