Несмотря на трудности, нигерийцы Bitcoin Майнеры готовы к прибыли

By Bitcoin Журнал - 1 год назад - Время чтения: 8 минуты
Ср, 10 авг.2022 г., 10:30

Несмотря на трудности, нигерийцы Bitcoin Майнеры готовы к прибыли

Nigeria is leading Africa in Bitcoin adoption, and miners there are overcoming regulatory and power grid challenges to find economic freedom.

Это редакция мнения Эмека Угба, host of the “Bitcoin This Blockchain That” podcast based in Rwanda.

Imagine that you are nursing a cup of caffé mocha in a coffee shop in Lower Manhattan. Then you overhear this African-looking fellow — who, from his countenance, confident demeanor and high-energy voice, strikes you as a Nigerian — saying that he is a Bitcoin miner. You would probably try to get a better glimpse of the fellow, because you immediately think that he is one of them — those scammers who slide into DMs, promising mouth-watering ROIs if you invest in their Bitcoin mining schemes. He can’t possibly be legit.

Да, я бы, наверное, подумал то же самое, если бы оказался с вами в кабинке, хотя я нигериец.

Мы все знаем, что Nigeria is considered the African nation with the highest adoption rate of bitcoin и криптовалюты — a story that I love to tell. However, having Bitcoin's proof-of-work consensus mechanism in mind and how dependent on power it is, as well as the fact that Nigeria isn't a dependable choice when it comes to cheap or stable electricity, трудно представить, что из страны может исходить какая-либо значительная хэш-мощность.

Так что, по правде говоря, вы, вероятно, были бы правы, если бы подумали, что этот парень не законен. Но стоит ли это делать?

Obstacles For Mining Bitcoin В нигерии

Отсутствие надежной мощности

Нигерия является 14-я по величине африканская страна по площадиs и его самый густонаселенныйс населением более 200 миллионов человек, из которых примерно 52% проживают в городских районах. Вызывает беспокойство осознание того, что этим людям приходится зависеть от удручающего 4,000 мегаватта что энергосистема страны способна вырабатывать.

I used the adjective “depressing” because that is the actual state of the power situation in the country. Homes and businesses — from small scale to larger establishments — are often forced to secure alternative power sources or risk staying in the dark and ceasing operations until power returns. These alternative power sources, from petrol- and diesel-powered generators to solar, are supposed to serve auxiliary power in typical scenarios. But in the case of Nigeria, they have now become the main sources of power for many in the country.

So, it's almost inconceivable that Bitcoin mining can be successful in the country. But it is — Nigeria does indeed contribute to Bitcoin’s global hash rate, and I'll tell you how as we progress with this conversation.

Неясная, пограничная и враждебная нормативно-правовая среда

As with nation states, Nigeria’s stance on Bitcoin и криптовалюты был несколько воинственным.

Мы хорошо помним ту роковую пятницу, Февраль 5, 2021, when the apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released a statement warning all financial services providers to discontinue any bitcoin- or cryptocurrency-related transactions. And the warning didn’t end there: banks were also directed to freeze the accounts belonging to any individual or entity that had previously utilized the bank’s infrastructure as an on- or off-ramp into and out of cryptocurrency exchanges.

Многие аккаунты впоследствии были заморожены согласно директиве., что заставило Нигерийцы будут все чаще применять одноранговую систему обмена ценностями which was, after all, one of the reasons behind the creation of Bitcoin in the first place: the transfer of value from person to person, without the need of a trusted third party.

Несмотря на то, что Комиссия по ценным бумагам и биржам Нигерии (SEC) недавно издал некоторые правила которые кажутся немного менее агрессивными по отношению к цифровым активам, остается во многом неясным, какую позицию регуляторы займут в отношении майнинга, особенно потому, что майнеры (из-за отсутствия лучшего термина) «печатают деньги».

Устойчивость среди противников

Нигерийцы известны множеством вещей — великих вещей, хотя некоторые из первых вещей то, что приходит на ум, когда многие люди думают о нигерийцах, может не внушать доверия.

Тем не менее, многие также знают, что нигериец может выжить и даже процветать в самых суровых условиях. Это проявляется в том, что каждый пятый человек африканского происхождения — встречается в любой точке мира, каким бы негостеприимным ни было это место, — нигерийского происхождения.

As a Nigerian, I can attest to this resilience. We have this innate ability to adjust and adapt to almost any condition, almost anywhere that we find ourselves. At this point in the conversation, the fact that there are Nigerians who have ventured into Bitcoin mining, damning the debilitating odds, shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, right?

It is challenging to determine when exactly the first ASIC based in Nigeria connected to the Bitcoin network, because miners there are putting a great deal of effort into staying as off-the-radar as possible. And yes, I know that the hash rate generated from the country might not amount to as much as a blip or a pulse in the network. As a matter of fact, a fairly-debated источник данных has it that Africa as a whole contributes less than 0.2% of the global Bitcoin hash rate. However, the innovative effort the Nigerian miners are putting into securing the world’s most decentralized, censorship-resistant monetary system shouldn’t go unnoticed — their stories shouldn’t stay untold.

