CryptoURANUS Economics

Anti-AdBlocker

Monday, August 30, 2021

Mechanizing the Methodology



About (Source-URL: https://danielmiessler.com/about/), Mechanizing the Methodology.

I’ll start by saying that if you’ve not tried to summarize yourself in this way—i.e., via some sort of “about me” page—you should try it. It requires a considerable degree of introspection, and is more difficult and interesting than it seems.

Media and sponsors, see the media inquiries page.
My name is Daniel Miessler (ME-slur) and I’m an information security professional and writer born, raised, and living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I started this site in 1999 as a platform for collecting technical knowledge. Today it is my most important life project, with over 2,500 essays, posts, tutorials, articles, and other types of content.

Other thoughts on immortality here.
In fact, it’s less of a project and more like an avatar. It is where I put both my time and my (weak) hopes for some measure of immortality. While most see their websites as a place to release pressure, rant, or to project a presence, I use mine as a means of organizing everything I have learned and want to learn, and then as a way to share those things with others.

Interests and activities
I love modeling the world.
My main passion in life reduces to the following:

Building a model of human flourishing, as well as frameworks for increasing it.

eudaimonia and ikigai capture parts of this well.
Said differently, I enjoy finding patterns in how people pursue meaning and happiness, constructing models for how said meaning works, and then creating, discussing, and sharing possible frameworks for improving it.

I read 3-6 books a month. list
As for activities, I most enjoy cross-discipline reading that builds towards this type of reality modeling. Specifically, I read a lot about evolutionary biology/psychology, existentialism, logic, rhetoric, dialectic, history, sociology, statistics, technology, politics, and security.

I consider this to be the most beautiful website on the internet.
I have a strong love of for art, and design, and I get extreme pleasure from typography, data visualization, graphic design, and pretty much anything that’s visually interesting or beautiful.

As for the creative side of art, I am looking to transition later in life to painting and music.

Some of these are due for updates I’m afraid.
When I read a good book I capture it on my reading page. I also maintain lists of my projects and my ideas, if you’d like to look at those. If anything, I hope they inspire you to capture and explore your own life in a similar way.

Life view
I don’t believe this detracts at all from human meaning.
My beliefs are heavily grounded in Evolutionary Biology and Psychology, and I believe, fundamentally and from a non-human-experience standpoint, that we are biological creatures without free will. Our goals, desires, flaws, and strengths can all be traced to evolution’s deep programming within all of us.

I call this general absuridism.
But while this is true for underlying, or absolute, truth, we as humans experience the world differently. I believe this disconnect between our experience and reality is what causes the confusion around free will, criminal justice, inequality, and so many other topics.

The books the red queen and spent capture this beautifully.
I believe our best path forward is for people to accept this dual nature of our human existence—i.e., the curious reality that we’re simultaneously unfree atomic sludge and wonderful fountains of love and creativity—and find ways to harness the fruits of each extreme.

Bertrand Russell and Sam Harris are probably the biggest influences on my thinking regarding reality.
This ability to acknowledge the truth of various extremes, and find a happy balance along the spectrum for any given situation, will be the key to our flourishing as a species.

Political things
I’m a Star Trek liberal, specifically STTNG.
As you might expect from the above, I believe in balance in politics as well. The most crisp way I can put things, after many decades on the planet, is that I believe in achieving progressive ends via conservative means.

Evolution rewards compliance with its programming.
I believe we need to respect the structures and limitations given to us by evolution, which have the power to make us happy or miserable, while conversely and simultaneously knowing when to ignore those primal elements within ourselves and push to evolve.

Once again, the key is balance.

Reaching out
You can find my most popular content here.
So that’s me being real about myself on the internet, and encouraging you to do the same. If you appreciated that, or you have a question, or a comment—or if you just want to say hello—please do so. You can find me on twitter or reach me via email.

I like hearing from other humans on their own journey. Until then, I’m glad I share the planet with you, and I hope you are well.

danielsignature

Notes
Nov 18, 2020 — This page has been updated dozens of times over the 15 years it’s existed. The latest one being the version you see here, where I separated out the /about page from the /media page, and rewrote much of the content.
Trust me when I tell you that you should write one of these for yourself. It’s as difficult as it is enlightening.
For some more flavor, I have assembled various lists over the years, which probably need updating, that include my favorite jokes, quotes, and my bucketlist. Peruse at your leisure.


