The US state of Texas and oil seem completely synonymous, with even a long-running TV series based around the black stuff, but now it seems there’s another money spinner in town; crypto mining.
It seems that more and more Texans are taking to small-scale home-operated crypto mining according to the Dallas Morning News, and leaving the oil for the big boys. One of these is Stanley Edgar who shares his typical Texas home with his 32-year-old son Brandon, Brandon’s girlfriend and the couple’s children.
The Edgars are part of the Lone Star State’s growing number of small crypto miners prepared to spend thousands of dollars to make their fortunes in search of Bitcoin and its cousins. To such a degree that apparently the Edgar household now uses four times the electricity of a regular Texas home in the quest for crypto, due to the hardware and power required to make it all happen.
Son Brandon lives in the hope of future riches, even if it means blowing up his wife’s vacuum cleaner and short-circuiting his power around the house:
“It’s kind of like buying penny stocks,” he says, “You hope it hits the moon.”
This is base level mining, the real frontiersmen of the industry. The Edgars run seven rigs in their home with 35 graphics cards churning out the power, costing tens of thousands of dollars, with even a 3D printer doing its stuff in their garage.
The Edgars are new to mining, having only become involved in cryptocurrency six months ago when son Brandon advertised a graphics card online and was duly amazed to see the huge price it attracted. The rest is now history for the typical Texan household.
Such activities have attracted quite a following in Dallas, and the Edgars are certainly not alone in their desire to turn power into money. Last month, both enthusiasts such as the Edgars and IT professionals started the Dallas Cryptomining Meetup.
The first meeting attracted 19-year-old Grant Pellet who has created his own cryptocurrency called CryptoRescue. “I like to take risks,” he said.
Such risks are clearly paying off for some. According to recent figures, cryptocurrency mining comprises 114 nations globally which offered the market a profitability of USD 4.1 billion by the end of 2017. Add to that, profits acquired from the sale of mining machines, which is approximated to reach some USD 3 to USD 4 billion, and mining appears to have all the makings of a thriving cryptocurrency industry.
It’s hardly surprising that the Edgars have had their heads turned and have set up a factory all of their own. It may be a while though until they get the returns they need to pay for all that gear.
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