Are most Bitcoin miners Bitcoin believers or just businesspeople?

[Nathrixxx]

Miners are receiving bitcoin as reward and this is coming after giving it all it requires to solve a complex equation and after this has been achieved, there will be mixed reaction definitely because some will be selling while some maybe holding either all of part of their failure in Bitcoin, one thing we cannot do without is being able not to sell as at when they need arises because we still need money to run our daily lives after we received bitcoin reward as a miner.

[pooya87]

It is impossible to know for sure because of Bitcoin's characteristics. It is both decentralized and provides all its users a certain level of privacy. That means unless you can run a survey and get a large percentage of the miners to participate in it so that you get a good "statistical population", there is no other way of knowing why most miners mine bitcoin.

Other users have already posted many guesses though...

Running a mining operation requires at least some technical knowledge, right? Does that mean Bitcoin miners tend to understand Bitcoin much better than the average holder, or am I looking at it the wrong way?

Not really. It is a somewhat straightforward process that anybody can do. And they don't need to have any kind of technical knowledge of Bitcoin and its protocol to be able to do it. You just run a software, connect your mining hardware (ASIC) to it and start.

I remember back in 2012-ish when a friend introduced me to Bitcoin, he was mining and the description he gave me was so wrong and ridiculous that it never got me interested in it. I only got into it 2 years later in 2014 after I read a proper definition of Bitcoin and then read more about how it works.

[avp2306]

It is impossible to know for sure because of Bitcoin's characteristics. It is both decentralized and provides all its users a certain level of privacy. That means unless you can run a survey and get a large percentage of the miners to participate in it so that you get a good "statistical population", there is no other way of knowing why most miners mine bitcoin.

Other users have already posted many guesses though...

You are right because, usually its hard to know what's actual thing comes inside on the mind of those miners. Just to understand their behaviors and why they exist  and doing such activities. I think the best thing that can explain their behaviors is the incentives that they can get from mining.

Also somehow Bitcoin mining is design to attract two different type of people.

And they are those who simply just want a passive income from their hardwares at home, then the other one is those people want to support the network and the incentive they get is just a bonus.

Any of those intentions, what's really great is the system truly works depends on different motivations of the miners.

[Dr.Bitcoin_Strange]

Are Bitcoin miners, along with developers, generally the most knowledgeable group in the Bitcoin ecosystem? Do most of them actually care about Bitcoin’s philosophy, or are they mostly just in it to make money?

Being so knowledgeable about Bitcoin is a thing of decision, it's true that miners and developers can have a vast knowledge of Bitcoin but they are not just the most knowledgeable, these miners could also have employees who contributes to the mining activities but they don't have all the knowledg of Bitcoin. As their importance and the purpose they are serving in the Bitcoin economy, they are not bind by any rules to not sell their Bitcoin. Perhaps, even holders sell too to make money (profit), so definitely the miners are also interested in profit because they spent money to set up the mining rigs.

[Fiatless]

Mining Bitcoin requires that you have a good technical knowledge of Bitcoin, that's not the same thing with gold. So for you to be a Bitcoiner miner, you must have a technical knowledge of Bitcoin.

That said, it's also important to note that one can have the technical knowledge of Bitcoin and still not care much about Bitcoin's philosophy. There are miners who mine because they believe in the Bitcoin network while there are others who are mining because of the rewards.

Every single Bitcoin miner has a target of receiving a block reward. So I don't think that a miner would incur so much expense because they believe in the network. The target is to make a profit because mining is a capital-intensive business. The owners of Bitcoin mining companies might not be well-grounded in the technical aspects of Bitcoin. They can simply hire people who have the technical knowledge to run the business.   

[HustleZ]

Are Bitcoin miners, along with developers, generally the most knowledgeable group in the Bitcoin ecosystem? Do most of them actually care about Bitcoin’s philosophy, or are they mostly just in it to make money?

I was thinking about gold miners. They’re basically just people mining gold, maybe it doesn’t make sense to compare the two. I’m just trying to understand. Bitcoin mining seems different. Running a mining operation requires at least some technical knowledge, right? Does that mean Bitcoin miners tend to understand Bitcoin much better than the average holder, or am I looking at it the wrong way?

We can not generalise the miners, they could be bitcoin believers and at the same time there could be miners that are here just for business and profits, but i think most of them are here just for business and lesser are here for the philosophy of bitcoin. As many business people see this as an unsaturated market and invest all in though its not a problem if they are here for money or belief they are here in the bitcoin ecosystem and that’s what matters. They recognise it that’s enough.

[uchegod-21]

Are Bitcoin miners, along with developers, generally the most knowledgeable group in the Bitcoin ecosystem? Do most of them actually care about Bitcoin’s philosophy, or are they mostly just in it to make money?

