AnnouncementToday our embedded developer Cheshyr officially has resigned from BlockBurner due to personal reasons.
I personally thank Cheshyr for his effort and support of the project since BlockBurner's formation and wish him the best in his own endeavors, as should we all.Quite frankly some of this was due to a certain lack of development progress, and I myself had begun to question this.
As it appears, FPGA may not be an effective solution for Scrypt mining,
as the proof from Alpha Technologies explains. This document did raise in us serious questions about viability as we approached our own proof. Though FPGA's can certainly hash in Scrypt, the question is more in cost and efficiency of the resulting hardware. Our early projections pointed toward needing a device with multiple FPGAs to hash at a reasonable rate, though the cost of this would destroy ROI with the current valuation of Scrypt coins like Litecoin. So, while it can be done, it is not seeming worthwhile to do at this point in time.
Scrypt is a very different animal compared to SHA, and at this juncture we may see Litecoin mining evolve on a unique path to Bitcoin moving to Gen 3 and Gen 4 devices, which overall is probably a good thing as it moves toward its own unique economy of specialized Scrypt hardware and becomes fully divergent to Bitcoin mining in no longer parts of the same mining networks.
As of this moment, this project is standing still while the remaining members decide if it is still worthwhile to pursue. What does that mean for BlockBurner?Though the project we began with is nearing death, this is not the end.
Disappointing as this announcement may be, I do not consider it a waste of effort by any degree. As one of the first to begin trying to create a Generation 3 scrypt mining device, we have still helped to guide the industry where it needs to go by possibly eliminating an unreasonable hardware option. In a business we are literally making up as we go along, this is to be expected as new technology and solutions are investigated and ultimately put into practice or scrapped as unworkable or "not good enough". Hopefully on that note, BlockBurner remains a part of crypto-currency history, and I am proud of our accomplishments despite not delivering the product we had hoped to.
Regardless of where it goes from here, I still thank our followers for your support so far, the response has been mind blowing.Where it goes from hereAs BlockBurner is fully established legally and socially as is, I intend to begin moving it another direction. The mining world is rife with opportunity.
I have been laying down the ground work and crunching the numbers to
move primarily into mining itselfInitial motives being researched-- Mining of Bitcoin and Litecoin, possibly others as seen fit
- Hosting of mining devices for third parties
- Release of BlockBurner bond IPOs for hardware funding and operational expenditures. This would possibly include IPOs for core mining as well as specialized private pools.
- Operating investment funds in the form of combined mining bonds (it is not unusual in the traditional business world for companies to take ownership or stocks of other companies). I hold personal mining bonds that will be invested into BlockBurner officially to get started. This fund has in 3 weeks returned about 10% of the initial investment so far, and not all of them are generating returns just yet as their farms come online pending hardware shipments between August-November.
- Resale of mining equipment as a distributor
- Creation of production GPU based Scrypt miners based on existing hardware (in other words, industrial GPU rigs utilizing proper server hardware, possibly smaller units with the same features and redundancy). Since the hardware is already out there, the barrier to entry would be low aside sheer cost for the initial hardware. Whatever is built for our own mining operation may also be sold as complete units (not doing the breadrack with GPUs ziptied to it thing, this is not an acceptable setup to me)
- Other ideas to be determined
For those who would whine about mining ROI these days, I believe diversification of services is the key to a successful mining business.
Overall I find myself more comfortable with this direction personally, as noted FPGA and hardware dev is not my area of expertise professionally. However, operating and constructing large computer infrastructure in a datacenter setting is something I have much experience with, along with business consulting and strategy when it comes to doing business on the Internet. To that, mining would be right at home with my own tech skill sets, aspiring to create a highly secure and redundant mining farm along with other offerings to diversify the core business. Much of this is simply a matter of connecting with funding sources that I am also actively engaged in. Currently BlockBurner would have 3 main backers locally including myself, and will be seeking additional local investors.
Additionally, I have established an organization in my home state called
Montana Bitcoin Exchange, or MBEX, as a local driver to spur the Bitcoin economy locally which can only be good for BlockBurner at the local level as what is the first business of its kind and scope here as far as I am aware, and a launch platform for local investors to take part in the business and push local adoption of digital currencies overall.
So, BlockBurner will live on, but likely in a different form completely or at least working toward fleshing out other aspects of the business along with hardware development.
Again thank you all for your continued support as the gears are shifted, and sorry to disappoint those hopeful of better Scrypt hardware (though not entirely off the table just yet).
Adam KaresOperations
BlockBurner LLC
