Aside from getting involved in trading cryptocurrencies, another means to earn Bitcoin and other altcoins is by mining. Without miners, transactions can’t be confirmed and the blockchain technology is not going to useful. In reality, anyone with a useful computer can actually do mining. This is the reason why there are a lot of home-based miners today.
However, in order to turn everything into a profitable business, you will mostly need computers with high computing capabilities. Given the changing algorithm that miners have to deal with, it is an energy-intensive process that requires a huge capital. In addition to this, it is most likely that you will also need to shoulder utility and maintenance bills to keep everything running according to plan. Is home-based mining soon going to become history?
Just recently, a Japanese firm has shown interest in cryptocurrency mining. GMO Group, one of Japan’s leading IT is now getting involved in cryptocurrencies. It has officially launched its mining activity.
GMO Group
GMO Group is an IT company based in Japan that provides a full spectrum of internet services. It offers its services to both consumer and business sector. GMO Group is headquartered in Tokyo. It has more than 60 companies in over 10 countries worldwide.
The company has been founded in the 1990s and this year, GMO decided to dabble in cryptocurrencies. It has leaned towards cryptocurrency-related businesses from exchange platforms to a Bitcoin-focused payroll service that was announced earlier this month. And last September, GMO has announced to diversify towards cryptocurrency mining.
Why Cryptocurrency?
The company believes in the potential of what cryptocurrencies can offer. They insisted that it can pave the way towards the development of “new universal currencies” that can be available for the use of anyone from different parts of the world. It is also said that it can create a “new borderless economic zone”.
On December 20, GMO has launched its new cryptocurrency mining business in Northern Europe. It has also mentioned its plans of upgrading its chips during the first half of 2018.
The new mining chips are still being developed by unannounced partners. The company will be using 7nm*1 processor chips. It was also announced that the new facility will have a capacity of 500 petahashes per second. As for its source of electricity, it is going to be receiving its power from both geothermal and hydropower sources.
It was also mentioned that GMO will have to increase the size of the operation in phases. They have also announced that they are going to develop a cloud mining services. This will allow the company to sell the excess hashing power to different consumers who are also into mining cryptocurrencies. It also seems that the company is looking forward to being involved in the cryptocurrency mining business for years to come. It has even indicated that it would start selling mining hardware.
What could this mean for future miners? Is it a possibility that mining will soon be dominated by large companies that can provide mining capabilities? Or perhaps, it just signifies the growing interest of both individuals and companies towards cryptocurrencies?
