来源：31QU 原标题：争渡2014，中国比特币矿机往事
2014年年初，小强矿机创始人谢坚（小强）在长沙组局，吴忌寒和吴刚从北京赶来参加。聚会上，两人打赌：年底，比特币算力能不能突破1000P？
In early 2014, the founder of the Xie Jian (King), Wu Xiaoxian and Wu Gang came from Beijing to join us at Changsha Bureau. At the party, the two bets: At the end of the year, could Bitcoin be able to break 1,000 Ps?
这场赌局的赌注，约定为10个比特币。吴忌寒认为不能，吴刚认为可以。
The bet on this bet is 10 bitcoins. Wu Xinxian thinks he can't, Wu Kong thinks he can.
当时，全球比特币算力刚突破P级不久，要想破千，似乎有点难度。
At that time, the global bitcoin was just over the P level and seemed a little difficult to break.
不过，2013年比特币价格的飞涨，让很多人信心爆棚，资金、人才跑步进场，比特币矿机生意正在升温，似乎没有什么能拦得住比特币的脚步。
However, the sharp rise in the price of bitcoin in 2013 has given a lot of people confidence, money, talent, and the business of bitcoin machines are warming, and nothing seems to stop bitcoin.
最终，吴忌寒赢得了这10个比特币。因为2014年，比特币开始了长达3年的熊市，价格暴跌、信仰崩塌，曾经潮水般涌入的人群，也开始迅速退场。
In the end, Wu Xiaoqing won these 10 bitcoins. Because in 2014, Bitcoin began a three-year-old bear market, with prices falling, beliefs collapsing, and a flood of people who were once inundated, began to retreat quickly.
就在两位淘金者立下赌约后，在一片哀嚎声中，整个比特币矿机世界，开始经历天翻地覆的变化。
Just after the bets were made by the two gold miners, the entire world of the Bitcoin mine began to experience a dramatic turn over.
文 / 31QU 林君
Man / 31QU Linjun
1
为什么是2014年？
Why 2014?
支撑吴刚做出积极判断的，是前一年比特币的疯狂表现。
It was the crazy act of Bitcoin the previous year that underpinned Wu's positive judgement.
2013年，比特币价格疯涨。从25美元到260美元，比特币只用了不到三个月，就翻了10倍。
In 2013, the price of bitcoin rose sharply. From $25 to $260, bitcoin increased 10 times in less than three months.
中国成为世界上最热衷挖矿和交易比特币的国家。
China became the world's most keen mining and trading country for bitcoin.
当时七成以上的矿场和交易发生在中国，被媒体称为“中国大妈”的买家们，在短短一个月内，就将约100亿元的人民币投入了比特币交易。
More than 70 per cent of the mines and transactions took place in China, where buyers, known by the media as “China’s Grandmothers”, committed approximately 10 billion yuan in bitcoin in just one month.
但风光的日子没有持续多久，在经历疯狂暴涨后，比特币从业者迎来了寒冬洗礼。一场从2014年持续到2016年的熊市，让比特币从8000元，下跌到900元；莱特币则从380元，暴跌至5元……
But the days of the wind did not last much longer, and after a crazy surge, Bitcoin practitioners received a winter bath. A bear market that lasted from 2014 to 2016 brought Bitcoin down from $8,000 to $900, and Leatcoin fell from $380 to $5.
▲ 2014年，比特币价格走势图
2014 Bitcoin price trends
在牛开始转熊的2014年，创业环境还未十分恶劣时，比特币矿机创业，还是一片欣欣向荣的景象。
In 2014, when the cattle began to turn around, the business environment was not so bad, the Bitcoin miner became a business starter and was a happy sight.
一方面，前一年的财富效应，吸引无数创业者入局比特币矿机生产，从菊花矿机、龙矿矿机，到小强矿机、银鱼矿机。国内的矿机厂商竞争，呈百舸争流之势。
On the one hand, the wealth effect of the previous year has attracted numerous entrepreneurs into the production of Bitcoin machines, ranging from ass miners, dragon miners, small-power miners, silver-fish miners.
另一方面，虽然当时比特币全网算力刚刚进入P级，比特大陆和Cointerra等多家公司，已经开始计划在几个月内部署以P为单位的算力。
On the other hand, while Bitcoin's full net capacity had just reached the P level at that time, several companies, such as Bitcontinent and Cointerra, had begun planning to deploy P-sized computing capacity in a few months.
