But before understanding in detail the complex terms and the principle of operation of ASICs or video cards, one should consider the efficiency of the entire enterprise. Efficiency can be understood as the profit that you will receive as a result of a potential investment in mining. As an example, let's take the two most common cryptocurrencies - bitcoin (BTC) and ethereum (ETH).
Efficiency of bitcoin mining
It is worth noting that due to the development of the industry, the only effective way to mine bitcoin is ASIC miners. Previously, it was possible to get BTC using graphics processors (GPUs), but with the advent of ASICs created specifically for cryptocurrency mining and having fantastic characteristics, GPUs have lost their relevance and advantages in the context of bitcoin mining.
For an example of determining the efficiency of bitcoin mining, let's take the Antminer T17 asic, the calculation speed of which is 40 TH/s. The cost of this hardware is about $1,000, and its consumption is about 2,310 watts of electricity.
Based on the current bitcoin rate of $20.5 thousand, using a special BTC profitability calculator, you can find out that a farm from one Antminer T17 will bring about 0.000181 BTC per day. That is almost $4. It is easy to calculate that Antminer T17 will bring its owner $120 per month (provided that the bitcoin rate remains unchanged). It turns out that you can recoup the purchase of this ASIC in just 9 months.
Quick payback and subsequent profit are the undoubted advantages of ASIC miners. Therefore, the benefit in bitcoin mining remains even with the current exchange rate and level of competition. To increase your potential profit, you can join a mining pool, however, this will entail additional costs and an extra headache.
Ethereum Mining Efficiency
The ETH calculation scheme is exactly the same, with the only difference that now we take not an ASIC, but a video card. For example, the common RTX 3080 model. With its help, you can earn 0.0013 ETH per day, or $2.3 at the current exchange rate. Thus, your monthly income will be about $69. The payback period of the video card in this case will be about one and a half years, but since the GPU is much cheaper than ASICs, at moderate costs you can expand your mining farm and thereby multiply your income. Therefore, beginners are advised to start their journey in cryptocurrency mining from video cards.
Conclusion It
However, from the point of view of profit from one hardware, it is more efficient to mine BTC. One ASIC miner is able to replace an entire farm of video cards, which must be constantly maintained and monitored for proper operation. After all, the more hardware in your farm, the higher the risk that one of them will break. In addition, asics do not need a complex add-on - it is enough to connect them to the network, turn them on and just count the profit. While it is very difficult to prepare a GPU for work without the help of specialists.
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