ASICMINER: Entering the Future of ASIC Mining by Inventing It

[redbeans2012]

Can't wait to see pictures of future bitcoin mining rigs when these are out en masse.  Hundreds of USB hubs connected to one another.  (if that would even work I dont know)

No way, big time miners are going to be using the blades and bigger integrated stuff.
These USB things are for the small guy

Small guys will always continue to amaze with their crazy setups.

[Jutarul]

Can't wait to see pictures of future bitcoin mining rigs when these are out en masse.  Hundreds of USB hubs connected to one another.  (if that would even work I dont know)

Unlikely that someone would opt for that - except for fun. The USB miner is for "opportunistic" mining, where you exploit the availability of free power, e.g. sitting in starbucks, drinking a coffee. In the grand scheme of things, this of course is a form of leeching and is probably only interesting to people who are tight on budget. Also at current BTC rates the USB miner will generate around 0.07 USD per hour. So unless BTC prices hit $10,000, it's probably not worth the effort.

For me, the interesting aspect is the size factor, for promoting and educating others. Call it the "printing press which fits into your pocket".

[John (John K.)]

11,787.70 GH/s 

[punkideas]

11,787.70 GH/s 

And rising 

[JimiQ84]

11,787.70 GH/s 

And rising 

Right now, somewhere in China, someone is heating up new coal power plant

[AMuppInTime]

Hm... Was I the only one who expected over 0.012 per share? I know friedcat said he held back ฿2K to pay for future growth, but isn't that virtually all of the auction proceeds?

.b

Why were you expecting over 0.012 per share?

I don't know, maybe I've just become greedy :-) The auction brought in something like 0.006 per share, and the hash rate is at least 50% more than it was a week ago.

I guess my question is whether we will need to continue holding auctions to pay for future growth and that the money doesn't come back to shareholders. Even at a 50% increased hash rate, with BFLs rolling out every orifice they have and Avalons coming in full force, I would like to see plans for a bit more than tomorrow, or even a week ahead.

I was under the impression that the future growth thing was already financed up to around 200 TH/s, which is why we could sell off blades and dividend virtually all of the proceeds. If we're still left paying for this now, that will cut deeply into dividends, and with other vendors becoming more available, the premium we can get from auctioning off blades or bees will drop too. A 300 MH/s bee in production is... well, not money in the bank.

Maybe some clarity in financial plans and requirements for the next couple of months and a comment from friedcat about how much power they plan to roll out for example until August 1 would help make better decisions? With current share prices and maybe around the same dividends, we're suddenly looking at 27% dividend rate. Granted, that's still sky high, but its still much lower than just a few weeks ago, and with increasing competition and unclear financual requirements.

Don't get me wrong, I was probably just caught up in the hype a bit, I'm still a strong believer :-)

.b

I agree with you to a certain extend and would like to have more clarity as to what the current business plan has in store for the future.
I feel as though this has gotten to the point where the operation should move out of a forum board into its very own website, with a mailing list for investors and the ability to ask questions and get answers. Is ASICMINER planning to keep paying that 0.007 until the next  reward halving by trying to maintain its hashrate ratio vs. the network? As much as the hype has carried me over as an investor, I do have fears regarding what "tomorrow" will look like.

[StevenPine]

I try not to be a backstreet driver, especially since I am a small(er) stake holder(~350) but I think the general attitude is correct. AsicMiner should, if they aren't already, be considering corporate structure, I hope they have hired an accountant by now, and begin to seriously plan on how they are going to be growing as a company -- in the broadest possible sense, basically a 5 year masterplan with defined goals, strategic initiatives, bench marks, etc. For instance, releasing a yearly earnings report audited by a third party, just like most major companies, by say 2014 would be an excellent goal to set now.

Growing a company is complex, I worked for an incubator in silicon valley, often times startups can grow too quickly to really understand that they need to be also be establishing and mending their corporate culture, and that's not even mentioning just the millions of minutiae that comes from being in office, running a facility, handling pay roll, etc etc When you have 3 employees it's 'easy' to be nimble, develop plans, and 'get things done', strange things begin to happen when you have 10 or 20 or 50 or 400 plus spread out in different time zones, especially if this occurs in a few months.