以至于让那些早期购买期货矿机，还没收到货的买家，陷入入手即过时的尴尬。
To the extent that early buyers of futures machines who had not yet received their goods were left in an up-to-date state of embarrassment.
就在芯片研发、矿机售卖陷入僵局之时，比特大陆和烤猫，开始做起了云算力生意，从算力巢、算力吧、比特管家，到AMHash、hashnest，云算力的玩法开始流行。
At a time when chip research and development and mine sales were at a standstill, Bitland and the roasted cat started a cloud computing business, starting from the calculus nest, the calculus bar, the Bittler, to AMHash, the Hashnest, the cloud computing game.
▲ 2014年9月，国内外云算力平台概况
伴随着熊市降临，年初激烈、疯狂的矿机竞赛，也走到了洗牌的十字路口。
With the arrival of the City of Bears, the intense and insane race of miners at the beginning of the year also reached the crossroads of card-shuffling.
那些串起中国加密货币挖矿历史的新矿机与新玩法，几经沉浮，有的已然消失，有的还在创造历史。
New mining machines and new games that have sunk the history of Chinese encrypt currency mining, some have disappeared and others are still making history.
2
崛起的矿机生意
2014年会成为整个比特币世界的重要时间点，并非偶然。
It is no coincidence that 2014 will be an important time point for the entire Bitcoin world.
前一年冬天，蚂蚁矿机S1突然在圈子里流行起来，有心人通过做矿机代理商，赚了一大笔钱。
In the winter of the previous year, the ant miner S1 suddenly became popular in the circle, making a lot of money by being a mine agent.
好比特币COO超级君曾撰文回忆，当时他通过关系找到吴忌寒，说好可以做蚂蚁矿机的代理商，但后来因为“代理一台矿机只能赚400元”，收益率太低，“打消了念头”。
The super-Governor of Bitcoin Coo wrote a recollection when he found Wu Xiaoqin through his relationship and agreed to act as an agent for an ant miner, but later because of the fact that “the agent of a mine earns only $400”, the rate of return was too low and “dissipated”.
等到三个月后，微博开始传蚂蚁矿机S1仅2个月卖了2亿台，错过这次机会的他，只能“仰天长啸，呼喊一声**”。
Three months later, Weibo began selling 200 million ants in only two months, and he missed this opportunity only “wailing up and shouting**”.
比特币价格飞速上涨，矿机生产中巨大的利润，让资本接踵而至，创业者相继跑步进场。
Bitcoin prices rose rapidly, huge profits were made in the production of machines, capital was brought in, and entrepreneurs went on and on.
除了比特币矿机，莱特币矿机也开始出现。一时间，龙矿矿机、比特花园矿机、氪能矿机、宙斯矿机、银鱼矿机、西部矿机……十多个矿机厂商竞相角逐。
In addition to the Bitcoin machines, the Leatco machines are beginning to appear. At one point, the dragon miner, the Bit Garden miner, the kryptonite miner, the Zeus miner, the Silverfish miner, the Western miner, and more than a dozen miners.
▲ 曾经的USB矿机
2014年春节后，此前一直专心网文创作的谢坚，也决定进场分一杯羹。
After the spring of 2014, Tsai Kin, who had previously been focused on writing on the Internet, decided to take part in the game.
当时，烤猫矿场占全网的算力不到5%，已经从矿场霸主位置跌落，在分红骤减、股票减值的压力下，烤猫决定转型，专做芯片。这次转型，让谢坚看到了创业的机会。
At that time, the baked cat mine, which accounted for less than 5% of the net, had fallen from its dominant position and, under the pressure of a sharp drop in red, stock and stock, had decided to transform into a chip. This transition allowed Xie Kin to see the opportunity to start a business.
之前，谢坚跟着吴刚投资烤猫，获利颇丰。通过利用早年积累的网站资源，他一直负责着烤猫矿机的国内营销与销售。
Before that, Xie Kin invested in the cat roasting with Wu Gang, and he was very profitable. He was responsible for the domestic marketing and marketing of the cat miner, using the Web resources accumulated earlier in the year.
烤猫决定转型后，谢坚利用自己的股东身份，与烤猫达成合作，由烤猫提供芯片，他自己组建小强矿机（RockMiner）团队，做矿机生产。
After the decision to transform the roast cat, Xie Ken used his shareholder status to work with the roast cat, which provided chips, and formed his own RockMiner team to produce the miner.
