Bitcoins - about to hit $5,000 per coin today!

[obsidian]

I’m tempted to buy more ETH.

I have been buying ETH the past 3 years via mining. With prices as they currently are it is very profitable. I am getting ETH at just under $300. Thus even if the price of ETH crashes to $500 I am still making money. But that could change if they pass EIP-1559.

The crazy thing is as the price crashed yesterday my fees increased because of all the transactions going on. My estimated monthly earnings in USD approached $7,000! It fluctuates up or down depending on the number of transactions, price of ETH, hash rate and mining pool luck. And if the price of ETH goes up to say 10K my monthly earnings would have been insane. Because I have been hodling ETH. I sold some for Cardano and BNB but the majority has been hodled the past 3.5 years.

I will also be able to deduct my electrical and equipment costs from my taxes. I have not done this yet but have all the invoices ready for when I do take profits.

[obsidian]

Griffith, what do you make of this? Some miners are pissed off at the EIP-1559 initiative.

Here's the problem for Ethereum. The gas fees are an issue with smart contracts and projects are bleeding to Binance Smart Chain. But they need the miners to secure the network just like Bitcoin. If miners abandon Ethereum the security will become a risk because of a 51% attack possibility. If they keep the miners happy the smart contracts suffer.

[obsidian]

More Ethereum FUD?

[OneMoreRep]

I have been buying ETH the past 3 years via mining. With prices as they currently are it is very profitable. I am getting ETH at just under $300. Thus even if the price of ETH crashes to $500 I am still making money. But that could change if they pass EIP-1559.

How does one go about buying ETH via mining and only pay under $300?

I genuinely don't know and I'm curious. Of note, I recently bought (for the first time in my life) and gifted my nephew some cryptos. I was NEVER a believer in cryptos and I'm still on the fence surrounding the whole thing, but I did manage to log into Binance.us and purchase a decent position for him. Now, I am thinking of pushing at least $5-10K into crypto. ETH looks attractive, but runs high. Hence why I am curious about this mining you speak of..

"1"

[obsidian]

How does one go about buying ETH via mining and only pay under $300?

I genuinely don't know and I'm curious. Of note, I recently bought (for the first time in my life) and gifted my nephew some cryptos. I was NEVER a believer in cryptos and I'm still on the fence surrounding the whole thing, but I did manage to log into Binance.us and purchase a decent position for him. Now, I am thinking of pushing at least $5-10K into crypto. ETH looks attractive, but runs high. Hence why I am curious about this mining you speak of..

"1"

You calculate your monthly ETH payouts and then look at your electrical bill. So in my case my monthly payout is around 4 ETH but could be 3.5 ETH or even 3 ETH depending on pool luck, difficulty, number of transactions on the network etc. My electrical bill has been around $900 per month. But that includes gas for water heater, washing machines, microwave, TV, furnace etc. I am guessing the electrical cost for the mining is around $750 per month.

$750 / 3 ETH = $250 per ETH
$750 / 4 ETH = $187.5 per ETH

I am mining directly to an ETH address on Coinbase. But you can have the payments go to any ETH address, for example Binance. Payments are done weekly.

That being said I was also mining ETH when it was $110. But keep in mind the rigs were also heating the house so I saved some money by paying less natural gas for the furnace to heat the house. So even at that low price if was worth the risk. Our electrical bill was also lower back then. Our bills have been higher the past few years because of infrastructure improvements. They jacked up the rates for everyone to upgrade the gas lines.

I would not go out and try to buy GPU cards right now. The prices are very high and it is sold out everywhere. And GPU mining for Ethereum is nearing the end as the transition to proof of stake. Nobody knows how much longer. 1-2 years or maybe less. There are apparently ASIC miners on the network mining Ethereum. Ethereum was supposed to be ASIC resistant but they were able to develop ASIC miners. They are apparently much more efficient than GPU miners but are hard to find and expensive. And once Ethereum mining goes away they will be useless and become door stoppers. At least with a GPU you can use it for games, videos etc. ASIC miners can't do anything but solve a specific algorithm. Bitcoin miners are all ASIC now. In the past you could mine Bitcoin with a CPU or GPU but those days are long gone.

[obsidian]

^^^^^^ I have a lot of GPU cards - over 40 to be precise. You are not going to get these payouts with one GPU. One ASIC miner could match that, but that ASIC miner would cost over $20,000.

[Grape Ape]

If you have a Coinbase account then the cash would come from them. They have fiat in reserve like normal banks. I bought over $12,500 in cryptos back in 2018. The money was transferred from my checking account to my Coinbase account. I have not yet withdrawn any fiat since that initial investment because I am patient.

