2 years ago, I started building a hashrate marketplace and learned a few things about #bitcoin mining, money laundering and KYC. When I started Rigly.io in 2022, I wanted to offer a way to mine #Bitcoin w/o buying hardware. I wasn't the first person to have this idea, there are 2 other hashrate markets (NiceHash and Mining Rig Rentals) Both sell hashrate for more btc than it will earn via mining... This struck me as odd. Who trades hard-earned bitcoin .... for hashrate to earn less bitcoin? My first thought: This must be money laundering🚫 And then I did my own research and learned about KYC (Know Your Customer) Whenever you buy bitcoin, you must verify yourself with the same level of ID as opening a bank account.. If you are treat your bitcoin like a bank balance (and trust your exchange) maybe KYC is no big deal.. But let's take a closer look at what KYC means: 1) Do you want your personal info stored forever in the exchange's database? 📸📄 2) Do you trust the exchange to keep this info separate from your bitcoin? 🙅‍♂️ Many answer "No" and choose to self-custody🔐 However the KYC data - including purchase history (!) - is still on the exchange. This means your personal info is still tied to your bitcoin even when you self-custody (!) And so many people choose to mine *new* bitcoin and get their privacy back⛏️ These are the people who are buying hashrate. It isn't money laundering. It's people taking their privacy back (by mining bitcoin) ^ I know this is all probably old news to a lot of bitcoiners, but it was new to me.

2 years ago, I started building a hashrate marketplace and learned a few things about #bitcoin mining, money laundering and KYC. When I started Rigly in 2022, I wanted to offer a way to mine #Bitcoin w/o buying hardware. I wasn't the first person to have this idea. There are 2 other hashrate markets: One is easy to find (NiceHash) The other isn't (miningrigrentals.com) Both sell hashrate for more $ than the hashrate will earn via mining 🤔 Who trades hard-earned bitcoin .... for hashrate which earns less bitcoin? My first thought: This must be money laundering 🚫 And then I did my own research and learned about KYC.. Whenever you buy bitcoin, you must verify yourself with the same level of ID as opening a bank account. If you are treat your bitcoin like a bank balance (and trust your exchange) maybe KYC is no big deal. But take a closer look at what KYC means: 1) Do you want your personal info stored forever in the exchange's database? 📸 📄 2) Does the exchange keep transaction data separate from your info? 🤷‍♂️ 3) Do you trust the exchange? 🚩🚩🚩🙅‍♂️ Many answer "No" and choose to self-custody 🔐 However the KYC data - including purchase history (!) - is still on the exchange. This means your personal info is still tied to your bitcoin even when you self-custody (!) Many people choose to mine new bitcoin and get their privacy back ⛏️ These are the people who are buying hashrate. It isn't money laundering. It's people taking back their privacy.

Part 6 - What would #Bitcoin mining hashrate look like as flows of water? Niagara Falls, USA 240,000,000 TH/s (240 EH/s) Niagara Falls has a tremendous flow rate, approximately 2,400 m³/s. Using our analogy, this represents the enormous scale of mining across multiple continents.

Part 5 - What would #Bitcoin mining hashrate look like as flows of water? Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite, USA 500,000 TH/s (500 PH/s) Bridal Veil Falls has an estimated flow rate of about 5 m³/s. In our analogy, this scale represents a significant, industrial-scale mining operation.

Part 4 - What would #Bitcoin mining hashrate look like as flows of water? Fire Hose 50,000 TH/s (50 PH/s) A fire hose can have a flow rate around 0.5 m³/s. In our analogy, this scale is typical for a larger, more industrial mining operation.

Part 3 - What would #Bitcoin mining hashrate look like as flows of water? Garden Hose 300 TH/s A standard garden hose might have a flow rate of around 0.03 m³/s. Using the same analogy, this scale is a more serious individual mining operation.

Part 2 - What would #Bitcoin mining hashrate look like as flows of water? Shower Head 80 TH/s A typical shower head might flow at about 0.008 m³/s. If we maintain the same ratio as the straw, this could represent a small-scale individual mining setup.

What would #Bitcoin mining hashrate look like as flows of water? Drinking Straw 1 TH/s A drinking straw might allow water to flow at about 0.0001 cubic meters per second (m³/s). In this analogy, it is the most basic level of computational power in Bitcoin mining.