Advances in blockchain mining software, hardware and related technologies have driven enterprising Bitcoin blockchain miners to new and experimental extremes.
An inventive Bitcoin blockchain miner has now created a $120,000 blockchain mining rig. The machine is outfitted with 36 computer hardware components that are each outfitted with a computer chip that is designed for blockchain mining.
The custom-built mining rig is immersed in a non-conductive cooling vat that has been filled with oil. The properties of the cooling oil have not been made public.
A blockchain miner recently posted video of the one-of-a-kind Bitcoin mining rig on a Reddit forum.
ASIC computer chips are designed for Bitcoin mining. They are notorious for overheating and becoming damaged.
The immersion cooling vat for Bitcoin mining features a recirculating system that helps the cooling oil draw heat away from the hardware as it mines. The setup uses about 50 kilowatts of energy to run optimally, according to the posting.
Fifty kilowatts is enough energy to power about 25 homes.
Blockchain mining requires vast amounts of electricity. Electricity bills and the heat generated damage inflicted on computer hardware can negate any gains achieved in cryptocurrency spoils.
The Reddit poster claims to have generates about 1.5 Bitcoins, worth roughly $16,000 depending on Bitcoin’s current value, in one month with the immersion-cooled rig.
Financial viability
In the early days of Bitcoin blockchain mining, people mined for bitcoins on their personal computers.
However, the mathematical equations to earn Bitcoins have become progressively more difficult to solve.
Bitcoin blockchain mining requires millions upon millions of complex mathematical equations to be solved correctly for blockchain miners to earn Bitcoins.
As the algorithm become progressively more complex, more electricity is required to run blockchain-creating equipment.
The process of blockchain mining has resulted in the evolution of how people mine for Bitcoins.
“I am a big proponent of immersion cooling technologies and believe people should experiment with it. I hope my sharing this will motivate some people to buy a fish tank and dunk an ASIC or a GPU in there and start learning new ways of optimizing our machines,” said the poster, who goes by the Reddit handle Limping-Zebra.
While efficient, the immersion cooled rig may in reality profit a lot less than $16,000 a month. One must take into consideration Bitcoin’s volatile and often plummeting value.
On Bitcoin in recent trading was worth about $8,375.
