Cryptocurrency mining is picking up in Singapore | Source: Pexels
Bringing new meaning to ‘mining’ in the digital age
THE gold rush of the 21st century is here in the form of the blockchain, and cryptocurrency mining companies are here to provide the tools.
The mine of the future is on the Internet, and you don’t even have to get your hands dirty, because a computer can do all the mining for you. All you need is a power source and an Internet connection. The “mining” that is done on the blockchain is through the processing of cryptocurrency transactions.
The blockchain is a distributed ledger system. Instead of having a central authority in control of it, all users share in the processing of transactions, and control is determined by a publicly available algorithm.
This algorithm rewards users who help process transactions with cryptocurrency that can be exchanged for real money.
In essence: process transactions, get paid. The more transactions you can process the more cryptocurrency you get. This is where companies like SG Mining, catering to investors in Singapore, add value.
Cryptocurrency mining in Singapore
One of the first cryptocurrency mining operations in Singapore, SG Mining provides an all-in-one solution: they provide you with the computers necessary to mine cryptocurrency (with Ethereum, Bitcoin Gold and Zencash).
Once you have those cryptocurrencies, SG Mining also provides MasterCard/Visa debit card conversion of Cryptocurrency into SGD. Each “rig” can earn up to SG$500 (US$377) profit per month.
The SG Mining Team | Source: SumoStory
SG Mining began its humble journey in the home of one of its four founders. The Singapore born and bred team comprises of ex-poly mates Dexter Ng, Leon Chen and Syahrein Ritzwan, and long-term business partner, Andy Prakash.
Addressing the pain points of Singaporean miners
One of the greatest barriers to entry for most people is the sheer technical expertise required to build mining hardware, also known as a “rig”. When Andy, the Chief Operating Officer, built his first mining rig, it took the combined effort of a few friends and heavy research into the field before they gradually developed a more efficient mining system.
Co-founder Ng also followed a similar trend. He started mining operations at his home, personally spending hours tweaking and configuring mining software to be at its optimal mining speeds for highest profitability and stability.
This was when the team first got the idea of selling their rigs to other people. They pioneered selling rigs on Facebook and Carousell, which received strong support, giving them the courage to set up a booth at Comex 2017.
The event turned out to be a success, selling 40 rigs, and now they are signed up with similar IT Tradeshows every month.
After their first successful campaign, the next hurdle was online. An individual who is mining cryptocurrency today is competing with large-scale industrial miners with high-end supercomputers, which is difficult to do alone.
This is why most of SG Mining’s customers do their mining in what are called “pools”. These pools are a group of individual miners who put the computing power of their rigs together to form a more efficient mining group, splitting the returns between members of the group according to the amount of processing power they contributed.
Cryptocurrency mining rigs in operation | Source: SumoStory
Singapore miners have always relied on pools in China, which are plagued with slow speeds because of the sheer distance between Singapore and the Chinese servers.
In cryptocurrency mining, where every millisecond counts, this could not continue. To remedy this, Ng has built Singapore’s first mining pool so that miners would not need to connect to slow China mining pool servers anymore. This pool will also target miners in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, who will also benefit from faster speeds.
This coming together of good mining hardware, a local mining pool, and Ng’s mining software expertise has helped SG Mining stay many steps ahead of the competition.
The setting up of a cryptocurrency to SGD exchange also ensures that people can cash in on their cryptocurrency profits.
Educating the public
As with every new technology, mainstream users tend to be risk-averse. People either do not know about blockchain, are skeptical of the technology, or are worried about the legality of mining cryptocurrencies.
Hence the biggest challenge for the founders is educating the public on these matters. While cryptocurrencies have had negative press in the past, “the Singapore media has been mostly positive because Japan, Russia, Singapore and the USA have all legalized cryptocurrency, and this has helped boost sales,” says Syahrein.
Ng and Andy are planning to conduct frequent seminars on cryptocurrency, and have a comprehensive FAQ-section on their website for potential customers.
“This is also the best time there ever will be to start mining,” Syahrein said.
“The market for cryptocurrencies is booming and prices of these currencies are rising every day. Digital cryptocurrencies will only become more prevalent in the future as technology advances and people develop more real-world uses for cryptocurrencies.”