Cloud mining

A cloud mining customer pays upfront, or monthly, for a contract that entitles them to the output of a certain amount of hashrate for a period. The provider operates the hardware in its own facilities and pays out the mined coins minus maintenance and electricity fees. The appeal is mining without noise, heat, shipping or technical skills.

Legitimate services exist, including hashrate marketplaces where buyers rent capacity by the hour and point it at a pool of their choice. They are mostly used by professionals hedging or testing strategies. Retail contracts are harder to evaluate, because the customer cannot see the machines and depends entirely on the provider's honesty and solvency.

Cloud mining has a long record of fraud. Many schemes promised fixed daily returns, paid early users with later deposits and disappeared, which makes them Ponzi schemes with a mining story. Even honest contracts often lose money when difficulty rises, prices fall or maintenance fees exceed rewards. Guaranteed returns, referral bonuses and no verifiable data on hashrate are red flags.