OpenWest 2014/Bitcoin
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Summary - better to just horde Bitcoins than to mine them
Common languages - SHA256 and Scrypt-N, Script-Jane, XU-coming up
No universal wallet
Wallet is API for each coin
- stores "block chain" (can reference)
- communicates P2P with networks
- provides APIs for interacting with "coin"
- Some have built in wallet (not recommended)
Mining Software
- works with "wallet" to "get work"
- what "data" & "difficulty"
- cgminer, bgfminer, sgminer, cudaminer
- vary in support of hardware, similar APUs
CPU Mining - came first, uses desktop or laptop *maybe* kHash/sec
GPU Mining - still around - kHash/sec in a rig
ASIC mining - future - uses custom hardware - MHash/sec -> THash/sec
- Can hook to Raspberry Pi
- Cost is going down exponentially
- Newer chips go obsolete in 6-12 months
- Protocol designs
- rewards decrease over time
- difficulty increases w/ more miners
- Solo mining - huge rewards / low probability
- Pool mining - split work - miners split reward
Pools
- Stratum pools or PzPool
- Pool talks to wallet
- Pool dives the work, and manages miners
- Pool is rewarded and shares rewards
- Many payout methods
- PPS/PPLNS/PPLNSG/etc
- shelved earnings
- Pool LUCK decides a lot!!
How to choose a POOL:
- Pool % of network hashrate
- Dominate pools solve more blocks
- Your % of pool
- You want to leverage the pool < 50% but > 1%
- DDOS resilience
- Pools are always under attack! Ransom!
- Pool fees
- 0% - 3% or more transfer fees
- Reputation & communication
- BitcoinTalk and IRC
- Payout methods vary threshholds or Payout Queues
- Transfer threshold limits
- Automated transfger to wallet or exchange
Exchanges
- Just like stock exchange
- BTC-e, Cryptsy, Bittrex, Poloniex, CryptoRush
- Most go to BitcCoin & LiteCoin
- Deposit address for each coin
- Buy & sell orders - auto-sell orders
- Few exchanges to USD
- LocalBitcoins.com
Strategies:
- What is your end goal?
- Mine to hoard - keep a %?
- Mine to sell - sell to what?
- If you want to mine to BTC:
- multipools (http://poolpickers.eu)
- manual (http://coinwarz.com)
- Rig leasing
- lease your hashtag power
- get pain in BTC
- LeaseRig.net - one of the first
- BetaRigs.com
- NiceHash.com - thresholding!
- Buy Bitcoin - going up by 110% a year and estimated to continue
Notes by Bethany