据介绍，当时小强矿机使用的芯片和方案，基本都出自烤猫公司之手，可以说是“烤猫矿机”的延伸。
At that time, it was described that chips and programmes used by the Little Power Miner were largely at the hands of the Cats Inc., which could be described as an extension of the Cat Miner.
另外，资金方面，小强矿机也选择了当时流行的IPO。结果出乎意料，仅花了13秒，项目就完成了IPO。
In addition, on the financial side, the small mining machine chose the IPO that was popular at the time. The results were unexpected, and it took only 13 seconds for the project to complete the IPO.
“最终还多出了五百多个币，我们手动将这些币原路返还还费了一番功夫。”谢坚回忆。
“and finally more than 500 more, and it took us a lot of effort to return those coins manually.” Thank you very much.
手里有钱，野心勃勃的小强矿机考虑到国际化，还花大价钱，将域名rockminer.com从外国人手里买了回来。
With the money in hand, the ambitious little mining machine, given its internationalization, paid a lot of money to buy the domain name Rockminer.com from a foreigner.
不久，在深圳松岗那个“连出租车都打不到的乡下”，团队推出了R-BOX、小强USB等多款比特币矿机。
Shortly after, the team launched multi-bitcoin machines such as R-BOX and Little John USB in Shenzhen, the “street country where taxis are not available”.
▲ 小强矿机R-BOX
> > > > >
除此之外，与小强矿机一样基于烤猫三代芯片生产、研发矿机的厂商，还有花园矿机团队、赵东的HashRatio团队。
In addition to this, there is a company based on the production of three-generation chips for roasting cats, as well as a team of garden miners and a team of Hashratio from Zhaodong.
前者发行过IPO，失败告终，后者声称是业内第一家拥有烤猫芯片整机方案，并实现量产的公司。
The former had published IPOs, which failed, and the latter claimed to be the first company in the industry to have a whole chip program for roasting cats and to have achieved volume production.
5月24日，2014年比特币矿机大会在深圳召开，据称这场由宝二爷（郭宏才）组织的大会号称“封闭”会议，只有“汉子”参加。
On 24 May, the 2014 Bitcoin Miner's Congress was held in Shenzhen, an alleged “closed” conference organized by Lord Po (Gou Hongjian) and attended only by “the man”.
当天，国内比特币圈内的“大佬”，包括张楠赓、郭义夫李林、徐明星、墨不一、毛世行、谢坚等人均到场，现场气氛热烈。这时的市场，还是生机勃勃的迹象。
On the same day, the “big man” in the country’s Bitcoin circle, including Zhang Nanjing, Guo Yivelin, Xu Star, Mobunichi, Mao Bank, Xie Jin and others, came to the scene, with a lively atmosphere. The market was still a sign of dynamism.
▲ 2014年比特币矿机大会
2014 Bitcoin Miner Conference
这是一个热血的创业故事，也是一段残酷的厮杀历史。
It's a bloodthirsty business story, and it's a cruel conspiracy history.
由于矿机迭代越来越快，有创业者发现，自己的矿机还在生产线上，竞争对手那边更好性能的矿机已经流片。
As the mine has become more and more rapid, some entrepreneurs have found that their mine is still on the production line and that a better-performing miner on the other side of the competitor is already drifting.
加上熊市冲击，币价一路下跌，矿工购买矿机的需求极速下降，日渐萎缩的市场让大部分厂商难以为继，银鱼矿机、莱特币矿机、Gridseed菊花矿机等纷纷消失。
Combined with the bear-market shock, currency prices have fallen all the way, the demand for miners to buy mine machines has fallen sharply, the shrinking market has made it difficult for most producers to sustain, and silverfish, Letco and Gridseed ash machines have disappeared.
原本利润颇丰的矿机生意，突然变成了刺刀见红、尸骨累累的残酷战场，就连资源丰富、风光无限的小强矿机，也没熬过寒冬。
The lucrative mine business suddenly turned into a brutal battleground of bayonet and death, and even the resource-rich, windless, small and powerful miner did not survive the winter.
2014年下半年，由于持续亏损，小强关停了矿场，并试图转让，“年初的600万投入，只剩200万”。
During the second half of 2014, as a result of sustained losses, Siu Xiang closed the mine and attempted to transfer “only 2 million of the 6 million inputs made at the beginning of the year”.
雪上加霜的是，外部环境也开始冲击矿机生产商的地位。
Added to this is the fact that the external environment has also begun to affect the position of miner producers.