Anyway, there are plenty of very dedicated and interested shareholders, I imagine friedcat could probably query his shareholder community and develop some of these plans on a 'crowd-sourcing' basis -- but even basic things such as holding a board meeting (I don't even know who is a member of the board, or the last time they had a meeting, and the minutes of these meetings would be worth reading). I could go on, but now is the time to begin at least sketching out a calendar to hold these discussions (again apologies if I'm utterly out of the loop).

that's my two satoshis anyway   

Hm... Was I the only one who expected over 0.012 per share? I know friedcat said he held back ฿2K to pay for future growth, but isn't that virtually all of the auction proceeds?

.b

Why were you expecting over 0.012 per share?

I don't know, maybe I've just become greedy :-) The auction brought in something like 0.006 per share, and the hash rate is at least 50% more than it was a week ago.

I guess my question is whether we will need to continue holding auctions to pay for future growth and that the money doesn't come back to shareholders. Even at a 50% increased hash rate, with BFLs rolling out every orifice they have and Avalons coming in full force, I would like to see plans for a bit more than tomorrow, or even a week ahead.

I was under the impression that the future growth thing was already financed up to around 200 TH/s, which is why we could sell off blades and dividend virtually all of the proceeds. If we're still left paying for this now, that will cut deeply into dividends, and with other vendors becoming more available, the premium we can get from auctioning off blades or bees will drop too. A 300 MH/s bee in production is... well, not money in the bank.

Maybe some clarity in financial plans and requirements for the next couple of months and a comment from friedcat about how much power they plan to roll out for example until August 1 would help make better decisions? With current share prices and maybe around the same dividends, we're suddenly looking at 27% dividend rate. Granted, that's still sky high, but its still much lower than just a few weeks ago, and with increasing competition and unclear financual requirements.

Don't get me wrong, I was probably just caught up in the hype a bit, I'm still a strong believer :-)

.b

I agree with you to a certain extend and would like to have more clarity as to what the current business plan has in store for the future.
I feel as though this has gotten to the point where the operation should move out of a forum board into its very own website, with a mailing list for investors and the ability to ask questions and get answers. Is ASICMINER planning to keep paying that 0.007 until the next  reward halving by trying to maintain its hashrate ratio vs. the network? As much as the hype has carried me over as an investor, I do have fears regarding what "tomorrow" will look like.

[Jutarul]

Hm... Was I the only one who expected over 0.012 per share? I know friedcat said he held back ฿2K to pay for future growth, but isn't that virtually all of the auction proceeds?

It would be nice to know it beforehand. At least we noch would have 60% more dividend. High cost of course but at the end it will lead to even higher dividends for shareholders.

There has been no clear guideline to how much money has to be retained as operational cash. I understand that the current policy is to give the earnings back to the investors (and owners of bitfountain) as cash unless there is a reason not to. The current operation generates so much profit, that this can be decided on a weekly basis and it falls within the discretion of bitfountain.

A reminder: this is not a mining bond. It's an equity in a profit-oriented business, which just happens to generate profit from mining with their proprietary hardware.

[SebastianJu]

Hm... Was I the only one who expected over 0.012 per share? I know friedcat said he held back ฿2K to pay for future growth, but isn't that virtually all of the auction proceeds?

It would be nice to know it beforehand. At least we noch would have 60% more dividend. High cost of course but at the end it will lead to even higher dividends for shareholders.

There has been no clear guideline to how much money has to be retained as operational cash. I understand that the current policy is to give the earnings back to the investors (and owners of bitfountain) as cash unless there is a reason not to. The current operation generates so much profit, that this can be decided on a weekly basis and it falls within the discretion of bitfountain.

A reminder, this is not a mining bond, it's an equity in a profit-oriented business, which just happens to generate profit from mining with their proprietary hardware.

I know, thats why i wrote that the investments at the end will lead to even higher dividends. The only critis i have that the drops always come so sudden that it hurts. You calculated that the dividend should be a good chunk more this week and out of the sudden... you know what i mean.

[memvola]

Hm... Was I the only one who expected over 0.012 per share? I know friedcat said he held back ฿2K to pay for future growth, but isn't that virtually all of the auction proceeds?

It would be nice to know it beforehand. At least we noch would have 60% more dividend. High cost of course but at the end it will lead to even higher dividends for shareholders.