I was thinking about gold miners. They’re basically just people mining gold, maybe it doesn’t make sense to compare the two. I’m just trying to understand. Bitcoin mining seems different. Running a mining operation requires at least some technical knowledge, right? Does that mean Bitcoin miners tend to understand Bitcoin much better than the average holder, or am I looking at it the wrong way?

Different people are into Bitcoin for different reasons. Everyone is definitely not here for the money, and everyone cannot claim that they are just believers in Bitcoin. However, their areas of interest and the roles they play determine the level of knowledge, both technical and philosophical, that they have about Bitcoin.

A miner truly needs to have some technical knowledge about Bitcoin to be able to mine effectively and carry out his role as a miner. He may not know it all, but he should have sufficient knowledge relevant to his field of specialization.

The same also applies to developers, who are expected to have sufficient knowledge in their field. The point is that they all need technical knowledge.

Comparing these guys to an average Bitcoiner, such as hodlers and traders, they have more technical knowledge than the average Bitcoiner.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

Are Bitcoin miners, along with developers, generally the most knowledgeable group in the Bitcoin ecosystem? Do most of them actually care about Bitcoin’s philosophy, or are they mostly just in it to make money?

I was thinking about gold miners. They’re basically just people mining gold, maybe it doesn’t make sense to compare the two. I’m just trying to understand. Bitcoin mining seems different. Running a mining operation requires at least some technical knowledge, right? Does that mean Bitcoin miners tend to understand Bitcoin much better than the average holder, or am I looking at it the wrong way?

Definitely, every bitcoin miner does understand bitcoin far better than the average holders, and this is because they are like the mechanics of bitcoin. i will give you an example of what I mean by mechanics of bitcoin.

Consider bitcoin a car, you buy a car, you learn to drive, you become a perfect driver but still, you lack comprehensive knowledge of how a car engine functions, and when that car breaks down, you take it to a car mechanic, some one who understands how that car's engine was built and knows how it operates, the mechanic gets the car fixed and you can drive again.

Every average bitcoin holder is like a car owner, while the miners, developers are like the car mechanic, they are the ones who understand all the technicalities in bitcoin due to their advance knowledge in the system born out of skill acquisition and participation in the system.

[ZAINmalik75]

I would say it mostly depends on the time when it is being done or has been done. For initial days or times, those who were into Bitcoin mining, they were probably the only few people who understood the technical aspects of how Bitcoin's ecosystem basically works, they knew enough to actually start mining Bitcoins even though they could do it only using a PC and didn't require heavy machinery which a miner would need in the present time, but we could say that at that time, miners were probably the most knowledgeable people within the community because solo mining was what most of them did back then.

Fast forward to today, I would say that it's mostly done as a business, because the biggest mining farms are run and managed by companies and firms who have invested a lot of money in building them, they have hired so many employees for all the operations and everything. So technically, they are not doing it because they want to support the blockchain or the ecosystem, but they are doing it because they know they can make good money from it, and once they realize it's not profitable anymore, they might even stop doing it.

[EarnOnVictor]

Are Bitcoin miners, along with developers, generally the most knowledgeable group in the Bitcoin ecosystem? Do most of them actually care about Bitcoin’s philosophy, or are they mostly just in it to make money?

This is mixed, after all, everyone involved in Bitcoin are doing it selfishly, aren't they?

All these rants and hype about Bitcoin is just for the price to rise and for them to make money, so no one could say they are dealing with Bitcoin just for no gain, so technically, it's business for everyone. Now, here is where it gets tricky, someone who is mining believed there are benefits from it, and of course, you would love something that is, indeed, blessing you for the reward and want to preserve it. This is why I started by saying it's mixed.

[DiMarxist]

Just like the example that you gave about Gold miners. No body will put in effort and resources to mine Gold just for the sake of mining or for the love of it, we can't remove the place of profit when mining Gold. Thesame thing applies to Bitcoin if you ask me OP , this is because Bitcoin mining is capital intensive due to the rising cost of energy across the world. The first thing that is in the mind of Eighty to Ninety percent of those mining Bitcoin is for profit maximasasion before we can talk about whether such people believes or live Bitcoin.

[Faisal2202]

Bitcoin miners do not necessarily need to believe in holding Bitcoin, a lot of those operations are ran as businesses which will pay bills, salaries and others. These bills are paid from the Bitcoin the get from mining so there is no way they can hold a large chunk of their Bitcoin. They can hold fraction of the Bitcoin they mine but definitely not all of it since they are constantly selling some of their mined Bitcoin to settle other needs.

It could be a lot more difficult for them to sell because when I buy for the long term, I could not sell 100%. I have sold many times, but never 100%. I can't see my wallets with zero BTC in them, and it is not like I am addicted haha. It is just the feeling that you are missing something.