Coinbase is regulated so they will play by the rules and make sure they have fiat to cover normal transactions. A run on the banks will take down all banks. So they would limit to withdrawal to prevent a situation like that. You're not going to be able to withdraw 10,000 BTC in one transaction. You could sell it to a stable coin or USD but will have to withdraw a million a day or whatever limit Coinbase has in place. But most people will not sell that many BTC unless they want a major correction in the price. Perhaps with the intent to buy more at a lower price.

Thanks OB, I appreciate you taking the time to explain.

While I'm not sure it's a deterrent, there appears to be legitimate barriers on huge payouts.

Wonder how much cash they're sitting on.

[Soul Crusher]

Thanks OB, I appreciate you taking the time to explain.

While I'm not sure it's a deterrent, there appears to be legitimate barriers on huge payouts.

Wonder how much cash they're sitting on.

This is why GB is a treasure and the best goddamnfng site ever.   You get real answers to stuff.

[obsidian]

Thanks OB, I appreciate you taking the time to explain.

While I'm not sure it's a deterrent, there appears to be legitimate barriers on huge payouts.

Wonder how much cash they're sitting on.

You're welcome.

[obsidian]

This is why GB is a treasure and the best goddamnfng site ever.   You get real answers to stuff.

Yes this forum is great! I appreciate the low amount of censorship here. There are other forums out there that are also great. I expect forums to make a comeback as big tech increases censorship.

There's a lot more real conversation taking place on forums.

[Mayday]

So what’s the deal with 559?

All the big players talk about 559 being the green light for a ethereum to rocket off.

miners say it’s the death?

Who is right?

Excuse my ignorance here as I am not familiar with mining but if you make so much profit from mining why do other miners complain about costs and never making any money? What am I missing?

 ETH mined mid last year would have returned 10x in value even at today’s price. If ETh mined today returns 10x in 12mths time how are miners not making huge money?

[obsidian]

So what’s the deal with 559?

All the big players talk about 559 being the green light for a ethereum to rocket off.

miners say it’s the death?

Who is right?

Excuse my ignorance here as I am not familiar with mining but if you make so much profit from mining why do other miners complain about costs and never making any money? What am I missing?

 ETH mined mid last year would have returned 10x in value even at today’s price. If ETh mined today returns 10x in 12mths time how are miners not making huge money?

In mid 2018 and 2019 Ethereum mining was not profitable. Because the ETH price crashed to below $100. And meanwhile the mining difficulty did not reduce enough to compensate. So people were either breaking even or losing money to electrical cost. Some people bought many GPU cards on credit. Now they could not make ROI on those expenses. Some bought GPU cards when ETH reached an ATH in January 2018 at inflated prices. So this is why people were complaining about mining Ethereum and Bitcoin. Remember Bitcoin's price also crashed down to $3,500 or less. Electrical costs were high.

Smart businesses kept mining. Because they factored a low price for Bitcoin and Ethereum when they set up their mining operations. But many people exited mining and sold their GPU cards cheap.

In my case I paid upfront for my equipment and took a chance that the market would come back. I also bought the GPU cards before the prices became insane. I assembled all the machines on my own since I know how to build computers. My equipment cost was more than $20,000. And my electrical costs over the years probably $15,000 - $20,000. I need to look at the expenses.

Starting in 2020 it became profitable to mine again. In my case again I never converted to USD because I can fund my electrical and equipment from fiat. So for me the profit depends on wherever the price of ETH goes. And all my profit is on paper. Only when I cash out to USD does it really become profit.

There are some Bitcoin miners that also just hold BTC. Some miners have to sell to fund their operation and pay electrical and equipment costs.

[obsidian]

[Soul Crusher]

Yes this forum is great! I appreciate the low amount of censorship here. There are other forums out there that are also great. I expect forums to make a comeback as big tech increases censorship.

There's a lot more real conversation taking place on forums.

I’ve been A GB forever.   No matters the ebbs and flows this site is always the best for real deal information and answers. 

[Thin Lizzy]

Yes this forum is great! I appreciate the low amount of censorship here. There are other forums out there that are also great. I expect forums to make a comeback as big tech increases censorship.

There's a lot more real conversation taking place on forums.

The idiot Karens and beta males on Twitter would not last very long on Getbig.

[polychronopolous]

I can respect that. Not everyone can stomach these corrections and 20%+ drops.

That said, even I am starting to look into buying cryptos.

Off the top of my head, I am considering fractional shares in Bitcoin, a small position into ETH, large position in Binance Coin, Polkadot and Cardano.

Even with this risky endeavor, I would only invest 10% of my portfolio into cryptos, as I know it's volatility can fuck anyone up.

It's money that you have to be ready to part with. Set it and forget it kind of thing...

"1"

I would put it nearly all into Bitcoin. It's a modern day digital land grab unfolding right before our very eyes.