为了在熊市留住投资者，交易所也开始寻找交易以外的机会；这时候，顺利完成融资的交易所OKCoin、火币网，也在寻求新的增长点。
In order to retain investors in the bear market, the exchange also began to look for opportunities other than trading; at that time, the successfully financed exchange OKCoin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were also looking for new growth points.
通过借鉴金融领域的玩法，这些交易所开始上线金融服务工具。
By drawing on the playing field in the financial field, these exchanges have started to access online financial services tools.
2014年，OKCoin、火币网、796等比特币交易所宣布，推出比特币期货服务，点对点借贷、杠杆等金融玩法开始出现。这些新出现的玩法，直接威胁了矿机厂商的地位。
In 2014, the Bitcoin Exchanges, which announced the introduction of bitcoin futures services, and point-to-point lending, leverage, etc., began to emerge. These emerging games directly threaten the position of miners.
在此之前，市场上没有杠杆交易，比特币的价格主要受矿机商制约，矿机商手里，掌握着主导比特币的价格的权利。
Prior to that, there had been no leverage on the market, the price of Bitcoin had been largely regulated by miners, who had the right to dominate the price of Bitcoin.
金融杠杆工具出现后，短时间内，大批投机资金开始入场、寻求套利机会，比特币价格越来越脱离矿机厂商的掌控，开始由市场定价。
In the short period of time following the emergence of financial leverage instruments, large amounts of speculative funds have begun to enter and seek arbitrage opportunities, and bitcoin prices have become increasingly out of the hands of miners and have begun to be priced by the market.
不过，矿机做不下去后，小强矿机并没有退出舞台，而是和陷入芯片滞销压力的烤猫一起，合计起了新的生意：云算力。
However, after the miner could not go on, the miniature miner did not withdraw from the stage, but, together with the roasted cat, which was caught in the pressure of the chip, brought together a new business: cloud computing.
内忧外患，一度所向披靡的矿机厂商，面临前所未有的挑战。
Unprecedented challenges are faced by internal and external distress, once a powerful miner.
3
不得不提的矿机变迁史
has had to mention the evolution of the mine machine. >/strong >
事实上，发展到2014年的比特币挖矿，已经经历了几次蝶变。
In fact, the development of bitcoin mining into 2014 has gone through several whirlwinds.
早期，比特币挖矿只需要一台电脑（CPU）。
Earlier, one computer (CPU) was needed for Bitcoin mining.
原因是在比特币数量的设定上，创造者中本聪采取了一种难度调节方法，使挖到比特币的难度和挖矿数量呈相关性，控制比特币产生速度。
The reason for this is that, in setting the number of bitcoins, the creators have adopted a difficult method of reconciling the difficulty of digging to bitcoins with the number of digs and controlling the speed at which bitcoins are generated.
由于早期参与者稀少，最早的矿工哈尔·芬尼曾在几星期内，借助电脑挖到了几千个比特币。
Because of the scarcity of early participants, Hal Finny, the first miner, was able to dig thousands of bitcoins by computer in a few weeks.
后来，因为觉得“运行比特币客户端会导致计算机很烫”，加上风扇的噪音让人困扰，他才把软件关闭了。
Later, he shut down the software because he felt that “wiping a bitcoin client would make the computer hot” and that the fan noise was disturbing.
再后来，比特币开始有价格。为了挖出更多的比特币，有人开始专注提升自己的运算能力，经过研究后发现，比特币挖矿依赖的SHA-256哈希值运算，如果采用GPU（即显卡）计算，在速度上会比CPU高出上百甚至上千倍。
And then, bitcoin began to have prices. To dig up more bitcoins, some people began to focus on improving their ability to calculate, and research found that the SHA-256 Hashi value on which bitcoin digs depends would be 100 or even 1,000 times faster than the CPU if it were calculated using GPU (i.e. a visible card).
于是，技术极客开始编写利用显卡挖掘比特币的程序，显卡挖矿软件开源公开后，大批玩家开始采购由显卡组成、专门用于挖矿的计算机器，即矿机。
As a result, technocrats began to develop a program to excavate bitcoin using a visible card, and after the opening of the visible card mining software, a large number of players began to purchase a computer made up of a visible card dedicated to mining, the miner.
CPU挖矿模式，开始退出历史舞台。
The CPU mining model began to exit the historical stage.
就在GPU大行其道时，2012年6月，美国一个开发比特币挖矿机的机构蝴蝶实验室（BFL）称，他们将研发一种功能远胜当时水平的挖矿机器ASIC，采用65nm制造技术，只做SHA256算法，其他所有功能都不要，另外，他们接受预定订单。
Just as the GPU was on its way, in June 2012, a United States agency developing a bitcoin miner, the Butterfly Laboratory (BFL), stated that they would develop a much better-functioning mining machine, ASIC, using 65nm manufacturing technology, only the SHA256 algorithm, not all other functions, and that they would take orders.
