<p>Bitcoin mining involves setting up and running highly specialized computer machinery called ASICs (application specific integrated circuits). If you are being told you will be 'mining', but are not setting up and running these machines yourself, then chances are you are being scammed. Pretty much every instance of 'cloud mining' through some website service is a scam. </p>

<p>Consider: you have an ASIC machine, that profitably prints money for you. Do you:</p>

<p>a) use that machine to make money? OR</p>

<p>b) rent the use of the machine to someone else?</p>

<p>If you chose b), then you must expect to make more money than a) by doing so. This extra money must come from the user that is renting the machine, which means the user renting the machine is going to lose money, net.</p>

<p>The reality is, mining seems complicated to new users, so scammers often pretend to run 'mining operations' when they are trying to scam people. Being a 'miner' makes the scammer seem knowledgeable and wealthy, so that new users will be lured in. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Someone offered to trade for me through bitcoin... with a commission of 10% of profit within 48 hours.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This is the second massive red flag. No legitimate broker would promise a commission of 10% within 48 hours. Professionally managed wealth funds aim for a smaller return than that, <em>annually</em>! </p>

<p>If that sort of profit was guaranteed, the broker would quickly become the wealthiest person on earth. With $1000 invested, after 1 year of 10% returns every two days, the broker would have ~$34,156,133,221. Obviously, this is completely absurd. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-29T23:08:15.210Z
I know at least two cloud mining that aren't a scam, meaning they will really rent you a portion of their hashrate and share part of the profits. NOT meaning they WILL be profitable. I also think that renting part of the hashrate is a strategy to balance part of their investments risks. By the way profits for end user a rare. Most of the times your B vs A is true. Most of the people going to be scammed by a false or going to buy a true mining contract should just buy BTC and hodl for a decade or so. What let's em fall into scams is that mining (read printing money) sounds so sexy to noobs.
Marco
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-29T23:18:58.340Z
@Marco mining is an *extremely* competitive industry, if you also consider the extra overhead required to build and maintain a system that will facilitate users renting the mining rigs (ie, a 'cloud mining service'), it becomes quite obvious that the user renting the rig is not going to be making a net profit. Any miner renting their rig out realizes this (otherwise they would just mine with it themselves). That is scammy behaviour, regardless of there actually being a mining rig or not.
chytrik
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-30T01:23:38.937Z
True. But I still see some CEO around blockchain events with no shame... :)
Marco
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-28T23:22:11.463Z
2020-01-29T01:29:30.117Z
2020-01-29T01:29:30.117Z
chytrik
<p>Someone offered to trade for me through bitcoin. He said i should send a bitcoin to crytomine company then he is going to claim it from the company so that he trades it with a commission of 10% of profit within 48 hours. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-28T23:21:57.893Z
A real bitcoin miner is a physical device you can touch. If you don't have that, it's probably a scam.
Pieter Wuille
<security>
How do i differentiate between a scam and a real bitcoin miner?
Jenny
# How do i differentiate between a scam and a real bitcoin miner?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-01-28)

Someone offered to trade for me through bitcoin. He said i should send a bitcoin to crytomine company then he is going to claim it from the company so that he trades it with a commission of 10% of profit within 48 hours.

**Tags:** security

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: A real bitcoin miner is a physical device you can touch. If you don't have that, it's probably a scam.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-01-28. Score: 3

Bitcoin mining involves setting up and running highly specialized computer machinery called ASICs (application specific integrated circuits). If you are being told you will be 'mining', but are not setting up and running these machines yourself, then chances are you are being scammed. Pretty much every instance of 'cloud mining' through some website service is a scam.

Consider: you have an ASIC machine, that profitably prints money for you. Do you:

a) use that machine to make money? OR

b) rent the use of the machine to someone else?

If you chose b), then you must expect to make more money than a) by doing so. This extra money must come from the user that is renting the machine, which means the user renting the machine is going to lose money, net.

The reality is, mining seems complicated to new users, so scammers often pretend to run 'mining operations' when they are trying to scam people. Being a 'miner' makes the scammer seem knowledgeable and wealthy, so that new users will be lured in.

> Someone offered to trade for me through bitcoin... with a commission of 10% of profit within 48 hours.

This is the second massive red flag. No legitimate broker would promise a commission of 10% within 48 hours. Professionally managed wealth funds aim for a smaller return than that, *annually*!

If that sort of profit was guaranteed, the broker would quickly become the wealthiest person on earth. With $1000 invested, after 1 year of 10% returns every two days, the broker would have ~$34,156,133,221. Obviously, this is completely absurd.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: I know at least two cloud mining that aren't a scam, meaning they will really rent you a portion of their hashrate and share part of the profits. NOT meaning they WILL be profitable. I also think that renting part of the hashrate is a strategy to balance part of their investments risks. By the way profits for end user a rare. Most of the times your B vs A is true. Most of the people going to be scammed by a false or going to buy a true mining contract should just buy BTC and hodl for a decade or so. What let's em fall into scams is that mining (read printing money) sounds so sexy to noobs.  
> **username_2**: @username_3 mining is an *extremely* competitive industry, if you also consider the extra overhead required to build and maintain a system that will facilitate users renting the mining rigs (ie, a 'cloud mining service'), it becomes quite obvious that the user renting the rig is not going to be making a net profit. Any miner renting their rig out realizes this (otherwise they would just mine with it themselves). That is scammy behaviour, regardless of there actually being a mining rig or not.  
> **username_3**: True. But I still see some CEO around blockchain events with no shame... :)  

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