Unnatural Resources
The Walrus|July - August 2018

Why I quit my day job to become a Bitcoin miner

Ethan Lou
Unnatural Resources

LAST HALLOWEEN, I walked into my Calgary office building’s loading bay in search of a lost bicycle and instead found eight discarded computers. On a whim, I decided to rent a car to take them to my shoebox apartment in Chinatown, strip them for parts, and build cryptocurrency mining machines. I had grown up with an engineer father who involved me in electrical work; I knew how to build a computer even before my voice broke. So, although I was new to mining — in essence, running computers that facilitate cryptocurrency transactions — I understood the basics, and I googled the rest. Soon, I lived in constant fear that my landlady would complain about the amount of electricity my new machines were sucking up (enough to power a house). Running them around the clock produced a lot of heat, to the point that, even in winter, I kept a window open to my balcony and slept without a blanket.

Back then, on top of being a long-time investor in Bitcoin, I was also a full-time journalist covering oil, and my life was tied to the energy industry. Day in and day out, I would read and write about energy and talk with oilmen and oil women. Alberta produces nearly all of Canada’s oil, and it has gotten rich off it, frequently boasting some of the country’s highest incomes. But the province was hit hard when, in 2014, global oil production increased and demand declined. Per-barrel prices tumbled by more than 70 percent over two years. Over time, as oil and gas became a smaller portion of Alberta’s economy, I realized that the province could become fertile ground for a new multi-billion dollar industry: cryptocurrency mining.

この記事は The Walrus の July - August 2018 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は The Walrus の July - August 2018 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

THE WALRUSのその他の記事すべて表示
Dream Machines - The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype
The Walrus

Dream Machines - The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype

Some of the world's largest companies, including Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet, are throwing their full weight behind AI. On top of the billions spent by big tech, funding for AI startups hit nearly $50 billion (US) in 2023.

time-read
10+ 分  |
July/August 2024
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
The Walrus

MY GUILTY PLEASURE

MY CHILDREN are grown, with their own partners, their own lives.

time-read
3 分  |
September/October 2024
The Quest to Decode Vermeer's True Colours
The Walrus

The Quest to Decode Vermeer's True Colours

New techniques reveal hidden details in the Dutch master’s paintings

time-read
6 分  |
September/October 2024
Repeat after Me
The Walrus

Repeat after Me

TikTok and Instagram are helping to bring Indigenous languages back from the brink

time-read
8 分  |
September/October 2024
Smokehouse
The Walrus

Smokehouse

I WAS STANDING THERE at the corner, the corner where the smaller street intersects with the slightly wider one.

time-read
10+ 分  |
September/October 2024
How Could They Just Lose Him?
The Walrus

How Could They Just Lose Him?

The Huronia Regional Centre was supposed to be a safe home for people with disabilities. Then, amid suspicions of abuse at the facility, twenty-one-year-old Robin Windross vanished without a trace

time-read
10+ 分  |
September/October 2024
Prairie Radical
The Walrus

Prairie Radical

How conspiracy theorists splintered a small town

time-read
10+ 分  |
September/October 2024
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe
The Walrus

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe

Scott Moe rose quietly through the ranks. Now the Saskatchewan premier and his party are shaping policies with national consequences

time-read
10+ 分  |
September/October 2024
The Accommodation Problem
The Walrus

The Accommodation Problem

Extensions. Extra exam time. Online everything. Addressing the complex needs of students is creating chaos on campus

time-read
10+ 分  |
September/October 2024
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
The Walrus

MY GUILTY PLEASURE

I WAS AS SURPRISED as anyone when I became obsessed with comics again last year, at the advanced age of forty-five. As a kid, I loved reading G.I. Joe and The Amazing Spider-Man.

time-read
3 分  |
July/August 2024