▲ 蝴蝶矿机募集大量资金后，BFL却进展缓慢，投资者预定的50G矿机，发货日期一再跳票，最后到货的时间已经是一年半后。
After raising a large amount of money, the BFL has been slow, with investors planning 50-G machines, the date of shipment jumping, and the final arrival is one and a half years later.
据说取货的时候还要缴纳数千元关税，当时这款矿机现货也只卖2~3千元，“回本基本没有希望”。
It was said that thousands of dollars were to be collected at a time when the mine was sold for only two to three thousand dollars, “with little hope of returning”.
此外，在专业化矿机规模出现前，还曾有过一种FPGA矿机，以西瓜机、南瓜机为代表。
In addition, prior to the emergence of a specialized miner, there was a FPGA mine, which was represented by watermelon and pumpkin machines.
▲ 早期的西瓜机ASIC矿机概念提出后，很多人也开始对这种矿机感兴趣，其中就有烤猫（蒋信予）和张楠庚（ngzhang南瓜张）。
Since the introduction of the concept of an ASIC miner, many people have also become interested in such a mine, among them the roast cat (Jiang Shinji) and the ngzhang pumpkin.
2012年8月，烤猫在深圳成立公司，宣布制造ASIC矿机计划，并在国外GLBSE网站上进行公开虚拟IPO，按照0.1比特币一股的价格，发行了16万股，代码为ASICMINER。
In August 2012, the roast cat established a company in Shenzhen, announcing plans for the manufacture of an ASIC miner and conducting a public virtual IPO on the GLBSE website abroad, issued 160,000 shares, coded ASICMINER, at a price of 0.1 bitcoin.
当时，跟着吴刚投项目的谢坚，本来只想按最低限额投，后来“心中几经挣扎”，“既然决定要投，投少不如投多。”最后投了1000比特币，加上12.5%的增股优惠，共持12500股，成了公司的董事会成员。
At that time, following the Jae-Kin project, he was only trying to pay the minimum amount, and then “a few times he struggled” and “when he decided to do so, he made less than a few”; he ended up with 1,000 bits of money, plus 12.5 per cent of the equity increase, and he held 12,500 shares and became a member of the company's board of directors.
这也为他后来的创业埋下了伏笔。
This also buried an ambush for his subsequent business.
烤猫的IPO很成功，2013年1月3日，样机问世并稳定运行。
The IPO of the roasted cat was a success, and on 3 January 2013 the prototype was available and stable.
在烤猫公布样机的17天后，由北航计算机体系结构在读博士张楠赓组建的阿瓦隆Avalon团队，也完成了首款矿机——Avalon 1的交付。同年4月20日，瑞典专业ASIC设计公司ORSoC宣布，他们将联手KNCminer进行专业 ASIC比特币矿机的设计及生产。
On 20 April of the same year, the Swedish professional ASIC design firm ORSoc announced that they would join forces with KNCminer in the design and production of a specialized ASIC bitcoin miner.
比特币ASIC矿机时代，呼啸而来。
BitcoinAsc Mine Age, wailing.
▲ 曾经的菊花矿机
随着矿工增多，打包数据块的难度在快速提高，单台矿机成功打包一个数据块的概率越来越低，甚至长达数年甚至数十年。
As the number of miners increases, the difficulty of packing data blocks increases rapidly, and the probability of a single miner successfully packing a data block is decreasing, even for years or decades.
有心人开始将零散的矿机整合起来，形成一个个庞大无比的云计算集群，然后根据计算能力的贡献均分挖矿收益。
Heart-blowing people have begun to integrate scattered mining machines into a huge cluster of cloud computing, which then divides the benefits of mining equally according to the contribution of the capacity to calculate.
当时，烤猫也利用自己开发的矿机挖矿，组建了世界上第一个由ASIC矿机组成的比特币矿场。
At that time, the roast cat also used its own mine machine to dig for the first bitcoin mine in the world, made up of an ASIC miner.
这种模式，也逐渐被矿工接受，最终形成算力权力集中的矿池。
This model has also gradually been accepted by miners, resulting in a pool of arithmetic power.
