Anyone tried mining Bitcoin with a Raspberry Pi Zero powered by solar energy? I think it could help decentralize bitcoin mining since electric costs are big. If we can get small devices powered by the sun, that’d be awesome for the network.
Mining Bitcoin on Raspberry Pi Zero with Solar Power
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Honestly, the hashrate from a Pi is super low, like almost nothing. You’re likely wasting time and energy. It would take a massive investment to really shake up the network. So adding a Raspberry Pi doesn’t really help.
BasedBridgeMember
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#3Jan 31, 2021, 10:12 AM
Plus, you can mine other less-known coins on a Raspberry Pi. There were even some miners embedded in home routers back in the day. Bitmain had those Antrouter models that mined altcoins, not BTC though.
If you wanna actually mine BTC, you need an ASIC. The Pi alone won't cut it. Adding a USB miner could help, but still, it seems inefficient.
Better off with something like Monero or another coin that works with CPU mining. Just be prepared for a long payback period, like 5-10 years.
ryansatoshiMember
Posts: 48 · Reputation: 170
#6Feb 1, 2021, 01:44 PM
Don’t forget a battery for the solar power. With such low hashing, your battery might run dry before you earn anything back. It’s like trying to mine gold with a spoon.
I get where you're coming from, but Bitcoin’s security is fine. Mining is all about self-interest people want profits, so they protect the network. Sure, it's somewhat centralized, but it’s still secure.
I actually mine BTC with a bunch of Raspberry Pis and USB ASIC miners. If you had a container full of them paired with solar panels, it might work temporarily. Good luck with that.
You watched that video about this, right? Pretty interesting stuff.
Not sure how practical this is, but people seem curious about mining like this. Usually, folks wanna see if solar power can even work for the Pi. I'm tinkering with it myself, just to check it out def not just for mining.