Skymining for Fun and Profit
How to build the new Internet and make money doing it
By now you’ve likely heard of Skycoin. It’s the cryptocurrency project that is actually an ecosystem of hardware and software constructing a new internet called Skywire.
And not just a new internet, but a better one that is truly decentralized. Faster, safer, indestructible and impossible to censor. It is end-to-end encrypted so it is completely private. Its baked-in privacy means that on Skywire, you cannot be tracked, targeted, or spied on by governments or greedy corporations, and it is impossible to block or censor websites or other content based on which country you live in.
(It is, of course, possible to access the “legacy internet” through Skywire, but the internet will still retain all its current inherent flaws and privacy drawbacks.)
The infrastructure underpinning Skywire is comprised of thousands of little cubes like the one in the photo above, distributed around the globe. Each Skyminer is comprised of eight nodes (basically independent computers) providing the storage, bandwidth, and processing power for the Skywire network. There are a few other projects both within and outside of the crypto space working toward establishing a decentralized Internet, but few are as advanced or have been in active development for as many years as Skycoin, which began in 2013.
With the addition of an antenna, Skywire becomes a global wireless mesh network. That means anyone can get onto this network at a tiny fraction of the cost they would otherwise pay to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). In fact, access to Skywire is paid for in Coin Hours, a currency that is automatically generated simply by holding Skycoin in a designated wallet.
The people who add value to the network by operating Skyminers are the ones who are paid in Coin Hours. Those micropayments are an incentive to those who purchase and run a Skyminer. That’s because a Skyminer plus an antenna makes anyone a literal Internet Service Provider for their community.
Each official Skyminer purchased from skycoin.net features eight access nodes to Skywire. At the moment, as further incentive to build the Skywire network, everyone who purchases and runs a Skyminer will receive the entire purchase price back in Skycoin over the course of 24 months. And since you’re paid in Skycoin you can sell the coin for cash, trade it for other cryptocurrencies, or better yet, hold onto it and watch it appreciate in value (and generate more Coin Hours) as the Skywire network continues to grow. Who knows? The first month’s reimbursement might be worth the entire price of the Skyminer by the time your last reimbursement payment arrives.
As more people join Skywire, those running a Skyminer can earn additional money by simply keeping their Skyminer plugged in, serving the network. People who surf Skywire will have Coin Hours automatically deducted and sent to Skyminer operators as payment for the bandwidth consumed. That’s passive income.
If you don’t want to buy a Skyminer from Skycoin.net, but still want to help the Skywire network and make a little extra cash, you can build your own very inexpensively. There are do-it-yourself building instructions just a search box away, and although the rewards are not as high as they are for those running official Skyminers, it’s still considerable weighed against the low cost of building a DIY node (or nodes) yourself.
So if you want to make a meaningful difference and help build the hardware infrastructure of a revolutionary decentralized internet (and also make money while you’re doing it), pick up a Skyminer today.
If you liked my writing and would like to contribute to me making more feel free to donate some Skycoin: GCB5KK9LmJzxxxh2hMoKm3HRXwaJe9vRfd
