Hive Blockchain explores new mineable coins ahead of Ethereum merge

Published at: Sept. 6, 2022

Cryptocurrency miner Hive Blockchain has been working to replace the mining of Ether (ETH) with other coins in the event of Ethereum’s upcoming transition to Proof of Stake, or PoS.

The Canadian crypto mining firm has been analyzing options for mining with its GPU stash ahead of the Ethereum Merge, Hive said in its latest production update on Tuesday.

According to the update, Hive started implementing beta-testing of various GPU-mineable coins this week as the Ethereum Merge PoS is expected to occur in mid-September. Hive’s technical division is specifically implementing a strategy to optimize its Ethereum mining capacity, which amounts to 6.5 terahashes per second.

“The company acknowledges the potential Ethereum Merge to Proof of Stake,” Hive said in the update. It noted that it sees a competitive landscape where the GPU miners with the most efficient equipment and lowest cost of electricity will prevail.

Hive mentioned that its Sweden-based Boden facility is one of the largest Ethereum mining sites in the world, with power fixed at approximately $0.03 U.S. dollars per Kilowatt hour. “Hive is well positioned to navigate the market ahead,” the firm said.

Additionally, Hive noted that its Ethereum mining operations have historically generated three to four times more revenue per megawatt than Bitcoin (BTC) mining. The company has been selling its mined Ether to fund expansion of the Bitcoin mining program with a new generation of Application-Specific Integrated Circuits. Hive still held 5,100 ETH as of Aug. 31, 2022.

Hive has also continued to hold its Bitcoin stash, accumulating a total of 3,258 BTC by the end of August. According to the update, Hive mined 290.4 BTC last month, producing more than nine 9 Bitcoin per day even after the Bitcoin difficulty increased on Aug. 28. As previously reported, Hive has been among few crypto mining companies that have opted to hodl their mined BTC during the ongoing crypto winter of 2022.

Related: Ethereum Merge to ‘swamp’ other coins with miners — Mining CEO

The news comes amid the approaching Ethereum Merge, a long-awaited Ethereum upgrade that is set to move its blockchain from mining-based proof-of-work (PoW) to mining-free PoS. On Tuesday, the Bellatrix upgrade went live on the Beacon Chain, or the network’s PoS chain, marking another move forward to Ethereum Merge.

Tags
Bitcoin
Ethereum
Business
Cryptocurrencies
Mining
Proof-Of-Stake
Proof-Of-Work
Hard Fork
Gpu
Related Posts
Second-largest Ethereum mining pool to suspend all operations
Sparkpool, the second-largest Ethereum mining pool in the world, is suspending operations due to the ongoing Chinese crackdown on crypto. The mining pool officially announced that it has suspended access to new users in mainland China on Monday in response to Chinese authorities initiating new measures to combat crypto adoption in the country. Following the initial restrictions made last Friday, Sparkpool will continue shutting down services, and plans to suspend existing mining pool users both in China and abroad on Thursday. According to the announcement, the measures intend to ensure safety of users’ assets in response to “regulatory policy requirements.” …
Bitcoin / Sept. 27, 2021
Bitmain’s new Ether ASIC mining rig may not fix GPU shortage after all
Cryptocurrency mining rig manufacturer Bitmain announced the pending release of a new Ether (ETH) miner on Friday. The Antminer E9 model is an application-specific integrated circuit chip that will run on the Ethereum blockchain’s Ethash algorithm. No official release date has been announced for the E9 yet, however, the machine’s arrival may not be as impactful as first suspected. The rig faces competition in the form of Nvidia’s CMP (Cryptocurrency Mining Processor) range of GPUs designed specifically for crypto mining. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s scheduled move away from proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism could mean the E9’s utility will be short-lived. …
Technology / April 16, 2021
Chinese GPU miners reportedly bulk buying Nvidia laptops to mine Ether
Chinese cryptocurrency miners are reportedly buying Nvidia's new laptops to mine Ether (ETH) amid the altcoin hitting new all-time highs. Nvidia’s latest GeForce RTX 30 laptops have become increasingly popular in China as a tool for mining cryptocurrency, according to several sources. On Feb. 6, a Weibo user known as BTCer posted a bunch of images showing off GeForce RTX 30 series gaming laptops making up a solid crypto mining farm. “A laptop mine is up ,” BTCer noted in the post depicting dozens of laptops stacked up on shelves. Several tech media outlets including VideoCardz and Wccftech subsequently suggested …
Technology / Feb. 8, 2021
Ethereum Merge to 'swamp' other coins with miners — Mining CEO
The Ethereum network’s transition from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus is likely to flood the crypto industry with out-of-work ETH miners, causing severe disruption to all PoW tokens. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Andy Long, CEO of Bitcoin miner White Rock believes the upcoming Ethereum Merge will force PoW miners to look for greener pastures, such as other PoW blockchains, and thus "swamp” other coins — increasing mining difficulty and reducing profitability, stating: "As GPU miners point their hardware at other chains their difficulty will increase causing lower returns and splitting the reward amongst more miners." Long added that the migration will likely …
Technology / Sept. 6, 2022
Is GPU mining profitable after the Ethereum Merge?
What is the future of GPU mining? The future of GPU mining depends upon miners’ willingness to continue mining alternative GPU mineable cryptocurrencies. Mining, the foundation of PoW cryptocurrencies, may continue to flourish, given that energy costs are low for GPU miners. Moreover, the application of graphics processing units beyond mining, including graphics designing, gaming and video editing, make them ideal for fixed capital investment. Also, when one blockchain migrates to alternative consensus algorithms, GPU miners can utilize their rigs to mine other cryptocurrencies. This implies that GPU miners can continue using their mining rigs during events like the Merge, …
Blockchain / Nov. 14, 2022