I just want to share a conversation about crypto with a former youth from my previous church. Our conversation covered Hive, Bitcoin, and the evolution of mining.
A Surprising Message from a Former Youth
Last October 2, a youth in the former church that I served inquired about cryptocurrency. She said that I am one of the only two people in her network who shares about crypto. Her consultancy firm was recently tapped by a Dubai-based group to help educate people on crypto, bitcoin, and mining opportunities. She admits that cryptocurrency is something new for her, and that is why she’s reaching out to people she knows who have more knowledge about this new digital currency.
Introducing Her to Hive
I was glad to know that her company is into crypto. I told her that we have many experts on Hive. I can select some of the content here and share it with her.
And then she asked me about Hive.
I told her that there are many ways to see Hive. You can see it as a decentralized social media network based on blockchain technology with a built-in mechanism for incentivization in the form of cryptocurrency. So, Hive is a network and, at the same time, is a crypto. It also has an algorithm-based stablecoin. I then directed her to our website and to the Finbold review.
Putting Hive in the Bigger Crypto Landscape
Since her interest is in Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining, I told her that Bitcoin is considered the king of crypto, and Ethereum is the queen. So far, since ETH introduced smart contracts, the number of cryptocurrencies has exploded. Hive’s ranking is 398, and Pi’s ranking is 51.
After mentioning that the active crypto tokens range between 10k and 11k, I added that the number of stablecoins is around 200 plus. USDT is number 1, which is fiat-backed. Others are crypto-collateralized like DAI. There is also a gold-backed stablecoin like PAXG. HBD is algorithm-based.
She thanked me for the links I shared, though she had difficulty following my narrative. That is something I need to discipline myself on—the excess of over-sharing.
The Question About Bitcoin Mining
And then she asked me:
What do you know about bitcoin mining?
The reason she asked this question is that their client is offering access to Bitcoin mining.
I replied, Bitcoin mining at first was just fine. However, when governments and big companies entered the space, as far as I know as of 2021, 87% of Bitcoin was owned by only 1%. This tells us that Satoshi’s dream failed, and that is why it is popular among new crypto projects to claim that they intend to continue Satoshi’s vision.
I then told her directly, “Bitcoin mining is for big guys.” Bitcoin is now going viral. Its market price is now 120,000 USD plus, and that is why my focus in cryptocurrency is to search for undervalued names like Hive with a unique utility proposition. Not to discourage her, I told her that, anyhow, many believe that BTC can reach 1M USD.
About mining, during the early years, mining was simple and cheaper. Anyone can mine using ordinary CPUs and GPUs. At that time, there were few miners, and that is why the competition was low. Anyone can mine using a laptop or a home PC, and the reward is big—50 BTC—for an additional block after solving a cryptographic puzzle.
Now, there is a big change. Mining is done with specialized machines or ASICs, and only big mining firms can do that. The competition now is so high. Moreover, the reward per block is low, though the market price offsets it due to the high value of BTC. Since April 2024, the reward per block is 3.125 BTC. Due to halving, it will go down to 1.5625 BTC in 2028. Bitcoin mining now is for big guys and is rarely profitable for individuals at home.
A Tempting Offer
Two days later, she shared a Facebook link with her client. She informed me that her client is offering community mining that individuals can now access. They offer 14% ROI every 90 days. And then she asked my thoughts on whether their client’s project bridges the gap that Bitcoin mining is now not only for “big guys.”
I told her that a 14% ROI every 3 months is very attractive. However, at the back of my mind, I am suspicious of such a high yield; that’s 56% annual ROI. If the 20% HBD interest on Hive is considered unsustainable, how can they sustain a 56% annual ROI?
A Word of Encouragement and Caution
Nevertheless, I don’t want to sound negative and critical about her client, and so I told her that even though in my mind, BTC is already saturated, for retailers and small miners, I always see having exposure in crypto as something good, whether it's BTC or others.
And then she asked me if I myself am mining BTC. I told her that I don’t and am now mining Pi and MIRA.
Concluding Insights
This conversation tells me that there is an increasing curiosity about crypto among young professionals. However, as the crypto world evolves and heading towards mass adoption, both risks and opportunities need to be balanced with enthusiasm and discernment.