阿瓦隆成功推出矿机后便宣布转型：开源Avalon除芯片（A3256）之外的硬件解决方案，公司定位为比特币挖矿芯片提供商，不再出售组装好的成机。
After the successful launch of the Avalon mine, the transformation was announced: open-source hardware solutions for Avalon other than chip (A3256), with the company positioned as a pit chip provider in Bitcoin and no longer selling assembled assembly machines.
▲ 阿瓦隆创始人张楠赓就在烤猫、张楠赓迅速发展之时，另一位创业者也在筹划着进场。
At a time when the roasted cat and Zhang Nanjing were growing rapidly, another entrepreneur was planning to enter.
2013年上半年，吴忌寒辞职，接受了浙江投资人的投资，据了解，当时投资人订购的一批矿机芯片已经延期，他觉得“有必要帮助他们挽回投资成本，实际上相当于带着他们再赌了一把。”
In the first half of 2013, Wu Xiaoqin resigned and accepted the investment of Zhejiang investors. It was understood that a shipment of mine chip ordered by the investors had been postponed and he felt that “it was necessary to help them recover the cost of the investment, which would actually be equivalent to taking another gamble with them”.
于是，比特大陆成立了。
So, the Bitland was formed.
团队干劲十足，短短13个月，比特大陆就推出了3款算力芯片，功耗从2W/G降到了0.5W/G，一举打开了局面，“也确实帮助他们挽回了那次芯片预售上的亏损。”吴忌寒在采访时表示。
The team was very aggressive, and in just 13 months, Bitland launched three computing chips, down from 2W/G to 0.5 W/G, opening up the situation, “and did help them recover the loss on the chip's pre-sale.” Wu Xiaoqing said in an interview.
虽然张楠赓、吴忌寒都曾是烤猫的早期投资人，但等到2014年，这三位创业者都已经各自组建了自己的团队和公司，中国矿机生产商三足鼎立之势渐成。
Although Zhang Nanjing and Wu Xiaoqing were early investors in roasting cats, by 2014 each of the three entrepreneurs had formed their own teams and companies, and Chinese miner producers were emerging.
市面上的ASIC矿机，虽然原理相同，但因为厂商的不同，出现了USB矿机、刀片模组化矿机等各式各样的矿机……
ASIC machines on the market, although based on the same principles, have emerged in a variety of types of machines, such as USB machines, Knife modules etc. due to differences in manufacturers...
4
毁誉参半的云算力
我们再将目光聚焦到2014年陷入内忧外患的比特币矿机厂商。
We will focus our attention again on the Bitcoin miner, who fell into a state of internal distress in 2014.
当时，虽然国内矿机市场没有被一家厂商垄断，但数十家矿机厂商角逐，情况并不乐观。
At that time, although the domestic market of mining machines was not monopolized by one manufacturer, the situation was not encouraging for dozens of such companies.
到了10月份，随着比特币价格一路下跌，并突破新低，矿机间的竞争也达到了白热化阶段。
By October, as Bitcoin prices fell all the way and reached a new low, competition among mining machines also reached a white-hot stage.
对于矿机厂商来说，不仅难以完成既定的销售计划，销售利润也突破了历史低点。曾经昙花一现的西瓜矿机，说明了当时矿机竞争的惨烈程度。
For miners, not only is it difficult to complete the established marketing plan, but the profits from the sale have also reached historical lows. The watermelon miner, which was once flowered, illustrates the extent of competition at the time.
最早可追溯至2011年5月的西瓜机，出自桂林的软件开发工程师西瓜李。当时，为了提高挖矿的能力，他研发了一个PCI-E7槽扩展板，允许一个普通主板扩展多个接口。
The earliest watermelon machine, dating back to May 2011, was a watermelon development engineer from Guilin. At that time, in an effort to improve mining capacity, he developed an extended PCI-E7 slot board, allowing a common main plate to expand multiple interfaces.
顶峰时占全网算力3-5%的西瓜机，一直卖到了阿瓦隆批量上市的2013年5月。
The watermelon machine, which had a full net capacity of 3-5 per cent at the peak, was sold to Avalon in May 2013.
一直没有离开圈子的西瓜李，2014年6月又研发了一款矿机，部署晚了2个月，“（问题是）我们已经量产，还有很多芯片在手上。”“（如果）要部署还要大笔的投入。”如果再部署，最多只能盈亏平衡。
Watermelon Lee, who has not left the circle, developed another mine in June 2014 and deployed two months late, “(the problem is) we've produced a lot of chips in hand.” “If there is still a lot of input to deploy.” If there is to be re-deployment, there will be at best a profit or a loss balance.
