Building On the Blockchain: a Cryptocurrency Mining Rig Data Analysis

Abstract

The source of the data used in this project comes from a cryptocurrency-mining rig that serves as a node on the Ethereum Network and provides computing power to it in exchange for shares of the network’s currency. In this case 8 Sapphire 11265-01-20G Radeon NITRO+ RX 580 graphics processing units (GPUs) have been repurposed with Claymore's Dual Ethereum AMD+NVIDIA GPU Miner v10.3 software to solve equations within the verification process the network uses, with 1 solution per second (Sol/s) being equivalent to 1 hash per second (H/s). Information from two GPUs on the mining rig such as temperature (°C), hashrate (H/s), relative fan speed with 0-33%,34%-67%, and 67%-100% represented as “Low”, “Medium”, and “High” speed respectively, in addition to whether a GPU obtained a share or not when a share was received have been included. How much the hashrate influences the temperature for a GPU, if a higher hashrate makes a GPU more likely to receive a share, whether adjusting the fan speed from “Low” to “Medium” or “High” speeds to lower the temperature improves the hashrate for a GPU, and whether the mean hashrate of GPU 2 and 3 are different have been analyzed.