I spend my time reading 3-6 books a month on security, technology, and society—and thinking about what might be coming next.
Every Monday morning I send out a list of the best content I've found in the last week to around 50,000 people.



Thursday, June 17, 2021

Mixing Service: Defined in CryptoCurrency

Mixing Service (Tumbler):
Defined in CryptoCurrency





 
A mixing service, also known as a “tumbler”, lets you send in your cryptocurrency and get the same amount back, minus fees, from other people.


The purpose of a mixing service is to improve the privacy and anonymity of digital money by making it harder to track what the cryptocurrency was used for and who it belongs to. 

Coin Mixer:
A cryptocurrency mixer is a tool for improving the anonymity of cryptocurrencies. The algorithm is rather simple—a user sends their cryptocurrency to a mixer's address which is registered for each user individually. The coins are then mixed with transactions of other people or distributed among hundreds of thousands of wallets that belong to a mixer. Once the process is completed, "clean" bitcoins are transferred to the pre-set storage—either back to the sender or the new owner.

Explaining how a coin mixer works, based on the example of a bitcoin transaction sent by a Petya ransomware attack victim. Source: qz.com
The distribution of funds among numerous wallets makes it impossible to establish a link between a sender and a receiver. A user can also break the transaction input into denominations in order to hide the real amount.

The mixers' owners charge a 0.5–3% transaction fee for their services. It is vital to remember, however, that if you send the coins to another person's wallet, you might never get them back.

Using a mixer is not so different from using an exchange platform. You need to enter the address to which you would like to send the mixed bitcoins, set the service fee (it heavily influences the transaction speed), and press "Continue." Next, you will be redirected to the page with the mixer's address to which you need to send your bitcoins in the first place.

Cryptocurrency Dash is also secure when it comes to untraceable transactions. The PrivateSend technology enables users to mix and break the transaction inputs down into standard denominations. The wallet then sends requests to "masternodes" which are responsible for mixing.

Wallets:
What could be an alternative to coin mixers? Think of special wallets with a high degree of anonymity, e.g., Electrum. There are also wallets that have a built-in bitcoin mixing option.

In 2014, Cody Wilson, a crypto enthusiast who has also created a 3D-printed gun, along with Amir Taaki, introduced the Dark Wallet project—a browser plugin and an Ubuntu client.

Dark Wallet is built atop CoinJoin, which implies that all transactions are mixed and it's impossible to find out who was the first to own a cryptocurrency. The more users of the wallet, the better the anonymity.

Cryptocurrency tumbler or cryptocurrency mixing service is a service offered to mix potentially identifiable or 'tainted' cryptocurrency funds with others, so as to obscure the trail back to the fund's original source. This is usually done by pooling together source funds from multiple inputs for a large and random period of time, and then spitting them back out to destination addresses. As all the funds are lumped together and then distributed at random times, it is very difficult to trace exact coins. Tumblers have arisen to improve the anonymity of cryptocurrencies, usually bitcoin (hence Bitcoin mixer), since the currencies provide a public ledger of all transactions.

Tumblers take a percentage transaction fee of the total coins mixed to turn a profit, typically 1–3%. Mixing helps protect privacy and can also be used for money laundering by mixing illegally obtained funds. Mixing large amounts of money may be illegal, being in violation of anti-structuring laws. Financial crimes author Jeffrey Robinson has suggested tumblers should be criminalized due to their potential use in illegal activities, specifically funding terrorism; however, a report from the CTC suggests such use in terrorism-related activities is 'relatively limited'. There has been at least one incident where an exchange has blacklisted "tainted" deposits descending from stolen bitcoins.

The existence of tumblers has made the anonymous use of darknet markets easier and the job of law enforcement harder.

In February 2020, the alleged operator of a cryptocurrency tumbler was indicted on charges of "money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and conducting money transmission without a D.C. license."

