Kosala Hemachandra, founder and CEO of crypto asset storage platform, MyEtherWallet, mined Bitcoin as a way to pay his Los Angeles rent between 2014-2015. When it came time to pay his bills, he would convert his coins into cash to facilitate the actual transaction.
In conversation with Cointelegraph, Hemachandra reminisced about purchasing Bitcoin mining equipment in college while renting a room at his friend's home. "I bought a Bitcoin miner and then I had it in my room," he told Cointelegraph in an interview. "I was mining it and the amount that I earned through Bitcoin mining was enough to pay the rent for that room, so it was basically free, and then I did not have to pay extra for electricity."
During the first several years of Bitcoin's existence, mining proved to be a far more profitable gambit which required less advanced equipment than it does today.
It wasn't all fun and games, however. Hemachandra noted ominously that Bitcoin mining equipment gives off significant heat, making life in that LA room a toasty experience. "It's not as fun as it sounds," he said, explaining that the San Fernando Valley where he lived frequently hosted outside temperatures near 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
"Since I'm running a Bitcoin miner in my room, it goes above that, and then the air conditioner I had, it was barely working," he remembers. "It was barely able to keep it at a level that was survivable."
Many early entrants to the Blockchain space echo similar sentiments, often involving stories of how they used their erstwhile digital assets in creative ways.