对于矿机厂商来说，慢，意味着被淘汰。
For miners, slowness means phase-out.
按照以往经验，矿机厂商快速处理库存主要以下两种方式：对外销售和自行部署（包括加盟部署）。前者是尽量将手中的矿机卖出去，后者是厂商搭建矿场，安装矿机并挖矿。
In the light of past experience, there are two main ways for miners to process stocks quickly: external sales, and self-deployment (including deployment by the Alliance), which sells as much of their machines as possible, and for miners to build mines, install mine machines and dig mines.
面对进退两难的境地，西瓜矿机“内部意见并不统一”，只能几种模式都试试。其他矿机厂商也开始寻求生存之道。
In the face of a dilemma, watermelon miners “do not agree internally,” but try several models. Other miners are also looking for a way to survive.
2014年9月初，比特大陆率先宣布，推出云算力服务，上线云算力平台“算力巢”。
In early September 2014, the continent of Bit was the first to announce the launch of the cloud computing service, the “calculation nest” of the online cloud computing platform.
据介绍，这是一个面向全球所有比特币挖矿爱好者和矿机托管业务经营者开放的平台，用户购买算力后，每日可以根据实际产出得到分配，还能实时监控矿场算力的变化情况。
It was described as a platform open to all of the world's Bitcoin diggers and mine-hosting operators, where users can be allocated daily on the basis of actual output and can monitor real-time changes in mine numeracy.
简单来说，云算力模式是厂商部署，然后将算力拆分卖给客户，对于投资者来说，免除了挖矿一系列繁琐的流程，厂商也实现了库存清理，还能赚取一定的利润（维护费）。
In simple terms, the cloud computing model is the deployment of the manufacturer and then the selling of the algorithm to the customer. For investors, the mining process has been dispensed with, and the manufacturer has achieved inventory clean-up and has earned a certain profit (maintenance fee).
▲ 比特大陆推出云算力平台：算力巢
算力巢一经推出，便得到了用户的认可，据了解，仅在30天内，平台国内外用户注册量就突破1000人，很快，注入平台的总算力也超过4PH/s，约占全网算力的2%。
Once launched, the Nucleus was endorsed by the users, and it is understood that within 30 days alone, the number of domestic and international users of the platform has exceeded 1,000 and that soon the total capacity of the platform has exceeded 4PH/s, or about 2 per cent of the total network capacity.
挖矿朝着专业化、规模化发展渐成共识。等比特大陆走出云算力第一步，证明模式可行后，跟随者开始出现。
Mining progresses towards specialization and scale. After the first step out of cloud computing in the Bit continent has proved to be viable, followers begin to emerge.
而曾经占全网30%以上的烤猫公司，在130nm制程芯片取得成功后，误判了市场走势。第二代芯片胎死腹中，导致市场主导地位丧失。
And the baked cats that used to make more than 30% of the net, misjudged market trends after 130nm process chip success. The second generation of chip fetuses is still alive, leading to a loss of market dominance.
等到第三代40nm芯片，又因为设计失误和初期封装问题反响不佳，再加上2014年比特币价格持续走低，公司囤积了大量滞销芯片。到了10月份，面临困境的烤猫亟需找到新出路。
By October, when the third generation of 40nm chips, and due to design errors and early encapsulation problems, coupled with the continuing low price of bitcoin in 2014, companies had accumulated a large amount of slow chip. By October, it was urgent to find a new way out for cats facing difficulties.
看到算力巢成果显著，烤猫认为，云算力可能真的是AM未来的发展方向。
Seeing that the calculus has achieved remarkable results, the roast cat believes that cloud computing may really be the way AM is going.
而停止运营小强矿机的谢坚，再次与烤猫达成合作。即由烤猫负责部署矿场，小强矿机负责售卖，一起推云算力项目AMHash。
Instead, Cheyenne, who stopped operating the mining machine, worked again with the roast cat. It was the cat that deployed the mine, the mine that sold it, and the cloud computing project AMHash.
据了解，第1期项目AMHash1卖了460多TH；AMHash2在10天内卖掉了480多TH。等项目进行到2014年12月，前期口碑和客户积累下，AMHash3在不到半个月的时间内，就卖了近2P的算力。一切在往好的方向发展。
The first project, AMHash1, is known to sell more than 460 THs; AMHash2 sold more than 480 THs in 10 days.
就在此时，意外出现了。
Right now, there was an accident.