But when you have to pay a lot of expenses, like running your mining stations, then you eventually have to sell. Currently, the mining expenses are higher than the current price, so miners are at a loss, but it is possible that they have to sell now. With time, there will be more BTC collateral based companies, but their terms are not too good. Miners need a constant flow of cash to maintain their position for a longer period of time. Not all miners are rich. Using their hardware and mined BTC as collateral must be a normal practice.

[vapourminer]

ive been both

started for the extra money, turned into a believer later.

[CryptoYar]

Although both miners and developers are deeply involved with Bitcoin, they are at the far ends of the knowledge range.

Most thoughtfully involved are the developers. There are many real core contributors that truly care about the value of Bitcoin beyond the price.

Miners are more business like in nature. Large mining operations are businesses first, and belief driven participants, second.

Well gold mining comparison does hold up a bit. A gold miner knows how to dig up gold but is not necessarily an expert on money theory. Same applies here.

With bitcoin average holders having spent years studying the cryptocurrency, they have a better understanding of the ideas than the miners, who are more concerned with computing power and profit margins. Hardware is not always brought with knowledge.

[YellowSwap]

Bitcoin miners consists of both sides.

Those who just want to mine and make money from it instantly.
They swap their Bitcoin into stable once they got paid from the pool into their bitcoin wallet.

There are those who believe that owning a Bitcoin miner is the best way to be a holder.
They keep mining even when the profit is so low, they believe that one day the price will go higher again.

To say the truth I believe that most miners today are more business oriented.
They have no room for Bitcoin fanbase, and it's fine with me.

[Agbamoni]

Are Bitcoin miners, along with developers, generally the most knowledgeable group in the Bitcoin ecosystem?

Think of the Bitcoin ecosystem as a cycle/chain. Each group supports the others to survive. Without one, the other will not exist and function. 

Developers reveir Bitcoin's code to improve security and propose upgrades while miners validate new trasnaction submitted to the blockchain, investors and traders buy and sell Bitcoin to store, spend or transfer them to wallet and traders specifically proivde liquidity. Business owners make use of Bitcoin every day, thereby increasing adoption. There is a benefit for each unit.

[Junoto]

if i can say, i think it's a mix of both . some miners genuinely believe in Bitcoin and have been supporting the network since the early days, even when mining wasn't very profitable. others see it purely as a business, and that's completely understandable considering the huge investment in ASICs, electricity, and infrastructure.

in reality, most large-scale mining operations probably have to think like businesses first. if they ignore profitability, they won't survive for long. but at the same time, many of them still hold a significant amount of BTC instead of selling everything immediately, which suggests they have long-term confidence in Bitcoin.

so I'd say being a Bitcoin believer and being a businessperson aren't mutually exclusive. so and yeah, many successful miners are probably both.

[DabsPoorVersion]

In terms of technical and economic aspect of Bitcoin, miners probably understand it better than just an average holder guy because for someone to start running a mining operation, you need proper knowledge to set up everything.

But having that technical knowledge doesn't necessarily mean they are embracing the Bitcoin's philosophy. We can say that some might be passionate about decentralization, while the others are just simply view this mining as an activity where they can make a profit. Whether they do care about Bitcoin or just doing mining for the sake of making money, it depends on every individual.

[BlackHatCoiner]

Mining is a business. Big mining companies care about power contracts, hosting deals and return-on-investment.

The technical skill involved is mostly electrical; I'm pretty sure plenty of farm operators can't explain how difficulty adjustment works.

[Patikno]

Are Bitcoin miners, along with developers, generally the most knowledgeable group in the Bitcoin ecosystem? Do most of them actually care about Bitcoin’s philosophy, or are they mostly just in it to make money?

I was thinking about gold miners. They’re basically just people mining gold, maybe it doesn’t make sense to compare the two. I’m just trying to understand. Bitcoin mining seems different. Running a mining operation requires at least some technical knowledge, right? Does that mean Bitcoin miners tend to understand Bitcoin much better than the average holder, or am I looking at it the wrong way?

Bitcoin miners can be Bitcoin believers, or they can be people who are simply interested in business. However, Bitcoin miners can be both, meaning they aim for profit and love Bitcoin. Your analogy is somewhat apt for gold miners, meaning; Gold miners can love gold for its intended use, or simply for profit. So, anything is possible, and similarly, Bitcoin enthusiasts can mine Bitcoin with the intention of keeping some (not selling), or selling some (for profit). In essence, it all depends on the individual.

Regarding mining operations, you don't need to learn much about how to mine it; if you are just a miner in a pool. For a solo miner; it is more complex, and requires more consideration than mining collectively (pool). Cmiiw.