What You Actually Need to Start Mining

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November 5, 2025

What You Actually Need to Start Mining

(The Real Requirements for Getting Started the Right Way)

Keywords: how to start crypto mining 2025, bitcoin mining setup guide, crypto mining requirements, what do you need to mine bitcoin, beginner mining checklist

🔍 Introduction: Getting Started the Smart Way

Crypto mining sounds simple — plug in a machine and start earning. But in reality, profitable mining in 2025 takes more than just hardware. You need the right setup, infrastructure, and environment to make your operation efficient and reliable.

Here’s exactly what you need to begin mining successfully — without wasting money or burning out equipment.

⚙️ 1. A Reliable ASIC Miner

The first thing you’ll need is a dedicated ASIC miner (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit).
Gone are the days when GPUs or CPUs could compete — in 2025, ASICs are the standard for Bitcoin and most profitable proof-of-work coins.

Modern miners like the Antminer S21 or Whatsminer M66 deliver 200 + TH/s of power while consuming around 3,500 W, offering industry-leading efficiency below 20 J/TH.

When choosing a miner, look at:

  • Hashrate: Higher means more earning potential.
  • Efficiency (J/TH): Lower numbers are better.
  • Reliability: Newer models usually include better firmware and cooling.

⚡ 2. Stable, Affordable Power

Mining is an energy-intensive process. To stay profitable, you need access to cheap, stable electricity — ideally between $0.05 and $0.07 per kWh.

Residential rates are often too high and unstable, which is why most miners now use professional hosting facilities. Industrial power not only reduces costs but also supports the 277 V – 480 V infrastructure ASICs are built for.

🌡️ 3. Cooling and Proper Ventilation

Each ASIC can output the heat of a small space heater. Without proper airflow or cooling, temperatures can exceed safe operating limits quickly.

Professional facilities use directional airflow systems, evaporative cooling, or even immersion tanks to keep miners running 24/7 at optimal temperatures.

Trying to run ASICs at home without serious ventilation leads to overheating, throttling, and hardware failure — which is why hosting is the go-to route for nearly all serious miners today.

🌐 4. Internet Connection

Your miners need a reliable, low-latency internet connection to communicate with the blockchain network and your mining pool.

Even short connection drops can mean lost shares and missed rewards.
In industrial data centers, redundant fiber connections keep uptime near 100%.

💰 5. A Wallet for Your Mining Rewards

Every miner needs a secure place to receive payouts. You can use a:

  • Hardware wallet for long-term storage (Ledger, Trezor).
  • Software wallet for quick access to smaller amounts.
    Always make sure you control your private keys — not your pool or exchange.

For tax and accounting purposes, keep clear records of all rewards and conversions.

🔗 6. A Mining Pool Account

Unless you have massive hashrate, solo mining isn’t realistic anymore.
Joining a mining pool lets you combine power with others and receive steady, proportional payouts.

Reputable pools like Foundry USA, ViaBTC, or F2Pool use transparent payout methods (PPS or FPPS) and provide dashboards to track performance.

When hosting with Pickaxe, we’ll help configure your ASICs to connect directly to your preferred pool for optimal performance.

🧾 7. Business Setup and Tax Structure

If you plan to scale beyond hobby mining, you’ll want to structure your operation as a business entity (LLC or S-Corp). This unlocks significant advantages, such as:

  • Equipment depreciation (Section 179 deductions)
  • Write-offs for hosting, power, and maintenance costs
  • Cleaner bookkeeping for income reporting

Pickaxe can guide clients on the operational side of this — though you should always consult a qualified tax professional for specifics.

🧱 8. A Hosting Partner (The Smart Shortcut)

If all of this sounds like a lot to manage — it is.
Setting up power, cooling, security, and network infrastructure from scratch is expensive and complicated.

That’s why most miners today use colocation hosting through providers like Pickaxe.
We handle:

  • Power optimization and uptime monitoring
  • Cooling, airflow, and hardware management
  • Setup, maintenance, and troubleshooting
    You own the miners — we make sure they run at peak efficiency.

🚀 Get Started with Pickaxe

Mining can be profitable when it’s done right — with efficient hardware, affordable power, and reliable infrastructure. Pickaxe handles the hard part for you, hosting your ASICs in optimized data centers so you can focus on owning, earning, and scaling.

👉 Get started with Pickaxe