Bitcoin Forum

I am still fairly new to this forum. But to my surprise, it looks like more than half of you don't mine. I was thinking maybe about 70-80% of you guys don't mine at all. So that leaves a fairly small amount of us actually mining. With that said, what's your opinion on miners?

Do they play a large role in the value of the Bitcoin? Are they greedy bastards just trying to make money? Are they liked at all in the Bitcoin community?

They are the only way bitcoin can survive. Miners don't just make money. Miners do the job of confirming transactions added to the public ledger, and the more the merrier.

I don't think you will find anyone who doesn't like miners, they are vital.

I don't think mining should be sensationalized. It's an important job that needs doing, and those who have the skills, opportunities and willingness to do it are rewarded for it. If you don't do it someone else will. Specifically, by refraining from mining, you would decrease the difficulty, making it profitable enough for someone else who would otherwise not mine (or mine in lesser capacity). The new equilibrium will be at a lower global hashrate (hence, lower network security), but the decrease is less than your own capacity.

I am waiting for that big Bitcoin mine collapse that traps dozens of pool miners in the bowels of the Earth. Remember: Safety First!