5 ms·

Cool experiment. But I don't recommend getting into Ethereum mining now, as the network is on the verge of switching to Proof of Stake as part of the migration

Cool experiment. But I don't recommend getting into Ethereum mining now, as the network is on the verge of switching to Proof of Stake as part of the migration to Ethereum 2.0.

bsaul 6y ago
Does proof of stake truely ends the GPU arms race ?
- andreaorru 6y ago
  Yep. You can run a validator node by staking at least 32 ETH (or any amount through a staking pool). Nodes will still verify transactions and execute smart contracts, of course. But there's no hash lottery to be won for mining blocks.
  - imhoguy 6y ago
    I wonder if this may cause some correction on hardware stocks as market would be flooded with used GPUs.
    - 0-_-0 6y ago
      There are plenty of other cryptocurrencies to mine
      - andreaorru 6y ago
        There are a few (mostly Bitcoin forks), and you can probably make some profit mining them, but they are not big enough to have a significant impact on the global demand for GPUs. At this point, most crypto projects with any real traction (with the obvious exception of Bitcoin) are either ERC-20 tokens running on Ethereum, or other PoS chains that claim to be better than Ethereum (i.e. Cardano). Bitcoin isn't mined with GPUs anymore.
        0-_-0 6y ago
        As I said, there are plenty of profitable coins for GPU mining besides Ethereum [0]. Ethereum moving to PoS will not move the needle, people will just move on to something else. [0]: https://whattomine.com/ https://whattomine.com/
        andreaorru 6y ago
        The hash rate for all the other projects beside Ethereum is minuscule. Sure, some of it will move to other currencies, but my guess would be it won't be anywhere near 100% as you're suggesting.
        0-_-0 6y ago
        Why is the current hashrate relevant? The market will readjust to changes in hashrate.
        andreaorru 6y ago
        It is relevant because I don't think the rest of the projects will end up absorbing all of Ethereum's hashrate. First of all, some of the current miners will sell their hardware and stake ETH instead, becoming validators. Secondly, I tend to think there'll be a mass extinction event, where most useless projects will eventually die off. You can mine all you want, but if there's no real utility in yet another PoW project (and there isn't), you won't be able to sell the coins at a price that justifies running the operation.
        bunnyfoofoo 6y ago
        What is bitcoin mined with now?
        andreaorru 6y ago
        ASICs.
        saganus 6y ago
TameAntelope 6y ago
Meh, it hasn’t switched yet, there’s still mining to be done. I made ~$100 in the past month (stopped during the cold snap/storm here) on my 3080 mining ETH. Of course, I was getting closer to 90Mh/s so slightly more viable.
- andreaorru 6y ago
  Sure, if you already have a mining rig, by all means keep mining! But I personally wouldn't make a big investment on it if I was only getting started now.
isoprophlex 6y ago
Does this also imply lower energy consumption for running the ethereum network?
- andreaorru 6y ago
  Yes! In fact that's one of the goals of the transition.
  - isoprophlex 6y ago
    Well that's great for them. Maybe (hopefully) we'll see environmental regulations against (expensive PoW) cryptocurrency before theres economically motivated regulation.
    - andreaorru 6y ago
      While I'm optimistic on PoS and excited about Ethereum adopting it, I think Bitcoin and PoW are being unjustly demonized and the issue is far more complex than what meets the eye. I found this analysis insightful: https://coinshares.com/insights/beware-of-lazy-research-bitcoin-mining-update https://coinshares.com/insights/beware-of-lazy-research-bitc... Also this Twitter thread (12 tweets) and all the articles linked inside it: https://twitter.com/yassineARK/status/1360343401627979778 https://twitter.com/yassineARK/status/1360343401627979778

Cool experiment. But I don't recommend getting into Ethereum mining now, as the network is on the verge of switching to Proof of Stake as part of the migration to Ethereum 2.0.

bsaul 6y ago

Does proof of stake truely ends the GPU arms race ?

andreaorru 6y ago
Yep. You can run a validator node by staking at least 32 ETH (or any amount through a staking pool). Nodes will still verify transactions and execute smart contracts, of course. But there's no hash lottery to be won for mining blocks.
- imhoguy 6y ago
  I wonder if this may cause some correction on hardware stocks as market would be flooded with used GPUs.
  - 0-_-0 6y ago
    There are plenty of other cryptocurrencies to mine
    - andreaorru 6y ago
      There are a few (mostly Bitcoin forks), and you can probably make some profit mining them, but they are not big enough to have a significant impact on the global demand for GPUs. At this point, most crypto projects with any real traction (with the obvious exception of Bitcoin) are either ERC-20 tokens running on Ethereum, or other PoS chains that claim to be better than Ethereum (i.e. Cardano). Bitcoin isn't mined with GPUs anymore.
      - 0-_-0 6y ago
        As I said, there are plenty of profitable coins for GPU mining besides Ethereum [0]. Ethereum moving to PoS will not move the needle, people will just move on to something else. [0]: https://whattomine.com/ https://whattomine.com/
        andreaorru 6y ago
        The hash rate for all the other projects beside Ethereum is minuscule. Sure, some of it will move to other currencies, but my guess would be it won't be anywhere near 100% as you're suggesting.
        0-_-0 6y ago
        Why is the current hashrate relevant? The market will readjust to changes in hashrate.
        andreaorru 6y ago
        It is relevant because I don't think the rest of the projects will end up absorbing all of Ethereum's hashrate. First of all, some of the current miners will sell their hardware and stake ETH instead, becoming validators. Secondly, I tend to think there'll be a mass extinction event, where most useless projects will eventually die off. You can mine all you want, but if there's no real utility in yet another PoW project (and there isn't), you won't be able to sell the coins at a price that justifies running the operation.
      - bunnyfoofoo 6y ago
        What is bitcoin mined with now?
        andreaorru 6y ago
        ASICs.
        saganus 6y ago

TameAntelope 6y ago

Meh, it hasn’t switched yet, there’s still mining to be done. I made ~$100 in the past month (stopped during the cold snap/storm here) on my 3080 mining ETH. Of course, I was getting closer to 90Mh/s so slightly more viable.

andreaorru 6y ago
Sure, if you already have a mining rig, by all means keep mining! But I personally wouldn't make a big investment on it if I was only getting started now.

isoprophlex 6y ago

Does this also imply lower energy consumption for running the ethereum network?

andreaorru 6y ago
Yes! In fact that's one of the goals of the transition.
- isoprophlex 6y ago
  Well that's great for them. Maybe (hopefully) we'll see environmental regulations against (expensive PoW) cryptocurrency before theres economically motivated regulation.
  - andreaorru 6y ago
    While I'm optimistic on PoS and excited about Ethereum adopting it, I think Bitcoin and PoW are being unjustly demonized and the issue is far more complex than what meets the eye. I found this analysis insightful: https://coinshares.com/insights/beware-of-lazy-research-bitcoin-mining-update https://coinshares.com/insights/beware-of-lazy-research-bitc... Also this Twitter thread (12 tweets) and all the articles linked inside it: https://twitter.com/yassineARK/status/1360343401627979778 https://twitter.com/yassineARK/status/1360343401627979778