Peer-to-peer tumblers:
Peer-to-peer tumblers act as a place of meeting for bitcoin users, instead of taking bitcoins for mixing. Users arrange mixing by themselves. This model solves the problem of stealing, as there is no middleman. When it is completely formed, the exchange of bitcoins between the participants begins. Apart from mixing server, none of the participants can know the connection between the incoming and outgoing addresses of coins.

Money laundering:
In December 2013 cryptocurrency tumbler Bitcoin Fog was used to launder a part of the 96,000 BTC from the robbery of Sheep Marketplace. In February 2015, a total of 7,170 bitcoin was stolen from the Chinese exchange Bter.com and traced back to the same tumbler. In April 2021 U.S. Federal authorities arrested the founder of Bitcoin Fog, a Russian-Swedish man named Roman Sterlingov, on charges of money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and money transmission without a license in the District of Columbia. Alleging that during its 10 years of operation it laundered over 1.2 million bitcoin at a value of approximately $335 million.


Wallets in an Anonymous Network:
On the Darknetmarkets website, one can find a guide to preserving privacy when sending payments through the Tor network. For that, a user needs several wallets in both anonymous and open networks, the Tor browser, and mixing services supporting Tor.

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Mining Rig: Defined in CryptoCurrency

Mining Rig: 
Defined in CryptoCurrency














In-Short:
Mining rigs are defined as computer specially designed to maintain the blockchain, this process is known as mining.


Mining is the process of using computer power to solve a complex math problem, review and verify information, and create a new block so the information can be added to the blockchain.
 
Mining requires expensive mining and a lot computer power. People buy rigs and pay for lots of electricity so they can earn cryptocurrency. Because rigs are built especially for mining, they do the job faster than other computers and can earn more.



Building a Cryptocurrency Mining Rig: How to Keep Costs Small and Profits Big...

There are countless ways to make money with computers, but right now there are few as interesting and potentially lucrative as mining for crypto currency. The decentralization of money has led to a digital gold rush, as individuals, mining pools, and full-fledged mining companies vie for the same blocks. So how do you stake your claim and mine your own minty fresh crypto cash? It’s all about building your rig and balancing performance with efficiency.
Is it still profitable?

The first thing that you need to understand is that, just like rushing out to California, buying a pick, and riding your donkey into the hills, mining cryptocurrency is a bit of a gamble. Even the more obscure blockchains have thousands of miners racing each other to find the winning hash. The greater the competition, the more difficult the challenge and if you don’t win the block, that’s a lot of time and literal energy wasted.

The first decision you need to make is what currency you’re actually mining. This will influence every other decision you make and it is in itself a complicated question. You need to consider the currency’s value and block reward against the difficulty of the hash and how many other miners are chasing the prize. The more difficult the race, the meaner your machine needs to be.


You’ll also need to consider the investment side of the equation. Some mining can be done with the PC you already use, but in most instances getting serious about mining means you’re going to want to invest in a purpose-built system. That means spending real money and it could range from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars depending on the currency you’re chasing and how competitive you want to be.


Of course, that’s just a starting investment. The day-to-day cost, the incremental loss, is electricity. Throwing around hashes in the trillions per second makes a rig mighty hungry, and even moderate mining can make a noticeable impact on your power bill. So not only do you have to be mindful of your rig’s performance, you need to balance your profits against the increase in your electrical bill.
 
If you haven’t already chosen the crypto you covet or even if you have, we recommend checking out a Mining Calculator. WhatToMine.com seems a little daunting at first glance but that’s only because it’s incredibly comprehensive. It can help you determine which currency you should start mining, and which parts are best for your rig by calculating their hashrate and power draw. It can even factor in the price of electricity in your area.


It’s important to remember that there are more ways to make money than just mining for gold. When everyone else heads into the hills to dig, you can make a lot of money selling shovels. We’re of course not encouraging you to start fabricating shovels (that’s a saturated market), no we’re saying that there are ways that you can build a rig, and sell or rent your hashrate power to someone else. Taking some of the risk out of the equation though also diminishing the reward.

What you’ll need
The list is pretty short really. You need a crypto wallet to keep your currency. You need mining software to actually do the thing. And of course you need hashrate power, either purchased off someone else, or generated by your own mining rig.

