Why I quit my day job to become a Bitcoin miner
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.
This story is from the July - August 2018 edition of The Walrus.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July - August 2018 edition of The Walrus.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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.
The Upside-Down Book
In her new novel, Rachel Cusk makes the case for becoming a stranger to yourself
Pick a Colour
BACK HERE, I can hear a group of women trickle in. Filling the floor with giggles and voices.
Quebec's Crushing Immigration Policy
Familial separation can have devastating consequences on mental health and productivity
The Briefcase
What I learned about being a writer from trying to finish a dead man's book
In the Footsteps of Migrants Who Never Made It
Thousands have died trying to cross into the US from Mexico. Each year, activists follow their harrowing trek
Blood Language
Menstruation ties us to the land in ways we've all but forgotten
Dream Machines
The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype
Invisible Lives
Without immigration status, Canada's undocumented youth stay in the shadows
My Guilty Pleasure
"The late nights are mine alone, and I'll spend them however I damn well please"