Bitcoin is that massive fortified castle with a massive moat around it.

Nothing else can even compare to its place as a digital store of value.

The rest of the projects you mentioned are basically fighting amongst themselves to reach that second spot.

I don't even know what the second spot even entails beyond a group of people tossing around speculative, vague ideas but I wouldn't begrudge a person for putting 10% or so of their crypto share into it.

[obsidian]

I would put it nearly all into Bitcoin. It's a modern day digital land grab unfolding right before our very eyes.

Bitcoin is that massive fortified castle with a massive moat around it.

Nothing else can even compare to its place as a digital store of value.

The rest of the projects you mentioned are basically fighting amongst themselves to reach that second spot.

I don't even know what the second spot even entails beyond a group of people tossing around speculative, vague ideas but I wouldn't begrudge a person for putting 10% or so of their crypto share into it.

Most Bitcoin miners are in China. What if they decide to do a 51% attack and a double spend happens? If that ever occurs the price of Bitcoin will go to zero since it could not be trusted anymore. Read up on how it all works before you say it is invulnerable. There is a lot more to this than meets the eye.

[obsidian]

[obsidian]

https://cryptotips.eu/en/news/can-china-and-russia-launch-a-51-bitcoin-attack/

[gib]

I would put it nearly all into Bitcoin. It's a modern day digital land grab unfolding right before our very eyes.

Bitcoin is that massive fortified castle with a massive moat around it.

Nothing else can even compare to its place as a digital store of value.

The rest of the projects you mentioned are basically fighting amongst themselves to reach that second spot.

I don't even know what the second spot even entails beyond a group of people tossing around speculative, vague ideas but I wouldn't begrudge a person for putting 10% or so of their crypto share into it.

Fully agree with this.

This is also why its so important to buy BTC and then to universally advocate it as being the sole store of value. The alts will all continue to compete with the scraps.

[obsidian]

https://news.bitcoin.com/privacy-coin-verge-third-51-attack-200-days-xvg-transactions-erased/

According to various reports, the cryptocurrency network Verge has suffered a 51% attack that led to a massive 560,000+ block reorganization. Analysts believe the Verge network attack could be the deepest blockchain reorganization (reorg) in history with roughly 200 days worth of verge transactions wiped.

The blockchain Verge and its native token XVG once made headlines for being added to the popular adult website Pornhub. This week, the Verge network has been 51% attacked according to multiple analysts and observers on social media. Verge has suffered from a total of three 51% attacks. One back in April 2018, and then another 51% attack a month later, when a malicious XVG attacker rejected a number of blocks.

The network data analyst at Coin Metrics, Lucas Nuzzi tweeted about the issues with XVG on February 15. The past 200 days worth of XVG transaction history just vanished,” Nuzzi told his 9,000 Twitter followers. “This is likely the deepest reorg that has ever taken place in a “top 100” cryptocurrency,” he added. The action was caught by a Coin Metrics node according to Antoine Le Calvez who also wrote about the Verge network situation.

“Looks like XVG (Verge) experienced a massive 560k+ blocks reorg,” he said. “Coin Metrics node is on a new chain whose last common ancestor with the previous chain dates to July 2020,” Le Calvez added with a screenshot of the action.

[polychronopolous]

Most Bitcoin miners are in China. What if they decide to do a 51% attack and a double spend happens? If that ever occurs the price of Bitcoin will go to zero since it could not be trusted anymore. Read up on how it all works before you say it is invulnerable. There is a lot more to this than meets the eye.

You literally get to pick Secretariat 1973 WITH long shot 20/1 odds and yet you are worried about space ships coming down from Mars and ruining the race.

It's incredible the lengths you people will go to simply avoid buying and holding BTC.

Some people just have to pretend to be the badass though.

"Wheeling and dealing"

"Trading in and out of positions"

"Ethereum, Litecoin, Tron, Polkadot, EOS, etc etc is the future bro"

How about just own the revolutionary technology instead?

Buy Amazon. Hold Amazon.

Buy Apple. Hold Apple.

Buy Bitcoin. Hold Bitcoin.

It's that simple folks.

[gib]

You literally get to pick Secretariat 1973 WITH long shot 20/1 odds and yet you are worried about space ships coming down from Mars and ruining the race.

It's incredible the lengths you people will go to simply avoid buying and holding BTC.

Some people just have to pretend to be the badass though.

"Wheeling and dealing"

"Trading in and out of positions"

"Ethereum, Litecoin, Tron, Polkadot, EOS, etc etc is the future bro"

How about just own the revolutionary technology instead?

Buy Amazon. Hold Amazon.

Buy Apple. Hold Apple.

Buy Bitcoin. Hold Bitcoin.

It's that simple folks.