Let’s start with software since it’s probably the least stressful decision you’ll need to make. They’re almost all free and they all do versions of the same thing, but there are still things to consider. The currency you’re mining is most important because you’ll need software that can actually mine that currency. There are also features and customizations offered by some programs that aren’t available universally. Start with the currency compatibility and make your decisions from there.


What’s in a Wallet(?):

You can’t stuff Bitcoin in an old mattress and there’s no Ethereum in the Banana Stand. If you’re going to keep your coin keys safe, you’ll need some sort of storage. There are basically two sorts of storage to choose from and while one is definitely more secure than the other, neither is perfect just yet.


Cold storage refers to actual physical storage devices. They’re referred to as cold storage because they exist offline and are not remotely accessible on their own. This means that no one can just hack in and steal your Litecoin. They have their own password protections as well which makes them doubly secure. That being said you do need to be mindful of compatibility between your wallet and your currency. Physical data storage also opens you up to the possibility of corruption, and unlike traditional money, with digital currency corruption usually leads to less wealth.


Most crypto wallets don’t look like much more than a flash drive so you can easily take them with you wherever you roam. Being small and easily portable like the Ledger Nano S or the BC Vault One is great, but it also means you could lose your money the old fashioned way. By literally losing your wallet. Imagine a thumb drive falls out of your pocket in an Uber, but instead of just losing the digital copy of Alita: Battle Angel you never leave home without, you instead lose several thousand dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency. Which is the greater tragedy? Who can say?

Ledger, Wallet, Keys, and PenLong DescriptionLedger!? I hardly even Augur!


Hot storage on the other hand is all digital and while that makes it less secure in general, it also makes it much more convenient to trade or exchange. Software like coindirect or apps like Trust do take security seriously, and again, if you’re moving small amounts of currency around with any sort of frequency, the freedom and flexibility offered by these digital options may be the right decision for you. Just remember to research the transaction fees associated with each wallet and again, check to make sure it works with the currency you’re mining.


What goes into a rig(?):
There are three basic categories for mining rigs, CPU, GPU, and ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit). Just like everything else, the biggest factor in choosing the right rig is the currency you’re trying to mine. Once upon a time, you could mine Bitcoin with just the CPU in your desktop and a twinkle in your eye. Now very few currencies can be effectively mined with such menial processing power, and if you want to mine Bitcoin specifically, you’re going to need an impressive purpose-built machine.
 
CPU:
CPU mining is kinda just what it sounds like. You’re using the processing power of your CPU to generate hashes. This was fine and good a few years ago, but as crypto mining became more popular it also grew in competition and there’s nothing that breeds like tech advancement like competition. Your CPU just isn’t powerful enough to out-calculate a purpose-built ASIC or a mining rig running six top of the line GPUs.


That being said there are currencies out there that try to protect the average miner from being completely outclassed by those who can afford bigger toys. Monero is one such currency. They design themselves to be “ASIC Resistant” in an attempt to keep their cryptocurrency as decentralized and egalitarian as possible.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper CPULong DescriptionRippin’ threads and breaking Hz...

If you’re looking to dip your toe into data mining, a high end CPU like AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X is obviously the gold standard. Its sixty-four cores and 128 threads blaze do a lot of work, but it’s the enormous 256 MB L3 cache that really lets the hashrate fly. It can generate 64 MHs which is not a lot compared to other devices we’ll discuss in a second, but mining the right currency that’s more than enough to compete. The upside to CPU mining of course is that this investment is still beneficial to your PC even if mining doesn’t PAN out.

Another drawback to CPU processing besides its hash per second limitations is the risk of overheating. Cranking out that many complex computations can generate dangerous amounts of heat so you’ll want to make sure you have a cooling system that can take the strain.


The Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360 TR4 is designed specifically to keep the Threadripper ripping without excess heat, and it still has a nice RGB style to it. If you want something a little less flashy, the Noctua NH-D15 is an affordable option that still boasts features like PWM and airflow up to 82.52 cfm!


