Silk Road forums

Discussion => Security => Topic started by: CHROOT on May 05, 2013, 04:23 pm

Title: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: CHROOT on May 05, 2013, 04:23 pm
The ASIC miner shitshow is in full bloom right now but when they do start to ship, is it worth investing in one?

Is there a mining pool associated with silk road? Even the SR reddit has one apparently : (

Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: Libertas on May 06, 2013, 03:21 am
The ASIC miner shitshow is in full bloom right now but when they do start to ship, is it worth investing in one?

Is there a mining pool associated with silk road? Even the SR reddit has one apparently : (

Whether its worth investing in an ASIC miner completely depends on what Bitcoin's value will be over the duration of your mining 'career'. In my own personal opinion the Bitcoin mining ship has sailed. If you're interested in mining I would recommend using the money you plan to spend on an ASIC to invest in a Litecoin mining rig. With the difficulty pretty much set to double / triple for Bitcoin mining over the next few months (if Butterfly Labs actually ship any of their large rigs, and with people building their own Avalon rigs) Litecoin would be a safer bet - but not by much, given the fact that GPU miners will likely switch to mining Litecoin when Bitcoin's difficulty gets too high to mine profitably due to ASIC's kicking in.

Most importantly, do your research. Check out the bitcointalk.org forum for likeminded folk and see what their collective opinion is on mining at this stage in the game.

Libertas
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: White 0ut on May 06, 2013, 03:29 am
The ASIC miner shitshow is in full bloom right now but when they do start to ship, is it worth investing in one?

Is there a mining pool associated with silk road? Even the SR reddit has one apparently : (

I would recommend using the money you plan to spend on an ASIC to invest in a Litecoin mining rig. With the difficulty pretty much set to double / triple for Bitcoin mining over the next few months (if Butterfly Labs actually ship any of their large rigs, and with people building their own Avalon rigs) Litecoin would be a safer bet - but not by much, given the fact that GPU miners will likely switch to mining Litecoin when Bitcoin's difficulty gets too high to mine profitably due to ASIC's kicking in.


Libertas

A Global Mod for SR  is semi-endorsing Litecoins?

I do believe I will invest now!

Any chance SR will ever think of accepting LTC's?
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: Libertas on May 06, 2013, 03:44 am
The ASIC miner shitshow is in full bloom right now but when they do start to ship, is it worth investing in one?

Is there a mining pool associated with silk road? Even the SR reddit has one apparently : (

I would recommend using the money you plan to spend on an ASIC to invest in a Litecoin mining rig. With the difficulty pretty much set to double / triple for Bitcoin mining over the next few months (if Butterfly Labs actually ship any of their large rigs, and with people building their own Avalon rigs) Litecoin would be a safer bet - but not by much, given the fact that GPU miners will likely switch to mining Litecoin when Bitcoin's difficulty gets too high to mine profitably due to ASIC's kicking in.


Libertas

A Global Mod for SR  is semi-endorsing Litecoins?

I do believe I will invest now!

Any chance SR will ever think of accepting LTC's?

I'm afraid I make that recommendation in a personal capacity, not as a Silk Road moderator! :P

I have absolutely no idea what plans DPR may have for Silk Road's future but I somehow doubt that Litecoin integration will be part of it. Bitcoin serves incredibly well as a method of payment and its divisibility means that there is no requirement for a currency of lower value.

With Litecoin's growth though I suspect more exchanges will offer BTC -> LTC and vice-versa so obtaining Bitcoin with Litecoin wouldn't be a problem for those who hold LTC but wish to make purchases on Silk Road.

Libertas
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: Baraka on May 06, 2013, 03:47 am
Quote
With the difficulty pretty much set to double / triple for Bitcoin mining over the next few months (if Butterfly Labs actually ship any of their large rigs, and with people building their own Avalon rigs) Litecoin would be a safer bet

Try a ***20-30x*** increase in difficulty when all the rigs finally ship. You've been warned.
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: Libertas on May 06, 2013, 03:54 am
Quote
With the difficulty pretty much set to double / triple for Bitcoin mining over the next few months (if Butterfly Labs actually ship any of their large rigs, and with people building their own Avalon rigs) Litecoin would be a safer bet

Try a ***20-30x*** increase in difficulty when all the rigs finally ship. You've been warned.

Indeed, if they ship all of the pre-ordered rigs but I don't see that happening for a long time, if at all. As far as I know they haven't even shipped out one of their large rigs yet so the difficulty won't increase by that much too soon.

People buying Avalon chips and building their own rigs will likely have more of an impact on the difficulty than Butterfly Labs in the short-medium term.

Libertas
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: Christy Nugs on May 06, 2013, 04:27 am
so when will they ship? january? wait - not!
i have been watching those guys forever.
unless they have gotten access to a crashed alien craft and
one of the occupants love to play video games...................
i am really crossing my fingers for those of u that have invested k's
in ur dreams but actions speak louder than words.
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: Christy Nugs on May 06, 2013, 04:30 am
didnt mean to be a downer.
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: Libertas on May 06, 2013, 04:46 am
so when will they ship? january? wait - not!
i have been watching those guys forever.
unless they have gotten access to a crashed alien craft and
one of the occupants love to play video games...................
i am really crossing my fingers for those of u that have invested k's
in ur dreams but actions speak louder than words.

I completely agree. The whole thing reeks of a scam but they have shipped a few Jalapenos out in an attempt to prove their legitimacy and [I think] they're shipping out about 10 - 20 units per day. That in itself would suggest that they are not going to be able to fulfill the majority of the orders placed with them.