There has been no clear guideline to how much money has to be retained as operational cash. I understand that the current policy is to give the earnings back to the investors (and owners of bitfountain) as cash unless there is a reason not to. The current operation generates so much profit, that this can be decided on a weekly basis and it falls within the discretion of bitfountain.

A reminder, this is not a mining bond, it's an equity in a profit-oriented business, which just happens to generate profit from mining with their proprietary hardware.

I don't think any company can pull off predictable and accurate weekly business plan and accounts. If we need conventional predictability, we'd better switch to conventional annual cycles. That would also help with "variance".

[gmouse]

Hm... Was I the only one who expected over 0.012 per share? I know friedcat said he held back ฿2K to pay for future growth, but isn't that virtually all of the auction proceeds?

It would be nice to know it beforehand. At least we noch would have 60% more dividend. High cost of course but at the end it will lead to even higher dividends for shareholders.

There has been no clear guideline to how much money has to be retained as operational cash. I understand that the current policy is to give the earnings back to the investors (and owners of bitfountain) as cash unless there is a reason not to. The current operation generates so much profit, that this can be decided on a weekly basis and it falls within the discretion of bitfountain.

A reminder, this is not a mining bond, it's an equity in a profit-oriented business, which just happens to generate profit from mining with their proprietary hardware.

I don't think any company can pull off predictable and accurate weekly business plan and accounts. If we need conventional predictability, we'd better switch to conventional annual cycles. That would also help with "variance".

ASICMiner moves at the speed of light compared to other equities.  I have been left a bit wanting for more though, with the weekly announcements.  I appreciate the hard work that Friedcat and his team have performed, but I do think we deserve more information than the updates give us.  We get three lines of thought per week lately.  I certainly hope that board members are getting more information than us mere shareholders are getting, and that intelligent planning is taking place based upon those discussions.

[VeeMiner]

ASICMiner moves at the speed of light compared to other equities.  I have been left a bit wanting for more though, with the weekly announcements.  I appreciate the hard work that Friedcat and his team have performed, but I do think we deserve more information than the updates give us.  We get three lines of thought per week lately.  I certainly hope that board members are getting more information than us mere shareholders are getting, and that intelligent planning is taking place based upon those discussions.

dude, chill... Who cares about long lines of information, when the important thing is that ASICMINER delivers. What friedcat says, he does. Who cares about how many words he uses in an update? Important information is that:

- we have hashrate of 12 Thashs/s and rising
- very successful sales of blades and development of USB miners

what more do you want? Other companies (BFL) keep on babbling and they can't deliver. ASICMINER doesnt care about product names, websites, logos and all this useless crap. This company is efficient and delivers what it promises. That's what's important.

[gmouse]

ASICMiner moves at the speed of light compared to other equities.  I have been left a bit wanting for more though, with the weekly announcements.  I appreciate the hard work that Friedcat and his team have performed, but I do think we deserve more information than the updates give us.  We get three lines of thought per week lately.  I certainly hope that board members are getting more information than us mere shareholders are getting, and that intelligent planning is taking place based upon those discussions.

dude, chill... Who cares about long lines of information, when the important thing is that ASICMINER delivers. What friedcat says, he does. Who cares about how many words he uses in an update? Important information is that:

- we have hashrate of 12 Thashs/s and rising
- very successful sales of blades and development of USB miners

what more do you want? Other companies (BFL) keep on babbling and they can't deliver. ASICMINER doesnt care about product names, websites, logos and all this useless crap. This company is efficient and delivers what it promises. That's what's important.

I consider myself to be chill.  It isn't so much what more do I want, it is that we need a better channel to sell the super-USBees, etc.  We have scratched the market, certainly; but -- better infrastructure for sales is required, imo.  Kudos for the accomplishments thus far.

[phr33]

dude, chill... Who cares about long lines of information, when the important thing is that ASICMINER delivers.

I guess you could have said the same thing for pirate40's ponsi scheme. Transparency sure has value.

Maybe some major shareholder could step in and provide a bit more insight on what's going on? Or is Friedcat the only one with more knowledge that what's in this thread?

[VeeMiner]

dude, chill... Who cares about long lines of information, when the important thing is that ASICMINER delivers.

I guess you could have said the same thing for pirate40's ponsi scheme. Transparency sure has value.

