A3 Antminer Review: Top Crypto Mining Equipment

Some people purchase their crypto and some work to earn them. Then there are the other; the one who makes the crypto sphere work; the miners. Mining is done on a small scale through faucets and micro mining software; and, on a much larger scale through vast hardware mining operations. While most of us cannot afford a multi-million dollar investment to start a mining operation, there are more affordable options, like Antminer A3. At around $ 1,000, you can purchase the A3 at any number of places online. A3 Antminer review states that it gives you one of the most potent pieces of mining hardware in that price range. But before you drop a grand on this excellent little piece of equipment, there are some things you must think about first. 

Antminer A3 Profitability: Why It's Worth Mining Siacoin

When people hear the words "crypto mining," most immediately think of bitcoin mining, which uses the SHA-256 hashing algorithm. The Antminer A3 uses the Blake (2b) hashing algorithm to mine Siacoin. Siacoin? For those of you who have never heard of this crypto, it is essentially a blockchain-based data storage system. Think Ethereum meets DropBox. If you have never owned Siacoin before, never fear. A quick check of my favorite instant exchanges shows fast, easy conversion to BTC, ETH, or any of your favorite cryptos via ShapeShift. So, if you are comfortable using new crypto and having one strictly for conversion, the Antminer A3 could be the answer to your mining needs. 

Bitmain, the company that brought us the Antminer S9, released their new ASIC miner, the Antminer A3 in January of 2018. Thus far, it is gaining a relatively impressive following, possibly due to the popularity of its S9 bitcoin mining hardware. Let's get straight to the point by exploring the question everyone has on their mind at this point - is the Antminer A3 a valuable piece of hardware? Before you launch the A3 Antminer profit calculator to count how much you can earn, you should consider the following information. 

While the Antminer A3 is significantly more potent than existing mining hardware running the Blake (2b) algorithm, this initial burst of profitability won't last. The problem here is increasing difficulty. When you mine crypto successfully, you mine a block. As each block is extracted, the pressure of the next block is higher because the previous block must be included in the mining process to create the new neighborhood, and so on. What does this mean for the A3? Well, as fast and powerful as this hardware is, as these machines are put into use around the globe, more Siacoin will be mined, faster than it has been before. More blocks are created in a short amount of time, increasing the difficulty in the mining algorithm at a relatively fast pace. So, while the Antminer A3 may pay for its $ 1,000 price tag, it may soon become obsolete as the Siacoin blockchain grows. We saw this happen with the Dash mining boom in the summer of 2017. And, I expect to see it here as well; it is the mining trap of all cryptos.

The Importance of A3 Antminer Profit Calculator

However, as of today, on the 26 of April 2018, if you mine Siacoin with the Antminer A3, you can produce around $ 12,000 per year (before paying the cost of the equipment and electricity). But this Antminer A3 profitability could drop over the coming weeks/months as more people purchase and begin to use their own A3's. That decrease could be 60-90 % over the coming 6-12 months. This will lower the Antminer A3's profitability to the level of the D3, which currently produces around $ 350-$ 400 per year before costs. With the help of the A3 Antminer profit calculator, you are to figure out how much you are going to get. 

The Siacoin team itself has taken notice of the release of the Antminer A3. They have considered creating a fork to nullify the A3 by changing the underlying algorithm. In the last report, that idea has been shelved. But, the fact that the Siacoin team is concerned with the possibility of a negative impact on the coin and blockchain leads us away from recommending or using this hardware. Still, the powerful Antminer A3 hashrate even encourages more and more people to use the equipment.   

Then there are the competitors to the Antminer A3. When choosing the needed equipment, you can't but consider Antminer A3 hashrate. At the moment, the Antminer A3 looks to be the only Blake (2b) ASIC miner on the market. However, Halong Mining has announced its intention to release one soon that is purportedly about 3 1/2 times more efficient than the A3. This would cause Siacoin mining difficulty to increase even faster, driving the A3's profitability down even further. 

Antminer A3 Hashrate: Important Points to Consider 

The Antminer A3 seems to be a fantastic opportunity for profitable mining. Yet, this equipment is not the best choice for a long-term investment as the outlook appears bleak in our assessment. If the A3 holds its $ 1 k /month production level, it will take two months to pay off the equipment and electricity and begin to show a profit. And, that's a big IF when considering the increased difficulty and the possibility of competition coming soon.

All in all, our assessment of the Antminer A3 is the most powerful crypto mining equipment, and despite incredible Antminer A3 profitability, our vote is NOT. After all, having power means nothing if the power destroys the machine it runs, and the potential for damage to the Siacoin blockchain through the use of this hardware is simply too great to ignore.

Even discounting those concerns, the mere fact that the massive resources wielded by the Antminer A3, and the equally enormous drop in profitability as these machines begin driving up the mining difficulty, means that the chances of making money with this hardware are almost certainly limited to the team at Bitmain, its creator. This adds nothing to the crypto sphere. And, if you are not helping the crypto sphere grow positively, you are hurting it. Cryptos are about creating our own stable, decentralized financial world, not about quick, instant profits for companies to the detriment of individuals, the coins/tokens, the blockchains, and the crypto sphere itself. 

For these reasons, our A3 Antminer review gives a thumbs down for long-term, positive, profitable use. Whether you take our recommendation or not, good luck with your mining and your crypto adventures. Happy HODLing!!!