Fully agree. Also, for all miners, they are not incentivized to act maliciously or decrease the value of BTC. (Indeed quite the opposite, they want BTC to continue to increase in value).

Further is almost impossible to do given how decentralized BTC miners and nodes actually are and how much collective computing power would need to he harnessed and controlled. And its also not true as much has claimed is done in China. Its kind of an urban myth and the actual mining power landscape is changing all the time.

Its amazing the "struggle" people have coming up with more and more far-fetched reasons not to buy BTC. Questioning and skepticism at the outset of seeking to understand any new concept is important, but some people simply become fundamentally stuck on the journey. Mr Anabolic was a good example of that, where logic was overridden by stubbornness, obstiance, pigheadedness, and pride.

[polychronopolous]

Fully agree. Also, for all miners, they are not incentivized to act maliciously or decrease the value of BTC. (Indeed quite the opposite, they want BTC to continue to increase in value).

Further is almost impossible to do given how decentralized BTC miners and nodes actually are and how much collective computing power would need to he harnessed and controlled. And its also not true as much has claimed is done in China. Its kind of an urban myth and the actual mining power landscape is changing all the time.

That is the point that simply baffles me when I hear this 51% attack FUD.

It's basically the same as having a business that is uber successful and bringing in tons of cash and all of the sudden you, as the owner, start tossing Molotov cocktails at the building.

It is so incredibly ludicrous. I cannot believe I am reading these sorts of posts in 2021.

[obsidian]

Fully agree. Also, for all miners, they are not incentivized to act maliciously or decrease the value of BTC. (Indeed quite the opposite, they want BTC to continue to increase in value).

Further is almost impossible to do given how decentralized BTC miners and nodes actually are and how much collective computing power would need to he harnessed and controlled. And its also not true as much has claimed is done in China. Its kind of an urban myth and the actual mining power landscape is changing all the time.

In communist China? They just released a biological weapon one year ago with the help of the Deep State - the CCP virus. What makes you think they don't approach the Bitcoin miners and tell them to crash Bitcoin's price to damage the USA's economy! It's not like the USA's economy has not already been damaged by the CCP virus. They don't care.

Perhaps they wait 5 years until the market cap is many trillions more.

When dealing with the CCP all bets are off as far as I am concerned.

Economic attack
By now, most agree that an economic attack is far less costly than an actual attack. This is the reason why rogue states like North Korean and Iran have hackers who do their bidding. Iran has famously hacked the Sands Casinos in Las Vegas and North Korea hacked Sony when it tried to launch an unflattering movie about their great leader.

Instead of sending soldiers, you just send hackers. Less costly for you, far more costly for your victim.

E-Yuan
Fast forward five years from now.

It’s 2025.

Many US companies, fearing an inflating dollar (which a Biden administration will have used to keep the US economy as the biggest in the world), will have invested part of their portfolio into Bitcoin by then. Perhaps a few percentage points.

That is a substantial part of the economy and a sum able to start a stock market crash if the floor would fall out from underneath it.

China will have launched its E-Yuan or Digital Yuan and with that be able to spy on its own citizens. Given that Beijing is in full control of its own currency in digital form, you will not be able to know how much they’ve spent and how much they have.

Although it is to be assumed that some of the mining power will have already moved from China to the US, a lot will still remain in China, and in combination with Russian mining operations (the Kremlin is also able to control mines in Kazakhstan), they could reach a bit more than 51% if needed, paying the miners as many E-Yuan or Russian rubles as they want.

In April 2020, China has 65% of hash power, the US 7%, Russia 6% and Kazakhstan another 6%. Even if 15% would by that time have moved from China to the US, this would still hypothetically leave the Communist states with more than 51%.

At that point, China and Russia, which have the same political interest (namely to crumble the US economy which heightens their own status), could take over the Bitcoin blockchain and, at least for a while, mine a whole lot of blocks for themselves.

Causing collapse
If they then dump the mined Bitcoins on the market and replace the public blockchain with their own private blockchain, the price of Bitcoin would crumble. Depending on how much of Fortune 500 companies assets are at that moment invested in Bitcoin, this could reverberate in a crash of the US stock markets.

In Jack Ryan, Shadow Recruit, the book by Tom Clancy, such a scenario (by Russia) is exactly described. In his screenplay. There, the villain, a Russian oligarch:

Will dump all of his inventory onto the market at the same time, causing the American Dollar to collapse. It would hurt China too because of their Dollar holdings, but the goal is to trigger a new Great Depression in the USA.

Replace the American dollar by Bitcoin and multiply the value of Bitcoin’s current market capitalization by 10, now think of the possibilities.

https://cryptotips.eu/en/news/can-china-and-russia-launch-a-51-bitcoin-attack/