我们知道，云算力生意的关键在于，用户通过平台购买算力“远程挖矿”，这部分算力收益必须基于矿场的真实算力、真实产出进行分配，一旦平台造假，便是空手套白狼的“传销骗局”。
We know that the key to the cloud computing business is that the user buys the arithmetic “remote mining” through the platform, which must be distributed on the basis of the real arithmetic and real output of the mine, and that once the platform is faked, it is the white wolf's “distribution scheme”.
AMHash的问题就出现在这部分，当时，团队通过矿池API发现，原先账户将近5P算力，突然降到3P，其中的2P算力不知所踪。
The problem with AMHash arose in this part, when the team discovered, through the pond API, that the original account was close to 5P arithmetic and suddenly fell to 3P, of which 2P arithmetic was missing.
▲ 合作网站hashie.io暂停服务
jashie.io suspended service
经过协调，这部分算力还是没有解决。
Once coordinated, that part of the calculus remains unresolved.
再后来，烤猫消失，AMHash“无疾而终”，投资人血本无归，徒留一地鸡毛。
Later on, the roast cat disappeared and the AAHash “suffering without disease”, and the investor left behind nothing but chicken hair.
即便如此，这一年的比特币，还是出现了众多云算力平台：比特管家、ourhash、digcoin、cex.io、KnCminer、Fbmining、哈希云等，并成一时潮流。
Even so, in Bitcoin this year, a number of cloud-based platforms emerged: Beat butlers, ourhash, digcoin, cex.io, KnCminer, Fbmining, Hashiun, and so on.
“我觉得，云算力会是未来挖矿的主流。”2014年12月，吴忌寒接受采访时表示。
“I think cloud computing will be the main source of future mining.” In December 2014, Wu Xiaoqin said in an interview.
云算力开始成为创业者的新生意并非偶然，这背后是比特币矿机研发、生产、售卖发展到一定阶段的产物。
It is no accident that cloud computing began to become a new business for entrepreneurs, behind which bitcoin machines developed, produced, sold and developed to a certain stage.
即便一路深受诟病，云算力也没有很快消亡，如今，它仍是加密货币挖矿业重要的玩法之一。
Even after a long journey of ill health, cloud computing has not died quickly, and it is still one of the most important games of encoded currency mining.
5
尾声
end
从单一的比特币，到其他加密货币挖矿，矿机的研发与售卖，曾一度决定比特币的价格。
From a single bitcoin to other encoded currency mining, the development and sale of mine machines once determined the price of bitcoin.
矿机生意，也作为加密货币产业链中最神秘的环节，鲜为人知。
Miner business, which is also the most mysterious link in the chain of crypto-currency industries, is rarely known.
从蝴蝶实验室的65nm矿机，到40nm制程工艺的阿瓦隆三代矿机、烤猫矿机，再到蚂蚁第一代55nm矿机、28nm比特币矿机三代芯片BM1382，最后到广为人知的7nm矿机……
From the butterfly lab's 65nm mine machine, to the 40nm process of the Avalon III generation mine machine, the cat miner, to the ant's first generation 55nm mine machine, the 28nm bitco miner's 3-generation chip BM 1382, and finally to the well-known 7nm miner...
中国比特币创业者在其中扮演了重要角色，一些几经迭代，还留下的矿机厂商，也都成了传奇。
China’s Bitcoin entrepreneurs played an important role in it, and some of the past and the remaining miners became legends.
2014年，作为比特币矿机史上重要的时间节点，不仅将ASCI矿机向前推进了一大步，涌现出大量优秀的矿机，还拉开了专业化、规模化运作矿机的序幕，甚至发展了租赁云算力挖矿的玩法，这些对整个比特币世界的影响，尤其深远。
In 2014, as an important time node in the history of the Bitcoin miner, the ASCI mine not only took a major step forward, with a large number of excellent machines emerging, but also opened the door to specialized, scalable operating machines, and even developed the practice of leasing cloud-based mining, which has had a particularly profound impact on the entire Bitcoin world.
如今，一年一度的丰水期，又将来临，刚刚历经一年熊市洗礼、不愿离场的矿工们，也开始蠢蠢欲动。
Today, once again, the annual period of abundance is approaching, and miners, who have just been baptized in the bear city for a year and are reluctant to leave the site, are beginning to move.
新的矿机还在出现，这段有中国创业者参与的比特币历史，还将继续向前。
New mining machines are emerging, a bitcoin history involving Chinese entrepreneurs and will continue to move forward.
责任编辑：唐婧
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