GPU:
MSI GeForce RTX 3080 GPULong DescriptionRTX-cuse me while I hash and mine GPU mining is a little more complicated but a lot more common. It’s really hard to get a bunch of CPUs to work together toward a common goal. It’s a lot easier to connect a bunch of powerful GPUs to one motherboard and set them to a task.

 Choosing the right GPU can be tricky at best, but it’s a thrilling part of the chase and there’s no silver-bullet answer.


Nvidia and AMD are of course the two main contenders and they each have attractive options for both the experienced hash cracker and the more minor miner. The MSI GeForce RTX 3090 is a solid option performance wise but it’s definitely a heavier investment that’s hard to come by. It’s capable of hashrates right around 110 MHs depending on the algorithm you have it hunting.


You can also find success with the XFC Radeon VII which isn’t quite as powerful, but runs more efficiently. Remember that these stats are only half the issue and the price of electricity in your area can greatly affect the balance of this cost-to-profit equation so again, please make sure you’re doing your due diligence.


Motherboard:
But a GPU has to connect to something and just one GPU isn’t going to deliver the hash power you need to be competitive. You’re going to need a motherboard for that rig and the more GPUs it can accommodate, the better. You want a motherboard that can connect at least six GPU. The MSI PRO Z390-A can handle that while also maintaining a respectable price tag. If you’re really going for the gusto you should look into the ASUS B250 Mining Expert that con connect up to nineteen GPUs, for some serious block busting power.


Case / Frame:
Of course all those GPUs won’t fit in your average PC case and you can’t just have them lying around on the floor. You’re going to need a frame for your rig. There are plenty of schematics for building your own mining frame but if you’d rather just invest in one you know you can trust, check our stock.


We have simple low cost options like this ASTARIN 6 GPU Mining Case, but of course you can always spend more. If you want something that can hold more GPU and look a little cleaner, check out this Magnalium Alloy Mining Rig Case that can accommodate up to twelve graphics cards. Just remember that your frame should have at least as many slots as you have GPUs in your rig, and you’re going to have to make sure it fits wherever you plan on keeping it in your home.


PSU:
EVGA Supernova 80+ PSULong DescriptionP.S You need a PSU
You’re going to need to run power to all those GPUs, not to mention the CPU and motherboard. If you’ve ever built a PC from scratch you’re already familiar with calculating a rig’s power draw. 

This isn’t really any different, you’re just using a lot more power hungry components for this type of machine. Remember, it’s important that you not only provide enough power for all the components, your energy consumption is a huge part of your profit equation.


That’s why finding the right power supply is so important. Consider the EVGA Supernova 1600 T2 which is fully modular and boasts an 80+ Titanium efficiency rating. Or you could save a little money with the Thermaltake Toughpower 1500W. It’s only 80+ Gold certified and semi modular but it can move plenty of juice for a much more manageable initial cost. Definitely invest in a PSU with 80 Plus Gold certification or higher.


ASIC:  
We saved the most powerful option for last. ASIC is short for Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, and basically describes a small but mighty computing machine built with one specific purpose in mind, in this case, mining cryptocurrency. They are incredibly powerful, and they lead the pack in their ability to generate hashes. They are also exceedingly expensive, quickly outdated by newer models, and somewhat controversial in their capabilities.


These workhorses are so powerful they can actually alter the landscape of the cryptocurrencies they mine. They can out hash most home-built rigs and are so expensive that your average miner just can afford them. And even if a miner feels like sinking several thousand dollars into a lean mean hash slinging machine, large companies and those with deep pockets can build big enough banks of them to decimate your odds of winning a block.


That’s just the start. Those big banks of ASIC also end up working against the principles that helped make cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin so attractive in the first place. By snatching up a disproportionately large number of blocks, these banks somewhat undermine the concept of decentralized currency.

That’s why some cryptocurrencies are fighting against the tide and attempting to be what’s known as ASIC resistant. Monero specifically tries to limit the amount of ASIC mining that goes into its blockchain. That means less intense competition which in turn means that prospectors can engage competitively at a much lower starting investment. That being said, no mining algorithm is completely ASIC resistant so they are always going to play a role.