Maybe some major shareholder could step in and provide a bit more insight on what's going on? Or is Friedcat the only one with more knowledge that what's in this thread?

I will ask again. What more do you want? The facts are simple:

- 13 Thash/s deployed
- very successfull sale of devices + development of the first USB ASIC miner
- Friedcat is obviously a very skilled and intelligent enterpreneur and he has my full trust in making right decisions

I think that the information that we get from Friedcat is fairly sufficient.

IMHO this company is going to be Apple/Microsoft to Bitcoin.

Comparing friedcat to pirateat40 is an insult. Friedcat could have easily packed his bags after the GLBSE failure. Yet he delivered more than anyone could have guessed and this by itself is proof enough for me as for his intentions and qualification.

[Mausini]

dude, chill... Who cares about long lines of information, when the important thing is that ASICMINER delivers.

I guess you could have said the same thing for pirate40's ponsi scheme. Transparency sure has value.

Maybe some major shareholder could step in and provide a bit more insight on what's going on? Or is Friedcat the only one with more knowledge that what's in this thread?

dont even mention that shit in connection to asicminer!! firedcat and his team are the most reputable and trustworthy people in bitcoin land. you probably have no idea whats going on here. asicminer has already paid back EVERYTHING from ipo and is just delivering massive profit after massive profit for their shareholders. share value in USD has appreciated by a factor greater than 100 since ipo. bitfountain is not selling any additional shares to the public. tell me, how the fuck can this be a scam?

[bitfair]

The Block Erupter USB sticks passed all the tests and we are about to produce them in quantity.

"In quantity". I like those words.

Very many ideas thrown around here for the auction of these (possibly good, but experimental and possibly confusing to customers).

So let me throw in an idea too: fixed price 2 BTC, first come first served! Much more manageable, affordable and relatable. And a price/hash a little above what the Blades have been getting.

[Mausini]

The Block Erupter USB sticks passed all the tests and we are about to produce them in quantity.

"In quantity". I like those words.

Very many ideas thrown around here for the auction of these (possibly good, but experimental and possibly confusing to customers).

So let me throw in an idea too: fixed price 2 BTC, first come first served! Much more manageable, affordable and relatable. And a price/hash a little above what the Blades have been getting.

Works for me, I'm first in line and I will buy them all (to auction later).   

what about blind auctions with a minium price?

[phr33]

I will ask again. What more do you want? The facts are simple:

- 13 Thash/s deployed
- very successfull sale of devices + development of the first USB ASIC miner
- Friedcat is obviously a very skilled and intelligent enterpreneur and he has my full trust in making right decisions

I think that the information that we get from Friedcat is fairly sufficient.

IMHO this company is going to be Apple/Microsoft to Bitcoin.

Comparing friedcat to pirateat40 is an insult. Friedcat could have easily packed his bags after the GLBSE failure. Yet he delivered more than anyone could have guessed and this by itself is proof enough for me as for his intentions and qualification.

I was referring to long term plans and development towards a real business, as described by furuknap. When making investments you try to see what is comming, not what has been in the past. Sure everyting looks good at the moment, but without knowing more on the future plans and operation, I'd say it's quite a shaky investment. Don't get me wrong; I'm all in. The 20 btc I put in during the IPO is left untouched.

I'm sure you realize that we need a structured approach to be able to grow into the next Apple/Microsoft.

We agree that Friedcat is very skilled and I don't want him to spend his time on PR and stuff he's not good at or don't like. He should be doing what he's best at. That we will all gain from for sure. That's why I suggested someone else might start look into the other bits.

I wasn't comparing Friedcat to pirate as much as I compared you to someone who praised pirate. Sheeky? Perhaps. Sorry if I insulted you or Friedcat. Not my intention. I tried to make a point on transparancy.

[memvola]

I was referring to long term plans and development towards a real business, as described by furuknap.

IMHO, premature planning is useless and may result in unnecessary burdens (you can ask how concrete business plans and commitments are working for BFL). How long has it even been since the blades became operational?

We need to let the market shape itself up first, and in the meantime contribute our ideas. I'm sure you'll get more transparency when the dust begins to settle.

When making investments you try to see what is comming, not what has been in the past.

As far as I know, AM isn't looking for new investment currently, so I don't see why this part is their responsibility.