Bitcoin Mining in the Jungle

After a day at the beach, I walked into a hidden away tiki tiki type bar on a tropical paradise island. I sat down and ordered a cold beer from a guy with a permanent smile. Why is this guy so happy I thought? He lives in the garden of Eden, has loads of happy people around him chatting away, drinking cold beers and laughing away. These are good reasons to be happy. I wanted to be as happy as this guys so we got talking.

Next to my head, two rubber chickens dangled, what’s this I asked? “Well, he said, if you choke the chicken you buy the whole bar a drink”. A mental note was taken to not let my hand anywhere near his chickens. After the 6^th, beer, numerous great conversations with Kris and a constant stream of very interesting people ranging from local pirates to captains of the industry I noticed a sign saying “We accept Bitcoin”. Bitcoin, I just got some of that! Not sure what it is but I have some.

I had purchased some Cryptocurrencies giving some money to people who managed this for me. I really had no idea what this whole crypto thing was all about, except that people who owned it appeared to be part of some secret society and were making lots of money. I had found next to nothing online about Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency that I could make any sense of. The people who I was speaking to just couldn’t explain it to me in a language I could understand. I felt kind of stupid, Kris changed all of that. He patiently taught me all about Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies, ICO’s the lot. No question was deemed silly, no beer was warm, and no chicken was left unchoked.

Yes, I choked it.

Fast forward some years, numerous trips to the island, lots of beers and endless hours talking all things Bitcoin and I now share a strong passion for Bitcoin. Both Kris and I have become contributors to Hardforking.com and good friends.

On my last visit to his bar, I was amazed to see his Bitcoin meet up had over a 100 people, a film crew from Germany covering a story on the Bitcoin family with Kris featuring in it. Space was at a premium, so I stood right at the back of the bar. A soft blue light emanated from a toilet behind the bar with a humming noise being audible over the crowded bar. I investigated and found that Kris had purchased a Bitcoin miner!

Kris taking his shit seriously.

Mining remained an area that I struggled to get my head around with its many complexities and new vocabulary. Here was the chance to learn some more.

HF: What’s more exciting having your chicken choked or watching your miner in action while sitting on the toilet.

Kris: The sound of the miners and the chicken is a great combo.

HF. When did you first hear about Bitcoin and what’s the most important piece of advice you would give to someone who’s just starting to learn about Bitcoin.

Kris: I first heard about Bitcoin in late 2010. If you want to be part of a financial revolution the likes the world has not seen before then buy a little, learn, take your time and your interest will follow. Watch Andreas Antonopoulos videos on YouTube and on Hardforking.com. He was a great starting point for me.

HF: In super simple terms what is Bitcoin mining?

Kris: Bitcoin miners get rewarded for solving a mathematical puzzle when that puzzle is solved more Bitcoin is released. The hashing power is what secures the Bitcoin network. Its can be tough to grasp at first but once you understand the basic principle you hopefully will be as fascinated as me and have your own mining equipment one day.

HF: How can somebody become a Bitcoin miner?

Kris: Today Bitcoin mining uses specialized hardware called ASIC computers. Before you order one check that you can pull enough Amps and Watts from the grid, make sure that you have a place to put them.

Remember they are very noisy and generate a lot of heat. Plug it in and connect to your mining pool. Now you are mining Bitcoin. We are setting up a mining and hosting farm at the moment if you have some questions your welcome to contact me via the website.

HF: You run a Bitcoin node. Can you explain a bit about that to our readers?

Kris: By running a Bitcoin node I can control that my transactions have been confirmed, I don’t need to trust someone else’s node. By running a node you will be supporting the Bitcoin network, I believe that if you really are in Bitcoin, you should be running a full node and a miner Validating blocks. The more of us doing this the better. The Bitcoin and Crypto Feel Good Factor

HF: We love the Bitcoin community, they are an intelligent welcoming lot. What’s been your experience in this community?

Kris: I have met a lot of really nice people in the Bitcoin community, helpful people that share their experiences and advice. And some clowns 🙂 We have a Bitcoin meet up and the numbers are growing and growing each week. It’s good to talk with people who have knowledge in this space as much of the media surrounding Bitcoin and Crypto is not well written and researched especially mainstream media. Its shocking how little many Journalists at big publications understand.

HF: Lastly what your view on Bitcoin Hardforks, have you claimed coins? What’s good and bad about Hardforks in your opinion?

Kris: In my opinion, if you really believe that you can make Bitcoin better then you should be working on the Bitcoin opensource project. I think there are far too many quick cash grabs doing Hardforks today. Yes, I did claim Bcash, I haven’t claimed all of them. Some are total rubbish so you should make sure you understand what you’re doing when you claim coins after a hardfork.

HF: Thanks Kris, we look forward to meeting and talking again. Now wheres that Chicken, its time for some shots!!!