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How Coinmine is Bringing Cryptocurrency Mining to Novices
Mining cryptocurrencies has, to date, been the preserve of technically savvy enthusiasts using custom computer hardware. But US start-up Coinmine is targeting mainstream consumers with Coinmine One – a cryptocurrency miner that doesn’t look out of place in the living room.
The $799 Coinmine One is a simple, user-friendly mining PC that’s designed for the home; the device itself resembles a games console or TV set-top box. It runs a dedicated operating system, MineOS, and is controlled through a smartphone app that enables the user to set up and manage a cryptocurrency wallet.
While the Coinmine One isn’t powerful enough to mine Bitcoin, it can mine other cryptocurrency tokens known as altcoins; the line-up at launch includes Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Monero and Zcash. Coinmine plans to add new altcoins to Coinmine One as they appear, with users potentially profiting from mining them during the early stages of their existence.
There are a number of hurdles to adoption, however. The device’s limited specs mean that profits on existing coins are low – just $1.37 a month, according to one calculation. And Coinmine takes a 5% cut of users’ earnings, storing their cryptocurrency in wallets on its own servers.
As the blockchain space matures, we see opportunities for brands to create products and services that provide a consumer-friendly gateway to the cryptocurrency economy. To find out more about the current state of the blockchain market, see The Future of Crypto. For more on the future of blockchain beyond Bitcoin, read Bespoke Banking – part of our Spotlight Trend The Future of Money.
