Enkephalin

No. Even if you buy a miner from their site (I posted it as proof for the thread...) you might not get one at all or it will be months late. If you know what happened with the monero ASIC you would be cautious to buy one.

The whitepaper publication on Equihash has been posted by somebody (sorry I don't remember the name, but I thanked them) on the thread. I definitely don't understand it but it is cool to see cryptography publications. I will attach the PDF if anyone is interested in. I will also throw in Satoshi Nakamoto's publication on the creation of Bitcoin for anyone that cares to read it. It is easier to read (and shorter) and I actually would recommend that anyone who cares about cryptocurrency at all to take a look. Equihash Publication.pdf Nakamoto, Satoshi - Bitcoin - A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.pdf

That was awesome of you to throw that link out there! Thank you!

BITMAIN and other ASIC manufacturers DO mine on the network with the ASICs before they sell them. They actually generate a lot of revenue this way and when it gets to a point where they think they can make more money selling them off to customers, well, you can buy them on their website. This has been well known for a while that when BITMAIN has an ASIC they mine on them first. The community has figured this out because the mining difficulty will initially drop when they sell them off, but that drop in difficulty does not last that long. BITMAIN is a private company that really is dedicated to mining; AMD is publicly traded and must sell a diverse set of products to consumers to keep their brand name alive. Also, their GPUs aren't as profitable as those BITMAIN ASICS. However, I wouldn't be surprised if AMD has a team that does have a gpu mining setup of some sort for R&D purposes.

I need more people on this thread that understand crypto mining, economics, the blockchain and various coins/projects, and how current fiat system compares to cryptocurrencies....it is exhausting trying to reply to all of these comments. A few points have been made that are interesting but I think there is a lot of misinformation that has just been repeated over and over by people that are short tempered and suffered from GPU pricing. I paid a lot for some GPUs as well. I would like to highlight the fact that the ASIC is one hell of a machine. BITMAIN generates more revenue than NVIDIA (never would have guessed that) and all they do is make ASICs for mining. If we can focus on the tech aspect for a brief moment here, isn't anyone impressed by how powerful that is? Their low price point is an indication though that they may be thinking the same thing will happen that happened to the monero ASIC. GUYS, I REALLY WANT TO SAY THIS: mining and learning about cryptocurrency and blockchain will have a huge impact on so many industries that we cannot deny its utility is positive. It did start off of course as a way transact with anyone in the world with privacy - this network had to be powered by miners and at one time you could mine whole blocks on a CPU and get many bitcoins. My mining adventure has been fun, it was harder than I thought it would (it isn't just plug and play). I have learned alot about economics, building computers using applications in entirely new ways. People's feelings are still hurt from the GPU shortage, but we must keep our heads level. That shortage was multifaceted with more than just miners making money. As a gamer, I thought it was sweet that I could buy the best gaming hardware available and have it pay for itself while at the same time supporting something that I believe in. I am a strong advocate of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, which rely upon decentralization of miners for it to even be possible. Previously, BITMAIN has threatened decentralization and makes more money than NVIDIA doing so. A while back, I paid 50 bucks for two BITMAIN Antminer S3+ bitcoin ASICs on eBay. I just wanted to learn how they worked and tinker with mining even though they aren't profitable. I like learning new things, I have always loved video games (that is essentially my only hobby), and in my mining and PC building endeavor I have really enjoyed constructing mining rigs by hand and building gaming PCs. I wish I could have good conversations with all of you, but it is hard to do on a thread where I am heavily outnumbered and people are just bashing mining and giving each other a thumbs up. The comments aren't as bad as youtube - I mean, nobody has told me they wish I would die in a fire. I just wanted to spread some news that I personally found a bit worrying for me, in part because I do GPU mine, but also because BITMAIN has caused problems in the past and has engaged in unethical business practices. I think we can all agree that a machine as powerful as 15 1080Ti GPUs at 300 Watts is really impressive and I am amazed that they can make something like that. I wonder if they branched out they could outperform Nvidia in graphics or other sectors that use similar technology. I apologize if I have offended any of you, or brought back any negative feelings. GPU pricing is not as bad as it used to be at least and we can expect new cards to come out eventually. I implore you all to spend at least a few hours, if not more, learning about the cryptoverse and blockchain tech because it would be a good use of your time. As a gamer, I have spent so many hours playing games that learning something new is actually more fun to me than gaming at times. Maybe this is because I am basically a professional student and love learning. I have spent hundreds of hours learning about blockchain, mining, reading whitepapers, and also learning how to use the stock exchange and cryptocurrency exchanges. It has been one of the greatest things to happen to me from a cognitive perspective. I am not rich from mining. I don't hold a ridiculous amount of cryptocurrency, but it has helped me afford rent when medical issues basically drained my bank account and put my normal source of income on hold. The big picture here though is that we are lucky to be alive during such an interesting socioeconomic experiment, one that has been predicted to produce the largest transfer of wealth that the modern world has ever witnessed. I'm probably rambling at this point, I just want to say there is a lot to explore here and this particular ASIC is one hell of a machine. Are there anyone in this chat that know enough from a technical point to elaborate on how this ASIC may function? How does it compare to ASICs for say, litecoin L3+ vs GPU, or bitcoin Antminer S9 vs GPU?

I would expect the LTT tech news forum to have more sensibility and respect, as well as an understanding of both sides than general youtube comments. Please check your emotions before posting.

