China's heavyweights earning 16 million yen monthly from mining (Part 5)

Serialized Column：From Zero: Begin Cryptocurrency Trading：Episode 5

I have written about the basics of Bitcoin and cryptos (virtual currencies) so far, but here’s a little break!

This is a story from February 2015. There is a video about undercover reporting on a Chinese group earning $1.5 million per month from Bitcoin mining, which I would like to introduce. The video has English subtitles, and even if you don’t understand the words, I think the eerie atmosphere will definitely come through…。



The mining group that underwent this undercover report has facilities in Dalian, China.

It has no outward appearance that evokes the image of Bitcoin as cutting-edge technology. The mining is said to be conducted on the second floor of a three-story building. Inside the facility, a large number of PCs are lined up on racks in a somewhat messy yet orderly manner, and this is only a portion of it.

To dissipate heat, massive fans blowing strong gusts are placed at the back, yet even so, temperatures can exceed 37°C in the summer. In the video, there is a moment with a constant sound—that is the sound of the fans. Of course, the floor is filled with rivers of cables like this.

The electricity usage is a staggering 1,250 kWh, and the electric bill is about $80,000 per month (approximately 8.74 million yen)…。

However, this facility alone operates about 3,000 dedicated machines and, at the time, mined 20–25 BTC per day. At today’s rate, that would be about 1 million yen per day with BTC at roughly 47,000 yen each.

This group runs six facilities in total, and their combined monthly earnings amount to about $1.5 million. What’s left idle are 900 broken, unused computers. They reportedly recycle the parts for use.

Even so, piles of scrap parts accumulate.

The engineers spend only 4–5 days a month at home, spending most of their lives here. Yet the compensation they receive is higher than others. Their resting place. Is this enough for them?

Most of their work involves monitoring the operating status of the computers, which is very dull. Normally, they monitor the monitors while drinking coffee and playing games.
Finally, when asked, “Do you think now is a good time to buy or invest in Bitcoin?” the manager of this facility, Jin Xin, answered, “Yes.”


More than a year has passed since this interview, and 2016 has been said to be “the year of real Bitcoin,” and I believe that the “good timing” is still ongoing.