The New Next

Menü öffnen

Heinrich Holtgreve —
Once We All Agree: Part 5

In the bitcoin mine

Bitcoin is the best known of the cryptocurrencies. Bitcoins can be used to pay for goods and services. In this context, there is no central body defining the framework conditions & neither banks, nor states. Bitcoins can neither be reprinted nor endowed with low interest rates.

All bitcoin transactions are recorded in a decentralised, encrypted form & the “blockchain”. In this way, every payment transaction is presented in a clearly understandable way similar to a traditional cash ledger. The cryptographic process, by which the sender, recipient and sums are hashed, requires an enormous amount of processing power.

This fifth and final chapter in the “We have a deal” photo series looks at a private and professional “bitcoin mine” & in other words, different aspects of the global bitcoin infrastructure.

Chris and Tobias Straube, the two-brother editing team of the www.bitcoin-live.de website live in a small, tranquil town not far from Bremen in northwest Germany. It goes without saying that they also operate their own bitcoin mine — in their garage. There are three powerful ventilators hidden behind the white wooden door. They draw in cold air to keep the brothers’ mining hardware cool.
The computer components required for a bitcoin mine — also referred to as “miners” — are costly and highly coveted. The Straubes have installed a closed-circuit camera above the door to their mine. 
A clear view of the mine — and with it, a small part of the global, decentralised bitcoin network. In mines such as this, all bitcoin transactions are entered in the blockchain using cryptographic calculations. 
Network and adapter cards are within easy reach in the spare parts store. 
An internet connection to transmit blockchain information is indispensable for operating a mine. Ample processing power is also essential to manage the transactions and calculate new blocks.
Change of scene: in the Netherlands, just over the border from Aachen, the company »SkyLink« operates a data centre focusing on bitcoin mining. The company now caters to approximately 300 clients, who can rent space using their own devices, thereby making their own contribution to the blockchain calculation. 
The mining hardware can be found in the rack space behind the fire door. Skylink, the host, provides the space, a secure power supply and adequate cooling. Clients do not pay any rent to park their devices. They are charged for the power that their hardware consumes. 
The bitcoin or blockchain was established as a completely new concept in 2008. The innovator, who has remained anonymous to this day, set everything in motion with publications in the cryptography scene under the alias of Satoshi Nakamoto. This anarchic pioneering spirit is reflected in the appearance of the data centre. In contrast to streamlined and highly-tuned bank data centres, creative chaos rules here.
Bitcoin is primarily “prospected” in this mine. Alternative currencies such as Litecoin and Ethereum are also mined to a lesser extent. In return for the processing power supplied, the operators of the bitcoin mine receive shares in the respective currency. 
Like cattle in the cowshed: lined up closely together, graphic cards calculate blockchain blocks, which are then fed into the computer via blue USB cables, from where they are uploaded onto the decentralised bitcoin network.
These professional “miners” are optimised in a small storage space with simultaneously high performance and the lowest possible power consumption.
SkyLink operates the data centre according to the BYOD (bring your own device) principle. For this reason, the hardware used by the clients is very diverse. 
The cryptographic calculations which form the blockchain are becoming increasingly more sophisticated. Every bitcoin transaction that is carried out must be encrypted as a hash before it is entered in the blockchain. Estimates compare the power consumed by the bitcoin network in the winter of 2017 to the output of a nuclear power plant.

Heinrich Holtgreve — Once We All Agree

Heinrich Holtgreve uses his camera to visualise money in all its manifestations. He has travelled throughout Germany, seeking out places where money can be found: banks, museums, printers, tax offices, stock markets, fintech companies and even a Bitcoin mine. The idea of assigning value to things has always been a feat of abstract thinking. Holtgreve tries to retrace its development, from primitive practices to coins and paper money, all the way to electronic money. How has the relationship between immaterial and material value changed money? And, how does this transformation influence our lives? With his project, “Once We All Agree”, Holtgreve wants to provide food for thought regarding our relationship with money.

Heinrich Holtgreve has been part of the OSTKREUZ Agency since 2016 and photographs for renowned editors, publishers and agencies nationally and internationally. He lives and works in Hamburg.

Related series

Heinrich Holtgreve — Once We All Agree: Part 1

Heinrich Holtgreve — Once We All Agree: Part 2

Heinrich Holtgreve — Once We All Agree: Part 3

Heinrich Holtgreve — Once We All Agree: Part 4