In Frisco, Texas, two Indian-American siblings are demonstrating an early aptitude for cryptocurrencies and commerce. Ishaan and Aanya Thakur, 14 and 9, have been mining cryptocurrency for over a month and have earned over $30,000 each.
How did they manage to do it? By watching YouTube tutorials and using their profits and a loan from their father, Manish Raj, to upgrade their equipment.
“Mine for cryptocurrencies is similar to mining for gold or diamonds,” Ishaan told CNBC Make It. “You mine with computers rather than shovels. You find a cryptocurrency instead of a piece of gold or a diamond in the mine.”
The twins explained that they picked mining because they wanted to learn something new about technology while still making money. They founded a company, Flifer Technologies, after a promising start
Ishaan explained, “We could have spent the entire summer playing video games, but instead we used our free time to learn about technology.”
According to CNBC Make It, the Thakur kids make over $30,000 per month mining three digital coins: bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value; ether, the second-largest; and ravencoin, an altcoin.
Computers are trained to compete to solve complex riddles in order to validate transactions when mining for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether
Ishaan and his sister used YouTube and other platforms to watch instructional videos. Ishaan made an ether mining setup out of his Alienware, a popular gaming machine.
However, mining is not inexpensive. Advanced technology, like as processors and graphics cards, is required. Approximately $3,000 is spent on each card. Price increases have also resulted from a worldwide shortage of computer chips.
The electricity cost has also increased to nearly $3,000 per month. The father of the children was forced to take out a loan as a result of this. When possible, Ishaan and Aanya employ sustainable energy and rent a data centre.
“We now solely build and test mining equipment in the garage (at home).” We move them to a professional, air-conditioned data centre in downtown Dallas when they're ready,” Ishaan told CNBC Make
The Thakurs intend to put their profits back into Flifer. The kids also want to contribute to their college expenses.
Ishaan and Aanya desire to go to medical school. However, for the time being, processors are taking precedence over pulse rates.