Most cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin have a finite quantity that can ever exist. 21 million bitcoins is the max. This means that it is scarce and can be used as an excellent source of value, especially since it can be moved around easily as well.

In economics, we refer to this as speculation. Lol. A more fair kind of gambling.

You act like there is a GPU made with your name on it. This is a global market now, and this huge socioeconomic change that is taking place is very real and can do a ton for human rights, stopping illegal banking practices, and helping people transact in third world countries. Also, if this continues to be a thing, GPU production will obviously change. A few months ago it was just too risky. Also, with the memory scandal- don't blame miners for "f'ing up" your GPU market. There are far more players than small home miners and even mining farms. University's conducting research that require GPUs usually use very different kinds of GPUs that we wouldn't buy and are basically rentable supercomputers. You are referring to one group of researchers if I'm not mistaken. I also believe this revolution is a bit more important than scanning for aliens at the moment. I'm going to have to disagree with you. Also, ASICs use a ton of power as well because it is an arms race. People will just keep buying more and more ASICs and it will ultimately still result in a lot of power usage. To comment on that as well, a lot of places are working to use renewable energy to power mining farms and countries in general. I can't agree with you on any point you make.

Technically all currency is just a token of some sort, representing something of value that is stored away. Gold is no longer a good store of value and we don't have enough to even cover our costs (speaking as the US) to support all of the money we have printed and given to banks for free. Runaway inflation with no real backing is a MASSIVE problem that cryptocurrency can solve. Among other things.

ASIC's are good if they are available for people like you and me. Unfortunately though there is a monopoly and tight control over the ASIC market and it keeps cryptocurrencies less decentralized and gives more power to miners in China.

I sort of feel bad for the people that spent 10grand on the cryptonight ASIC for Monero, but at the same time they should have known about the discussion of forking the network against ASICs and for spending too much on 1 machine from BITMAIN of all people.

ASICs certainly may free up GPUs for gamers, but these ASICs will also need to be beefing up their memory specs as that is what one of the obstacles for ASICs. As I'm sure you know, the memory market is a mess at the moment and if companies are entering an arms race for even more memory as cryptocurrencies are becoming so valuable, that might be bad for GPUs and our DRAM. It is really interesting to see where this will go. We already know Samsung has decided to start making ASIC miners - at least they aren't as shady of a company as BITMAIN.

I would agree with you in part for certain coins that just stick to 1 simple algorithm, but new GPU minable coins are now coming out that employ many, randomly alternating algorithms that GPUs can switch between but an ASIC obviously could not. Take Ravencoin for example which uses the x16r algorithm. This means that is randomly switches to one of 16 algorithms in between each block. Ravencoin devs can decide to add/remove/alternate algorithms at their discretion to remain ASIC resistance. I do not believe this is the death of GPU mining because of how bad of a reputation ASICs have within the mining community (unless you have a mining farm, uber cheap electricity, and a special deal with BITMAIN). For the moment, I have to disagree with you. Additionally, now that this is becoming bigger, more cryptographers and programmers will enter this space that will make it more difficult for "big money" to annihilate any sort of encryption. If that were the case, encryption as a whole would be in very bad shape, not just for cryptocurrencies.

Hey everyone, It is a sad day for GPU miners with the release of the Antminer Z9 mini (https://shop.bitmain.com/product/detail?pid=00020180503154806494uGcSyiu806FD#2607) can perform as well as 15 1080Ti GPUs at a mere 300 Watts. The price point of only $1999 + a few hundred in other costs. Equihash is the algorithm used for coins like Zcash, Zencash, Bitcoin Gold, BitcoinZ, Bitcoin Private, and many more popular and uprising coins. Equihash has been one of the bread and butter algorithms that Nvidia GPUs hashed very well on and outperformed AMD which has worn the crown on mining Ethash for coins like Ethereum (with one recent exception of the Eth Enlargement Pill just released that boosts the GTX 1080 and 1080Ti in Ethash significantly). Bitmain is generally on point with their performance specs, and while this is obviously an incredible piece of technology, I think this causes more agony for GPU miners (most of whom are also gamers) than what the gaming community ("no-coiners") had to deal with inventory and pricing problems. I would like to reiterate, for about $2350, you can buy their mini version (a full version must be on its way out too) and it can mine as well as 15 1080Ti GPUs @ 300 Watts. INCREDIBLE AND HEARTBREAKING AT THE SAME TIME. Fortunately, many projects are getting together and deciding the best way to deal with this, by either forking their coin and using a different algorithm. As many projects announced at launch to be ASIC resistant and include that in their whitepapers, we will see who sticks to their guns and resists BITMAIN and follows through with their promise. As much as people hate on GPU miners, having a decentralized group of miners where many people can participate is one of the main premises and security aspects of cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are most definitely here to stay because the technology and utility behind them and the blockchain are revolutionary. I have nothing against people that use ASICs to mine, but I dislike the monopoly and unfair distribution practices of BITMAIN. *Disclaimer, I am myself a GPU miner but I also love gaming.* Let us discuss our thoughts and opinions (with civility) and maybe this will get into the WAN show! I have gathered a lot of knowledge about GPU mining over the past year or so and can offer further info on GPU mining, but it is just too much to put in one post. Here is the link once again to where you can buy one if that is your thing: https://shop.bitmain.com/product/detail?pid=00020180503154806494uGcSyiu806FD#2607 -Enkephalin