Modern Miners: Mining Solutions for the Future

Bitcoin mining is highly competitive. Not only is the mining in and of itself competitive by nature, but the race to build the latest and greatest mining technology is equally fierce. In this article we will be looking at the latest and greatest mining tech, which may someday render graphics processing unit mining obsolete. If you would like to brush up on GPU mining technology, take a look at our previous mining article: Why Graphics Cards .

ASIC Miners

Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, or ASIC mining is one of the newest breakthrough technologies in cryptocurrency mining. ASIC miners are devices which use microprocessors for the sole purpose of mining cryptocurrency. ASIC miners are highly efficient and use a surprisingly low amount of energy, relative to their potential for mining. The Bitmain AntMiner is considered to be the fastest ASIC miner on the market, boasting a hash rate of 14 TH/s.

ASIC miners do however have a few downsides. The first downside to ASIC miners is the price. A new Bitmain AntMiner will cost anywhere between $10,000 to $22,000 depending on the exact model. ASIC miners are still relatively new technology and tend to come with a larger price tag. ASIC miners are also far less versatile than many of the alternatives. Each ASIC is tailormade to work with one specific cryptocurrency. An ASIC miner designed to mine Bitcoin, will only ever be able to mine Bitcoin. In the same way, an ASIC miner designed to mine Litecoin, will only ever be able to mine Litecoin.

FPGA Mining

Field-Programable Gate Arrays, or FPGAs are another technology which shows considerable promise for cryptocurrency mining. FPGAs are integrated circuit boards that can be programed to perform a variety of tasks. They are a fantastic choice for cryptocurrency mining on a budget, because they are capable of running many cryptocurrency algorithms at least 6 times and up to 20 times faster than GPU powered units. FPGA miners use approximately the same amount of electricity as GPU miners, making them a more environmentally conscious option for mining operations.

FPGAs are like bricks of LEGO. They can be connected with one another in countless ways, in order to perform different tasks. They are essentially blank digital circuits. All you need to do to set up an FPGA system is connect the circuits in the correct configuration for the task you are aiming to achieve, and the FPGA circuit will behave according to your design. For this reason, FPGAs are ideal for mining ASIC resistant coins with speed and efficiency.

FPGAs are somewhat expensive. They are not as expensive as using an ASIC miner, but they are more expensive than GPU miners. They do however pay for themselves more quickly than GPU miners on average.

FPGAs are also far more complicated than both ASIC and GPU mining. Building a miner – or anything for that matter – using FPGAs requires far more technological knowhow than mining using GPUs. For this reason, their biggest drawback is the fact that they are not designed with entry level miners in mind.

Conclusion

ASIC miners are highly efficient and user friendly, however they are pricy. FPGAs are the second-best choice for anyone who is looking to mine common cryptocurrencies – such as Bitcoin – and the best choice on the market for mining obscure cryptocurrencies. GPU miners are still a far better option than CPU mining, however since the technology was initially designed for a different application, GPU miners are quickly being replaced with newer, more efficient machines.

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With the field of Bitcoin mining, as well as the mining and validating of other cryptocurrencies growing at an exponential rate, we are likely to see many new jobs created within the realm of cryptocurrency. This means more adoption is closer than we think! Make sure you have what you need to take advantage of this brave new world of cryptocurrency adoption by checking out the Killer Whale Products Page and finding what is right for you! With Bitcoin performing as well as it has been, be sure to check out our Killer Whale Gain BTC Strategy !

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