Introducing Green Mining DAO — A New and Green Way to Mine BTC
Introducing Green Mining DAO — A New and Green Way to Mine BTC
Introducing a DAO powering sustainable and decentralized BTC mining
The Bitcoin industry has undergone a drastic shift over the past decade. It has evolved from a largely unknown tech experiment to a global asset adopted by retail investors and institutions worldwide. Its market value, at close to a trillion dollars, ranks it among the most important technological developments of our times.
Bitcoin mining has always been inextricably linked to the cryptocurrency’s success and security. The outstanding price performance of Bitcoin in recent times has given rise to extremely lucrative mining economics. However, mining as an individual has been nearly impossible since the transition to GPUs and ASICs in 2013. The transition took mining from an obscure activity that a small community of Bitcoin advocates carried out on their computers to one that required economies of scale, huge capital investment, and an arms race to secure a share of the limited mining hardware that was coming on to the market. Another detrimental impact of this development was a rush to inexpensive fossil fuel energy sources to power such operations and the impact such power sources would pose to the environment.
Although there has been a rise in companies focused on empowering smaller-scale and home miners to run their operations, the same challenges still largely pervade the industry today. Smaller-scale and retail miners struggle to gain exposure to Bitcoin mining in a cost-effective and sophisticated way while the environmental concerns associated with the activity still remain at large. Even if retail miners do establish profitable operations, they face immense challenges sustaining such operations. Mining hardware is highly susceptible to breaking down and optimizing airflow and other technical factors can oftentimes be insurmountable hurdles for retail miners. What starts as a promising investment into a lucrative mining market can quickly turn into a failed mining operation where hardware either doesn’t work or constantly faces technical difficulties.
Green Mining DAO is changing the dynamics of the industry. Our solution removes the barriers facing retail miners while also being completely powered by renewable energy sources. With our DAO entity, retail investors will be able to seamlessly invest in Bitcoin mining while also being able to tailor their Bitcoin exposure in a sophisticated manner. Retail Bitcoin miners will no longer be at the whims of the larger companies that determine their entry into the industry. With Green Mining DAO, retail investors can own a share of a decentralized entity that operates Bitcoin mining operations which are wholly powered by renewable energy sources. All the technical factors associated with operating a mining operation are managed by an exemplary technical team. Retail miners can easily tailor their exposure to the Bitcoin mining market through the ownership of the GMT token. Green Mining DAO and the GMT token are bridging the gap between the extremely lucrative economics of Bitcoin mining and the technical and environmental challenges associated with getting exposure to mining. Investing in Bitcoin mining becomes as easy as accumulating GMT tokens. If holders wish to lower their exposure to Bitcoin mining, they can easily sell their GMT tokens.
Bitcoin Mining’s Energy Problem
At this time, a large share of Bitcoin mining operations globally are still powered by non-renewable sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Aside from the United States (35% of hashrate) where Bitcoin advocates are championing a move to renewable energy sources, a majority of mining still happens in other countries like Kazakhstan (18%) and Russia (11%) where mining is predominantly powered by carbon-intensive fossil fuel sources.
Coal-powered mining in Kazakhstan has more than doubled in the wake of the China ban, while Russian authorities have repeatedly spoken out against the industry’s heavy toll on power grids. Recent research estimates that only 25% to 39% of Bitcoin’s energy consumption comes from renewable energy sources. This figure, although significantly higher than several industries, can be improved through efforts such as Green Mining DAO that focuses on sustainable solar-powered infrastructure.
(Source: ScienceDirect)
Green Mining DAO’s operations will be entirely based in Europe. In the aftermath of the China ban, almost all of the existing hashrate transitioned to North America, predominantly Texas. Kazakhstan offered another refuge for the hashrate exodus but the Kazakhstan political situation poses problems of its own. Europe offers a favorable alternative where renewable mining operations can be established in a cost-effective manner. Its existing renewables infrastructure and established logistics for hardware transport make it an enticing location for the next generation of innovative Bitcoin mining enterprises. Moreover, as Bitcoin continues to evolve into an increasingly important globally-used asset, it is important that the security infrastructure underpinning the network is as decentralized as possible. Miners have always ensured that the key properties of the Bitcoin network but concentrating hash rate in certain countries poses risks. It was a positive development to observe the hash rate domination in China dissipate but the Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrency community needs to be careful that this concentration does not transition to Texas. Europe offers an attractive alternative to establish sustainable and profitable operations while also increasing the decentralization of the network.
Higher Costs Imposed on Retail Bitcoin Miners
As it stands, there is no clear-cut way for retail Bitcoin miners to advocate for a transition towards clean-energy sources. On top of this, they face stiff barriers to mining profitably. For such retail miners to participate in mining profitably, they often need to use the services of larger enterprises who heavily rely on carbon-intensive energy sources.
Mining alone is rarely a feasible option. Even one latest-generation machine would cost a miner roughly $10k and the residential electricity rates make it unlike that operating such a machine would turn a profit. For retail miners, the reality is harsh. They are forced to overpay for hardware, lengthening their prospective payback period. After that, they only have access to higher residential rates, exacerbating their prospective return even further. Mining alone, retail miners rarely return a profit. One alternative is to seek the assistance of larger enterprises who can help pool hardware in facilities with low-cost. However, such enterprises often take a hefty fee and the facilities they use are predominantly powered by fossil fuels.
GMD allows retail miners to leverage the economies of scale of an industrial-scale operation while being able to mine completely with renewable energy. From just $25, GMT holders can own a share of a sustainable and profitable solar-power mining operation. The challenges associated with hardware procurement, sourcing profitable energy, and operations are all eradicated. All of the complex and challenging elements that go into operating a lucrative large-scale mining are packaged into one token.
Introducing Green Mining DAO – A Decentralized Alternative for Retail Miners
Green Mining DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) positioning itself to disrupt the Bitcoin mining industry by leveling the playing field for retail investors in a decentralized fashion. The GMT token is a Polygon-based security token that grants holders ownership rights to clean and sustainable mining infrastructure.
The GMT token supply will initially be backed by a 30PH Bitcoin mining facility exclusively powered by solar-power plants. At the current difficulty level, 30 PH would mine ~4.20 BTC per month, yielding an estimated 20% APY to GMT token holders. As Green Mining DAO evolves, the lucrative mining returns will be reinvested to provide GMT token holders with exposure to larger facilities. All facilities will only be operated by renewable energy sources which include solar, hydro, or wind. No facilities will be powered by either nuclear energy or any form of fossil fuel, including flared gas.
GreenMining DAO will ensure further decentralization of Bitcoin mining while giving retail investors the ability to support the move to a more environmentally sustainable Bitcoin ecosystem. Holding the GMT token represents a stress-free way for any investor to get exposure to Bitcoin mining without the huge barriers to entry.
GMT holders can also easily tailor their exposure to Bitcoin mining profits by increasing or decreasing their holdings. Green Mining DAO is bringing a decentralized and clean-energy alternative to retail Bitcoin miners worldwide.