If you’re after the big fish, if you’re mining Ethereum or Bitcoin, you’re going to want to look at these devices. They carry a hefty price tag, but they can reap tremendous rewards and as technology nears the cap of physical limitation, the worry of these high-investment machines being quickly outdated is becoming less daunting by the day.


If these are the droids you’re looking for, the last step is making sure, once again, that the device you’re looking to buy is capable of mining the currency you want to mine. ASICs are so specialized that they are specific to different types of hash algorithms. An ASIC designed to mine Bitcoin’s SHA-256 algorithm can be modified to mine Peercoin because they use the same algorithm. However you can’t use the same machine to mine Dash however, as that cryptocurrency uses the X11 algorithm.


WhatsMiner Doc? / Long DescriptionA Sick ASIC!:
If you’re mining the right currency and have the resources to spend then an ASIC is almost certainly the way to go. If you’re after Bitcoin check out the WhatsMiner ASIC that boasts an insane 33THs hashrate! Of course, there are always options and it’s up to you to do the research and find what’s best for the operation you’re trying to run. Keep in mind that these devices will also need a PSU, so make sure you’re factoring that into your investment calculations.


Mining is inherently risky, with many more ways to spend money than opportunities to make it, but with the appropriate amount of planning and research there is money to be made. And just like the gold rush that sent people running for the California hills, mining cryptocurrencies wouldn’t be nearly as exciting if it were easy.
 

Mining Pool: Defined in CryptoCurrency

Mining Pool:
Defined in CryptoCurrency




 











What Is a Mining Pool(?):

A mining pool is a joint group of cryptocurrency miners who combine their computational resources over a network to strengthen the probability of finding a block or otherwise successfully mining for cryptocurrency.


KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Cryptocurrency mining pools are groups of miners who share their computational resources.
Mining pools utilize these combined resources to strengthen the probability of finding a block or otherwise successfully mining for cryptocurrency.

If the mining pool is successful and receives a reward, that reward is divided among participants in the pool.
How a Mining Pool Works Individually, participants in a mining pool contribute their processing power toward the effort of finding a block. If the pool is successful in these efforts, they receive a reward, typically in the form of the associated cryptocurrency.


Rewards are usually divided between the individuals who contributed, according to the proportion of each individual's processing power or work relative to the whole group. In some cases, individual miners must show proof of work in order to receive their rewards.


 Rewards are usually split among the miners based on the agreed terms and on their respective contributions to the mining activity.

Anyone who wants to make a profit through cryptocurrency mining has the choice to either go solo with their own dedicated devices or to join a mining pool where multiple miners and their devices combine to enhance their hashing output. For example, attaching six mining devices that each offers 335 megahashes per second (MH/s) can generate a cumulative 2 gigahashes of mining power, thereby leading to faster processing of the hash function.

Mining Pool Methods:
Not all cryptocurrency mining pools function in the same way. There are, however, a number of common protocols that govern many of the most popular mining pools.


Proportional mining pools are among the most common. In this type of pool, miners contributing to the pool's processing power receive shares up until the point at which the pool succeeds in finding a block. After that, miners receive rewards proportional to the number of shares they hold.

Pay-per-share pools operate somewhat similarly in that each miner receives shares for their contribution. However, these pools provide instant payouts regardless of when the block is found. A miner contributing to this type of pool can exchange shares for a proportional payout at any time.

Peer-to-peer mining pools, meanwhile, aim to prevent the pool structure from becoming centralized. As such, they integrate a separate blockchain related to the pool itself and designed to prevent the operators of the pool from cheating as well as the pool itself from failing due to a single central issue.

Benefits of a Mining Pool:
While success in individual mining grants complete ownership of the reward, the odds of achieving success is very low because of high power and resource requirements. Mining is often not a profitable venture for individuals. Many cryptocurrencies have become increasingly difficult to mine in recent years as the popularity of these digital currencies has grown and the costs associated with expensive hardware necessary to be a competitive miner as well as electricity oftentimes outweigh the potential rewards.

Mining pools require less of each individual participant in terms of hardware and electricity costs and increase the chances of profitability. Whereas an individual miner might stand little chance of successfully finding a block and receiving a mining reward, teaming up with others dramatically improves the success rate.

