Ethereum: an overview
Ethereum is a blockchain which allows developers to create and implement decentralised apps (dApps) using its’ open-source, decentralised blockchain platform. In a matter of years, it has become one of the most popular blockchain systems worldwide.
The capacity to conduct smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement explicitly put into code, is what distinguishes Ethereum from other blockchain systems. This makes it possible for developers to design decentralised programs that can carry out a variety of tasks, including managing supply chain logistics, establishing digital currencies, and offering decentralised finance (DeFi) services.
The value of Ethereum comes in its capacity to support decentralised apps with the potential to upend and alter a wide range of industries. It has evolved into a crucial component of the infrastructure for the growth of DeFi, a fast-expanding sector that aims to offer decentralised alternatives to conventional financial services. Additionally, Ethereum has made it possible to create non-fungible tokens (NFTs): distinctive digital assets that are becoming more and more popular in the entertainment and arts sectors.
Source: ZIPMEX
A post- ‘merge’ world
However, the ‘merge’ of September 15, 2022, changed the blockchain and Ethereum community forever. The move from its traditional platform to what many refer to today as ‘Ethereum 2.0’ came with an effective transition from Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
In proof-of-work (PoW), miners compete to find solutions to challenging mathematical puzzles in order to approve transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain. Due to the fact that the competition gets harder with time and requires more energy to maintain the network, this process uses a lot of processing resources and energy.
But with PoS, validators are picked according to the quantity of cryptocurrency they own and are willing to “stake” or lock up as collateral. Following that, validators are chosen at random to review transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain, earning rewards based on the amount of cryptocurrency they have staked. Compared to PoW, this consensus process uses substantially fewer computational and energy resources, making it more ecologically friendly and environmentally sustainable.
Helvetic Blockchain Technologies had been preparing for the event long before it happened, ensuring that our transition from Ethereum mining to other coins has been quick and without sacrifices in profitability.
A strategy for the future
In order to adapt to the fast-paced evolution of these technologies and to steer away from a dependency on Ethereum mining, we at HBT have decided to invest on innovations that would optimise production of our already owned GPUs.
The two new strategies we have decided to implement, immersion cooling and dual mining, are set to give us a huge competitive advantage within ETH 2.0, dramatically boosting our profitability.
Source: Executium on Unsplash
Immersion cooling and dual mining
The implementation of our own synthetic immersion cooling oil allows us to maintain a better temperature on hardware and increase its lifespan, all whilst decreasing the need for maintenance and energy consumption. All these factors open a gateway to more energy intensive mining possibilities such as dual coin mining. It is relatively easy to deduce the definition of this practice from the term itself, so what makes this such an attractive approach?
Cryptocurrency mining, at its core, refers to the validating of transactions and the addition of new blocks to the blockchain through the solving of challenging mathematical puzzles. Dual mining, on the other hand, entails simultaneously mining two cryptocurrencies, one of which is the one that the miner desires to mine and the other of which utilizes a similar algorithm.
For instance, a miner can simultaneously mine Siacoin, Decred, and other cryptocurrencies that employ comparable hashing algorithms. As a result, the miner can mine both coins using slightly more computing power than if it mined one, improving mining efficiency and increasing revenue.
This technology allows us to effectively take advantage of the idle time of a miner’s graphics processing unit (GPU), all whilst maintaining low operations costs and increasing the profitability of our mining process moving forward.