Is there any cryptocurrency where mining is profitable?

[james.hendrickson]

Hi guys,

I have a spare laptop that I'm not using. I was wondering if it might be possible to start mining some of the lower valued cryptocurrencies - like Litecoin or etherium.

Has anyone done this profitably?

[Sam1000]

Simple answer?

NO!

If you don't know, in depth, how crypto currencies work then do not, let me repeat that: DO NOT buy mining equipment.

JUST DONT DO IT!

Don't make me say I told you so.

If you do and find out that I was right, come back here and upvote this answer. Let's help others not make the same mistake.

If you want to use your CPU or graphics card, then go ahead. But for god’s sake do not spend 1000’s of $$$ on mining equipment.

Just buy the crypto currency. Invest that money wisely. Look at the historical prices and just buy when the cycle looks low. Even if you buy too high and prices fall in the short term, just don't sell. Consider this money gone and don't touch it. Fast forward to year 2030, if you own 2 bitcoins, you'd be a millionaire now (according to forecasts).

But I know you won't listen to me and will still do it. Just don't forget to bookmark my answer so that you can come back to like it.

[Tabs]

Lol. Ok, I don't speak for James, but this inquiry struck me more as being inquisitive more than anything.

As for cryptos, actually, there are indeed some proxy coins (or if you know what the darknet is switching to, which I personally have not and will not disclose on publicly) that... might still be worth mining. But I agree that you have to know what you are looking for. Even then, I also agree it wouldn't be worth mining it using your own hardware.

Another possibility is trying to find ways to capitalize on the inefficiencies of the blockchain. Many people hopefully realize the benefit of blockchain now, but may not have thought about its drawbacks, such as its tremendous power draw. There is a concept called tangle that is trying to decentralize the validation process even further (and if successful, could render blockchain obsolete), but even then, it still does not address the issue of power draw, but merely spreads it out as much as possible. Again, I don't know how many people know about this, or even know how to make money off of it, but hey, considering the craze around crypto, anything is possible I guess.

As for cryptocurrency itself, you simply can not review its track record and invest wisely somehow because there is no real track record to speak of. I mean, seriously, I'll even pull up the chart:


See? It just skyrocketed in 2017 and that's it. And over what? I have no idea. Do you? Does anybody? There are no fundamentals here. I'm not even sure if there are even technicals here (which I'm sure some day traders insist there is... but there always is some market noise/signal if you look hard enough).

Now, since you brought it up, I'm going to ask you the same question: Will you listen? Will you consider the possibility that there is nothing here to invest wisely in? People buying in are just be spinning a giant roulette wheel on the internet. All you can really do is apply basic asset allocation to mitigate the very real possibility of this instrument cratering. Feel free to bookmark what I said here too. I'm telling you, today's crytos like bitcoin isn't going to go anywhere, though I am hopeful that the technology it leaves behind will endure.

And yes, to be fair, I am willing to listen as well. I could be wrong about all this, but if I am to be wrong, I need someone to show me where. Where exactly is this growth story coming from? Because I have not heard any compelling evidence to the contrary.