Stories From Nigerian Bitcoin Шахтеры

When I started researching this topic, I was privileged to get in touch with a few individuals who mine Bitcoin in Nigeria. We had long conversations about how they got into it and how they are managing to navigate through the challenges they are constantly faced with. For security reasons, which border around the hostile regulatory landscape I mentioned earlier, they chose to stay anonymous, so we will be referring to them by pseudonyms.

The first individual, let's call him Kola. Relatively new to Bitcoin mining, Kola began his journey in September 2021 with just one unit of the Antminer S9, which he purchased for about $450 to $500 at the time. According to him, he decided to take a stab at mining with that one ASIC but has since then expanded and acquired seven others, all of which are Инносиликон T2TH, all purchased as used miners from China and shipped to Nigeria. Then, so as not to give room for too many questions from the authorities, especially considering the fact that he is importing "money printing" machines, the ASICs were cleared at customs as computer graphics processing units (GPUs)

Kola chose not to divulge his location, however, stated that his operation is situated somewhere in the north-central part of the country, close to one of the nation's hydroelectric power sources. As a result of being close to this major source of power which makes it relatively cheap, Kola spends as little as $15 to $20 monthly on electricity to run his operation. However, seeing as the “Nigerian factor” still comes into play, he said that he gets between 20 to 22 hours of electricity supply per day. Being solely dependent on that one power source means that he is subjected to shutting down operations for between two and four hours each day.

А теперь еще один интересный момент: из-за неясного нормативного положения и действий местных органов власти Кольский майнинг списан как объект, в котором размещаются серверы для услуг по аренде облачных хранилищ. Интересно, правда?

У меня был долгий разговор с Колой, и я могу продолжать и продолжать подробно описывать все, о чем мы говорили, но эта статья не только о моем разговоре с ним, поэтому я закончу ее здесь.

Now, the second individual is a more seasoned Bitcoin pleb, who has been in the space considerably longer than Kola. Let’s call him Gbenga. He requested that I keep a lot of what he shared with me about his setup off the record, so I'll be more discreet with specifics here.

With several Antminer S9 ASICs, all purchased as “used,” and imported from China, again as computer GPUs, Gbenga’s operation is situated in the outskirts of the nation's largest business hub, Lagos. Much like Kola, Gbenga started his mining venture with a much lower number of ASICs than he operates with now, and he has exponentially expanded, seeing as he is a bigger player in the space.

Предприятие Гбенги — одно из многих предприятий в стране, которые зависят от альтернативных источников электроэнергии. В его случае это дизельный генератор мощностью 200 кВА. В идеальной ситуации это было бы нецелесообразно, учитывая тот факт, что цена за литр дизельного топлива в стране составляет чуть больше 1 долларов на момент написания, и его работа составляет в среднем 300 литров в день или, в дни, когда он получает питание от сети, примерно половину дня. Но Гбенга связан с несколькими крупными людьми в нефтегазовой отрасли, поэтому он получает дизельное топливо по гораздо более низкой цене, чем на открытом рынке.

According to Gbenga, his major challenge has been the constant need to maintain and repair the ASICs as they often develop power-related issues due to the unstable supply of electricity. He, however, has a team of skilled technicians and electricians, recruited from the pool of local talents, that didn't initially have experience working on ASICs, but as a result of working in Bitcoin mining and with Gbenga, have gained the requisite skills.

Bitcoin Mining’s Future In Nigeria

Есть так много других Bitcoin miners in Nigeria. A lot of them weren't enthusiastic to talk to me because they are worried about their safety — for good reason, too. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't big players already in or researching ways to get into the mining space.

We may yet be a long way away from Africa contributing to a large portion of the global Bitcoin hash rate, but with individuals like Gbenga and Kola, as well as all the others within Nigeria and Africa as a whole, along with the ever growing adoption of Bitcoin in the continent, it may not be too far fetched that the future may not be so distant.

The greatest challenge facing it all is funding. We all know how difficult it is to get loans in the traditional financial space, particularly in Nigeria — you have to know someone who knows someone. But the playground will definitely look different the minute that corporate entities and big businesses — from the telecom space, to banking and restaurant chains, which have tons of stranded electricity because they have to keep their facilities running round the clock — realize what Bitcoin is. It incentivises the use of stranded electricity, converts that with the proof-of-work protocol into a store-of-value asset with a deflationary supply, and yields asymmetric returns.

Это гость сообщение Эмека Угба. Выраженные мнения являются полностью их собственными и не обязательно отражают мнение BTC Inc или Bitcoin Журнал.

Исходный источник: Bitcoin Журнал