Bitcoin 2023 EXCLUSIVE: Titan.io CEO Talks Crypto Mining Innovations Such As Hashrates For Sale, Renewable Energy, Plus Potential Warfare Centered Around Mining Facilities

Detroit-based Benzinga sent its team to Miami, Florida, for Bitcoin 2023 in May to check out innovations in digital assets and speak with founders and investors, among other experts. 

The following is a conversation with Ryan Condron, CEO and co-founder of Titan.io.

The conversation has been edited for clarity.

Q: Hi, Ryan; nice to meet you. Care to start with an introduction?

Ryan Condron: My journey began with mining towards the end of 2012. During that time, I was employed at a University in Southern California, completely unaware of the existence of Bitcoin.

As I started exploring the technology, it was thrilling; the more I delved into the white papers and engaged in discussions on Bitcoin talk forums, the more captivated I became.

Moreover, I actively participated in the mining ecosystem, developing numerous profitability calculators and, in early 2013, together with a friend, I launched coinwarz.com. This led me to expand my endeavors into managing approximately 80 different mining pools.

During 2013, 2014, and 2015, I also pioneered the development of profitability switching algorithms, as well as cloud hashrate products. Now, all of these experiences have culminated in an exciting new project called Lumerin, which my team and I are currently working on.

Tell me more about Titan. How did that start?

As we delved into mining management, we found demand for private mining pools. Our primary focus has been on these private mining pools, driven by the realization that large-scale miners, as they transition towards going public, require increased transparency and auditability for compliance purposes.

Relying on third-party pools for these essential features becomes impractical. The evolution of the mining ecosystem from a hobbyist pursuit, with miners set up in garages, to an established industry and core infrastructure was underscored by the necessity for fully compliant, auditable and transparent private pools.

This is where Titan comes into play. We offer a full private deployment solution, operating on a software-as-a-service model with a flat monthly rate. We take care of hosting, white-labeling, and all the intricate technical aspects that miners prefer not to handle themselves.

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Tell me more about some of the problems you’re solving.

Lumerin initially emerged from our awareness of a significant issue with the Bitcoin BTC/USD network: centralization.

When we introduced people to Bitcoin mining, showcasing a simple device that generates $20 a day by plugging it in, individuals with substantial resources became interested in scaling up their operations. Consequently, tens of thousands of these mining devices were swiftly accumulated and stored in warehouses worldwide, often controlled by a small number of decision-makers. These decision-makers determined which mining pools these devices would contribute their hashrate to, resulting in an ecosystem where only a handful of mining pools produced the majority of Bitcoin blocks.

To be specific, there are four primary block producers: Foundry, Antpool, Binance Pool and F2Pool. Foundry and Antpool alone account for more than 75% of the mined blocks, while the other two of the top four pools collectively produce 90%-95% of all blocks. This level of concentration is concerning, as it reflects a high degree of centralization in the distribution of hashrate.

What is Lumerin and how does it fix the problem?

Lumerin sought to decentralize control over hashrate by introducing a marketplace or economic incentive for miners to sell off their hashrate control.

The idea was to shift from one decision-maker to a network of individual decision-makers, dispersed globally and anonymously. To achieve this, we envisioned a marketplace or ecosystem where hashrate could be bought and sold in a trustless and anonymous manner.

In 2017, I published a paper outlining these concepts. The goal was to increase the number of decision-makers in the mining process, thereby enhancing and preserving Bitcoin's decentralized nature. Lumerin serves as the routing protocol, functioning as the node within a mining facility and on the buyer's computer. It acts as the conduit that connects sellers and buyers through smart contracts that can be deployed on various Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible networks, such as Ethereum ETH/USD, Avalanche AVAX/USD or Binance BNB/USD, enabling the creation and exchange of hashrate products.

The Lumerin nodes handle digital routing and order fulfillment, paving the way for a fully decentralized commodity market.

Our ultimate vision is to establish a fully decentralized commodity market, starting with hashrate, and subsequently expanding into AI compute. By decentralizing the trading of digital commodities, we aim to promote greater decentralization within the industry.

Care to dive in a bit deeper on Titan?

Let's talk about Titan pool. Firstly, as a public miner, you need to address the auditability and compliance risks associated with mining against a specific pool. When you mine against a pool like Antpool, you are essentially selling your hashrate as a commodity and receiving payment.

However, there are potential risks involved.

For instance, the pool may choose to delay payouts or face liquidity issues due to a string of bad luck, leading to delayed or canceled payouts. It is worth noting that such incidents have occurred in the past. For public miners generating millions of dollars daily through Bitcoin mining, a delayed payout can be highly concerning.

Transparency within the pool ecosystem is crucial. A multi-billion dollar publicly traded company cannot rely solely on one source. If you genuinely want to mine Bitcoin and establish yourself as a reputable miner, it becomes essential to run your own mining pool rather than relying solely on third-party pools.

By operating your own mining pool, you gain greater control and transparency, reducing the risks associated with centralized pool operations.

How did you get educated about this space?

Dedication, hard work and perseverance. It has been a journey spanning over a decade now. When we started, there were no convenient quick-start guides, tutorials or YouTube videos to rely on. People were sharing their discoveries and findings in forums, and we were delving into the Bitcoin source code to understand how to interact with the Gitwork protocol.

Back in late 2012, mining was different. While there were pools, they weren't as massive as the ones we see today. Solo mining was still prevalent.

When you’re looking into the future, what are some major aspirations?

Our focus is shifting towards infrastructure. Over the past five or six years, mining has been largely overlooked while Web3 and decentralized finance (DeFi) took center stage.

BITMAIN has been the dominant player in mining, but now we're seeing more competition with different manufacturers entering the market and offering alternative hardware options.

However, mentioning mining five years ago would often elicit disinterest or indifference. People were more excited about Web3 and the ICO craze. Fast forward to the present, as the value of Bitcoin continues to rise, we are witnessing the emergence of more infrastructure tied to existing electrical grids.

One crucial aspect that many fail to recognize is that Bitcoin mining is actually the only way to scale sustainable electricity production. It provides a dedicated consumer of electricity 24/7, which is essential for scaling solar panels and wind farms.

While some try to pair these renewable sources with expensive battery arrays, the reality is that electricity production is contingent on its usage. If electricity is not flowing, it is not being created. Load following is the process of adjusting electricity production based on demand, and it poses challenges for solar farms.

Unlike conventional power plants, solar farms cannot be ramped up or down. They provide electricity based on weather conditions — sun, clouds, or darkness. To meet peak demand, a solar farm needs to be built at a scale that can handle the highest usage, such as during scorching summer months. This leads to excess electricity generation during periods of lower demand, which often requires selling or even paying neighbors to take the surplus energy.

This is where Bitcoin mining comes in as a solution. If only we had a technology that could consume 100% of the electricity consistently and pay us for using it. That's exactly what Bitcoin mining offers. Companies like Gridless are forging partnerships in places like Kenya, where local communities can benefit from Bitcoin mining and leverage it as a means to access electricity production that would otherwise be financially unattainable.

What do you see five years from now?

In the next five years, we will witness the convergence of renewable energy production, including solar facilities, wind facilities, natural gas, nuclear power plants and battery arrays paired with Bitcoin mining. Bitcoin mining plays a vital role in bringing stability of this infrastructure. As we look further ahead, say 10, 20 or 30 years into the future, we can anticipate potential warfare centered around mining facilities.

Military bases may be established to safeguard mining operations and custody solutions. In fact, I'm already having conversations with individuals building Bitcoin custody solutions on military bases due to the heightened security they offer. The protection of the seed phrase is paramount.

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