Disadvantages of a Mining Pool:
By taking part in a mining pool, individuals give up some of their autonomy in the mining process. They are typically bound by terms set by the pool itself, which may dictate how the mining process is approached. They are also required to divide up any potential rewards, meaning that the share of profit is lower for an individual participating in a pool.

A small number of mining pools, such as AntPool, Poolin, and F2Pool, dominate the bitcoin mining process, according to blockchain.com. Although many pools do make an effort to be decentralized, these groups consolidate much of the authority to govern the bitcoin protocol. For some cryptocurrency proponents, the presence of a small number of powerful mining pools goes against the decentralized structure inherent in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.


In-Short:
A mining pool is defined as a group of people who combine their computing power to solve a complex math problem on the blockchain for a reward.


People join a mining pool to increase their chances of solving the blockchain math problem so they can earn a reward of transaction fees and new coins.
Once the reward is won, it is split among all of the members of the group. In a pool, you often win the reward frequently but because it is shared, the payout is smaller.

Mining Difficulty: Defined in CryptoCurrency

Mining Difficulty:
Defined in CryptoCurrency











What does mining difficulty mean(?):

The mining difficulty of a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin indicates how difficult and time-consuming it is to find the right hash for each block. 

Mining difficulty is a measurement unit used in the process of Bitcoin mining
Difficulty indicates how difficult it is to solve a complex cryptographic puzzle
The difficulty of mining new units increases or decreases over time, depending on the number of miners in the network.

Increases in difficulty are necessary in order to keep the target block time
In this lesson, you will learn the basics of mining difficulty.
Ready to receive free BEST? Test your knowledge here!

Beginners' Quiz:
As a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin becomes more popular, the number of computers participating in its peer-to-peer network increases. Miners compete against each other for limited block rewards. With more participants and more computing power, the so-called “hashpower” of the entire network increases accordingly.

This is also referred to as the mining difficulty or difficulty, which is easier to understand once you grasp the basics of Bitcoin mining. You already learned that Bitcoin transactions are stored in blocks, which are added to the blockchain every 10 minutes (= 600 seconds). 

To maintain the time it takes to process one block at around 10 minutes, difficulty has to be adjusted periodically.

Mining difficulty in the Bitcoin network is adjusted automatically after 2,016 blocks have been mined in the network. An adjustment of difficulty upwards or downwards depends on the number of participants in the mining network and their combined hashpower.

Mining equipment has evolved considerably since the beginnings of Bitcoin 
In the early days, the first miners used the CPUs of their PCs to mine Bitcoin.
Miners eventually realised that graphics cards are better suited for mining Bitcoin. However, graphics cards also need more energy.

In recent years, special “ASICs” (application-specific integrated circuit chips) have been developed specifically for Bitcoin mining.

Presently, Bitcoin and other digital currencies are mined via mining pools, where lots of miners join forces and combine their hash rates in the quest for block rewards.

Solving the mathematical puzzles for valid block creation requires huge amounts of computational power. Because the difficulty is rising continually, miners join forces in Bitcoin mining pools and solve the mathematical puzzles together. The first individual miner or the mining pool that finds the right hash gets the block reward. 

Usually, block rewards consist of new coins or tokens native to a blockchain network such as Bitcoin. In a mining pool, block rewards are split among participants in proportion to their share of computing power in the mining pool. This way each participant is adequately invested in the process.

Bitcoin mining is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Many hashes are created by Bitcoin code, but only one of them is the right one. 

We already know that “mining” for digital currencies is like searching for a needle in a haystack rather than actually digging for gold. There are other differences, too. 

Unlike gold, of which there are still undiscovered deposits all over the planet (and in space), Bitcoin has a limited and finite number of 21 million units. As of now, more than 85% of all bitcoins have already been mined, and it is estimated that the last bitcoin will be mined by 2140. 

What happens to difficulty when the last bitcoin has been mined?
After all 21 million bitcoins have been mined, miners will still need to contribute to the Bitcoin network in order to keep it running. New blocks will still be generated, but the rewards will change. Instead of getting new coins as a block reward, miners will receive a share of the transaction fees spent by people who send transactions within the network.


