The rise of Ethereum (again)

Four years ago, in 2017, I dabbled in the mining of cryptocurrency, specifically Ethereum. It was a new hobby for me, pairing my love for building computer rigs (which includes mining rigs) and to make some money on a sidelines selling the Ether that I mined from the rig that I built. At the time, cryptocurrency was about to take off and Bitcoin became a household name worldwide. With its rapid ascendancy in both value and legitimacy as a reliable alternative currency, Ether rode the waves that Bitcoin created in its wake. As Bitcoin rose in value, so does Ether.

The mining rig ran non-stop for close to two years. It had six GTX 1060 all connected to a special motherboard specifically for mining cryptocurrency, attached to a makeshift shelf (the specifications are designed to fit in a typical computer case. It was extremely DIY in design, like something built from someone’s garage; absolutely zero aesthetics in mind. It was built for one thing only; mine Ether. So long as it runs 24-7, it does not matter how the entire set-up looked.

In the end, I shut down the rig down when the price of Ether crashed (along with Bitcoin, both cryptocurrencies tend to rise and fall in tandem) and it wasn’t really profitable to continue the project. Nonetheless despite the crash in value, I had a meaningful run during the two years it mined for Ether. Along the way, I learned a lot about mining, the concept of cryptocurrency and the type of hardware required to build such a rig. It wasn’t all for nothing or a useless endeavor after all. At the end of the day, I had about 4.6 Ether in my digital wallet.

I never sold any of the Ether I mined four years ago. But now, the prices of Ether is on the rise again, thanks to Bitcoin rising in value, smashing records in terms of overall value attained a few years ago. With the rise of Bitcoin, Ether naturally rose in value as well.

Now, Ether is on a cusp of hitting its all time-high price set a few years ago. The price of my measly 4.6 Ether in my digital wallet is now rising fast. I am contemplating selling all of my Ether in my digital wallet and just cash out the proceeds, finally realizing my profit from this whole endeavor. I have been waiting for four years to finally make my move to offload my Ether at the right price, and it seems that right now is a good time as any to keep an eye on the price of Ether once again.