A sad situation in any event - likely going to be posted on the ever-growing wall of Bitcoin scams.

Oh and there's that +1 I owe you.

Libertas
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: PerPETualMOtion on May 06, 2013, 05:01 am
Quote
With the difficulty pretty much set to double / triple for Bitcoin mining over the next few months (if Butterfly Labs actually ship any of their large rigs, and with people building their own Avalon rigs) Litecoin would be a safer bet

Try a ***20-30x*** increase in difficulty when all the rigs finally ship. You've been warned.

Decent financial plan?

1. Buy BTC now.
2. Hoard them for 6-12 months
3. Cash out on the Road
4. Spend the sequential 12-18 months high as a kite in a twister.
5. Profit.
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: Baraka on May 06, 2013, 06:28 am
I don't disagree with any of this. The question is, when do the Butterfly rigs start shipping? If the answer is never because they're either vaporware or are like digital Madoff, then the difficulty will take much longer to increase. But if they do really start shipping a lot of these things anytime soon, then the party's over. Most of the ASIC miners will barely break even on their investments and everyone else will be left in the dust.

I know a guy who's been in the ASIC biz for years. Only thing is, he hasn't built a single rig yet since he has his hands full with other projects. There isn't any manufacturing capacity available for additional jobs. Trust me, when he and his competitors start filling this space, it'll be game over for the vaporware dealers who can't get their shit together. Seems like a ton of opportunity out there for those who can. If I had enough money to invest in this guy's business to expand his manufacturing capacity specifically for the purposes of producing mining rigs that can top the Avalon product, I most definitely would.

Indeed, if they ship all of the pre-ordered rigs but I don't see that happening for a long time, if at all. As far as I know they haven't even shipped out one of their large rigs yet so the difficulty won't increase by that much too soon.

People buying Avalon chips and building their own rigs will likely have more of an impact on the difficulty than Butterfly Labs in the short-medium term.

Libertas
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: Jack N Hoff on May 06, 2013, 06:38 am
I like the cute little 300MH/s USB ASIC.  Great way to decentralize the network even further. :)
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: PerPETualMOtion on May 06, 2013, 05:06 pm
I don't disagree with any of this. The question is, when do the Butterfly rigs start shipping? If the answer is never because they're either vaporware or are like digital Madoff, then the difficulty will take much longer to increase. But if they do really start shipping a lot of these things anytime soon, then the party's over. Most of the ASIC miners will barely break even on their investments and everyone else will be left in the dust.

I know a guy who's been in the ASIC biz for years. Only thing is, he hasn't built a single rig yet since he has his hands full with other projects. There isn't any manufacturing capacity available for additional jobs. Trust me, when he and his competitors start filling this space, it'll be game over for the vaporware dealers who can't get their shit together. Seems like a ton of opportunity out there for those who can. If I had enough money to invest in this guy's business to expand his manufacturing capacity specifically for the purposes of producing mining rigs that can top the Avalon product, I most definitely would.

Indeed, if they ship all of the pre-ordered rigs but I don't see that happening for a long time, if at all. As far as I know they haven't even shipped out one of their large rigs yet so the difficulty won't increase by that much too soon.

People buying Avalon chips and building their own rigs will likely have more of an impact on the difficulty than Butterfly Labs in the short-medium term.

Libertas

Mu ha ha ha ha ha ah.

Quote from: BIT COIN MINER
Guys, guys! Don't bother mining coins. Leave it to the miners. ASICS? Nah, man. Rigs--that is, if rigs ever get manufactured, etc... Don't waste your time, trust me. You know, TRUST ME.

Jesus... what advice we have here.
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: Just Chipper on May 06, 2013, 07:36 pm
The ASIC miner shitshow is in full bloom right now but when they do start to ship, is it worth investing in one?

Is there a mining pool associated with silk road? Even the SR reddit has one apparently : (

Well Avalon has already shipped 1 batch of their 3-module rigs (66 GH/s). and Butterfly Labs has sent out a few jalapeƱos (5 GH/s). Other than that ASICMINER has built a nice amount of ASICs that slide into a chassis into a rack for large-scale production. There are several on auction on Bitcointalk.org's forums currently. So they have shipped, just not mass-shipped.

Whether it's worth investing depends on your outlook for FIAT. If you consider every bitcoin made using a mining rig a hedge against the failure of FIAT then it's a great investment as with the USD and EU performing poorly. Otherwise you will drive yourself crazy trying to calculate your profits in FIAT.

No, there's no SR mining pool. Nothing stopping anyone from setting one up, just that you'd probably wouldn't get great rates compared to Slush or BTCGuild.

In the end like all investments it's a calculated risk. All I can say is to research any company THOROUGHLY before you give them 1 satoshi. Lots of vaporware ASIC companies floating around. Personally I would only either buy ASICMINER shares or one of his Block Eruptor Blades as they exist, and are hashing currently just fine.
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: Baraka on May 06, 2013, 07:57 pm
What is ASICMiner's site? I've heard of them before, but can't find it.
Title: Re: Is it worth getting in line for an ASIC miner?
Post by: Just Chipper on May 06, 2013, 09:46 pm
What is ASICMiner's site? I've heard of them before, but can't find it.

He doesn't have a website. He communicates via email and via the forum at Bitcointalk. You can purchase shares either directly through him via email, or via a pass-through on BTC-TC for easier trading.