IN-SHOT:
Mining difficulty is defined as a measure of how hard it is to maintain and add to the blockchain.


With bitcoin, users are required to own a computer that runs the blockchain program and compete to solve a complex math problem. The first miner to solve this problem creates a new block and typically, this process happens every 10 minutes.
However, the more computers competing to solve the math problem, the quicker blocks will be discovered. To keep block creation at a fixed speed, every 2,016 blocks (every 2 weeks), mining difficulty is adjusted.

As mining difficulty increases, the amount of work required to create a new block and earn the reward increases.


Microtransaction: Defined in CryptoCurrency

Microtransaction:
Defined in CryptoCurrency












What are microtransactions?
 
In a nutshell, microtransactions refer to any purchases made during a game.


For example, if a player wanted to buy a new skin for their character or a new weapon, they could pay a small price - maybe €1.99 - and gain access to it. Most games that contain microtransactions do so in conjunction with offering the game itself free-of-charge.


This means you can download and play the game for free, but if you want to play extra levels, select more skins or items, or have more features in the game, you must pay for them. Prices vary, but microtransactions are one of the most profitable new parts of the gaming industry - and one of the most reviled.


Generally speaking, microtransactions in gaming are referred to in a derogatory fashion as "pay-to-win" games. If you pay for the best equipment in the game, you'll have a better chance of winning over someone who hasn't. Multiplayer gaming is supposed to be about who's the best player, not who can afford to buy the best equipment or items, hence the bad sentiment.


Another aspect of why microtransactions are so hated by players is that they can sometimes constitute a form of gambling. The basic concept of "loot boxes" is that players will pay a small price for a random assortment of items that they won't have any idea about before purchase. In some instances, players can receive extremely rare items. Other times, it's stuff they already have.


In 2017, the Gaming Comission of Belgium described loot boxes as a form of underage gambling, and called for them to be banned in Europe. Developers specifically target players in trying to get them to buy loot boxes, which has resulted in serious backlash over the years.


For example, 'Star Wars: Battlefront II' featured loot boxes, as well as having special characters only available through microtransactions. The backlash was so extensive that EA Games eventually relented and removed both loot boxes and microtransactions from the game for a period of time while the system was quietly reworked and relaunched.

Microtransactions are most popular in mobile games such as 'Candy Crush', 'Dead Trigger' and 'Clash of Clans'. A study in 2013 found that over 90% of all revenue generated by iPhone and Android app stores came from free-to-play games with microtransactions.


As the production costs for major games like 'Red Dead Redemption II' begin to reach those of major movie blockbusters ('Red Dead Redemption II' had an estimated budget of $200-300 million), developers and distributors are looking at ways to keep players playing their games longer, specifically so that they can make more money from them.

Never mind the fact that these games must be bought at a cost of anything up to €80, additional items like skins, weapons and the like are made available to be purchased through in-game stores - all using microtransactions. Games like 'Grand Theft Auto V', which was released back in 2015, still have an active playerbase - solely from downloadable content that gives players new cars, new weapons and new missions to play online in multiplayer, all paid for with microtransactions.


Despite the distaste for microtransactions by players, the fact remains that they're here to stay as long as players keep buying. The second anything becomes unprofitable for developers, it's usually jettisoned in favour of something that is.
 

Microbitcoin [uBTC]: Defined in CryptoCurrency

Microbitcoin [uBTC]:
Defined in CryptoCurrency










The mission of UnitedBitcion is to find a purpose for lost Bitcoin and inactive wallets and create a stable cryptocurrency system through an association of joint credit and smart contracts.

Microbitcoin, also known as the abbreviation uBTC, is one millionth of a bitcoin or 0.000001 of a bitcoin. 

uBTC=microbitcoin=1 millionth of a bitcoin=0.000001BTC

mBTC is equivalent to a Millibitcion which equates to 1 thousandth of a Bitcoin and numerically represented as 0.001BTC.
Similarly, uBTC is equivalent to a microbitcoin which equates to 1 millionth of a Bitcoin and numerically represented as 0.000001BTC.