Recently, Idan Abada, the owner of an online store (“Bitcoin Merch“) that specializes in crypto mining equipment, shared on TikTok a video of him using “free” electricity at a Starbucks cafe to mine Bitcoin on his laptop via a custom mini mining rig.
In this TikTok video, we see Abada, who lives in Los Angeles, California, using a custom mining rig connected to his laptop to mine BTC while enjoying his coffee.
According to a report by CNBC published on July 28, the tiny rig that cost around $875 to build “consists of a multi-port USB hub, a mounted mini fan, and ten USB-sticks, each containing two Bitmain-manufactured ASIC mining chips.”
Abada told CNBC:
“It’s one of the easiest miners to set up and run, because all you need is a computer or a laptop,” explained Abada. “It’s powered by USB, and that’s pretty much it. Everyone can become a miner and be a part of the crypto world.“
Abada says that he became an online seller of crypto mining equipment in 2017 after he noticed how difficult it was to buy Bitcoin mining hardware. Apparently, this year’s sales revenue is already over $428,000 (up 355% from last year).
Abada also mentioned that his store has sold thousands of units of “GekkoScience NEWPAC USB Stickminer” (which has a hash rate of 90+GH/s and which sells for $79.99), the main component of the mini Bitcoin mining rig shown in his video.
He went on to say that “Missouri-based GekkoScience took apart a big miner from China and re-purposed the parts for the NewPac” and that “each of the mini-USB rigs has two ASIC chips, so all in, the $875 rig has 20 chips.”
Abada admitted to CNBC that it is very hard to make a profit mining Bitcoin with this rig unless you are not paying for your electricity” and the such novelty mining rigs probably could be profitable for “kids in public places, college dorms, buildings that share electricity prices, employees stealing electricity from their company.” For everyone else, the main benefit would be learning more about Bitcoin mining.
DISCLAIMER
The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.
