How to get bitcoin that was truly private, or “non-KYC”? Lili tried using bitcoin ATMs, but those charged a 6% premium and were 20 minutes from her home on the East Coast. Then she had a wild idea. Why can’t I just mine my own?

She found home mining groups on Telegram. Initially she didn’t know whom or what to trust, since most miners on the board were “Nyms” (as in anonymous, like her), but soon she found an ad for a popular (if older) bitcoin miner, called the S9, for only $300. Why not?

According to Google Trends, the terms “bitcoin mining,” “how to mine bitcoin” and “home bitcoin mining” roared back to life in 2021.

The conventional wisdom has long been that mining is only for the institutions, and you don’t have a chance.

The bigger miners could broker deals for cheaper power, leaving the little guy without a prayer. Game over.

There are now more ways for home miners to get the right equipment. “Before, you can’t just go to Bitmain [the largest manufacturer of miners] and say, ‘I want one.’ … They’re just going to tell you to pound sand.” This changed when companies, such as Luxor and Compass, began selling miners to individuals, lowering the barrier to entry.

Gronowska bought a Bitmain Antminer S9 in 2021, and then, to her delight, realized that she could use the heat emitted by the miner to dry out mushrooms. [...] This is another change in the past year: Home miners are harnessing the power of heat.

“As soon as I stopped seeing an ASIC as something that makes bitcoin, and I saw it as a profitable heater, it just completely changed my outlook,” said a miner who goes by the alias of Coin Heated.