Back in the early days, when Bitcoin (BTC) was but a niche experiment for cypherpunks and basement-dwelling hobbyists, the process of its creation required little more than a budget CPU. Since that time, however, an entire industry has sprung forth and a quasi-gold rush rivaling that of the 1850s has taken the world by storm.
As a direct result of both the increasing difficulty of Bitcoin mining and the decreasing profitability of mining solo, the current mining industry has become dominated by huge conglomerates. Ostensibly known as Bitcoin’s industrial revolution, the rise of mining collaborations changed the game for everyone.