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Podcast: Kyle Herron on Mining Industry Challenges

Will Szamosszegi & Kyle Herron

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The crypto mining industry is evolving fast—and at the forefront of this transformation is Kyle Herron, Chief Growth Officer at Frontier Mining. In Episode 7 of The Sazmining Podcast, Herron shares his unconventional path from young entrepreneur to blockchain infrastructure leader, detailing how he moved from helping startups scale to building data centers that support decentralized networks.

This episode isn’t just a look into one founder’s journey—it’s a crash course in how the mining industry works, the differences between GPU and ASIC mining, and what the future holds for Bitcoin mining and decentralized technology as a whole.

In this article, we’ll unpack key takeaways from the episode, while keeping an eye on what miners, investors, and curious crypto enthusiasts should know as the industry matures.

From Early Hustles to Startup Consulting

Before diving into mining, Kyle Herron’s story begins with an entrepreneurial spirit ignited at age 13. He started offering services like lawn mowing, window washing, and computer repair in his neighborhood, printing flyers from his mom’s computer and hustling for business. That early hustle eventually led him to launch a consulting company while studying at Chapman University.

His consulting firm—CO—specialized in helping startups scale. Whether it was turning napkin-stage ideas into viable businesses or helping revenue-generating companies 10x their growth, Herron and his team developed the frameworks needed to help entrepreneurs succeed.

Ironically, while consulting early-stage blockchain startups during the ICO boom of 2016–2017, Herron himself got pulled deeper into the cryptocurrency space.

The Leap Into Crypto: From Ethereum Docs to ICO Disillusionment

Like many in the space, Herron’s first encounter with crypto came during the 2017 bull run. After watching a documentary on Ethereum, he became fascinated with the potential of decentralized technologies. That curiosity turned into action when ICO projects began hiring his consulting firm to create marketing, branding, and websites.

While many of these ICOs were based more on hype than substance, they provided Herron with a crash course in blockchain. And this exposure to the underlying technology planted the seed for something more scalable and sustainable than just token speculation: mining infrastructure.

Bootstrapping a Mining Operation: PVC Pipes and GPU Rigs

Herron’s jump into crypto mining started modestly—with his co-founder Arlan stuffing a few graphics cards into a makeshift mining rig built from PVC pipes, tucked away in the closet of their shared office space. They weren’t paying for electricity at their incubator, which made the experiment profitable almost immediately.

From there, things escalated quickly. Arlan started selling GPU rigs to other investors and deploying them at his father’s data center. Within months, the duo realized they had stumbled upon a much bigger opportunity. That’s when Frontier Mining was born—a company focused on providing low-cost, high-efficiency hosting services for crypto miners.

GPU Mining vs ASIC Mining: A Tale of Two Strategies

Understanding the differences between GPU and ASIC mining is essential for anyone looking to enter the industry.

What Is GPU Mining?

GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit. Originally used for rendering graphics in gaming and film production, GPUs are now also leveraged for cryptocurrency mining. Because they are flexible and programmable, GPUs can mine a variety of altcoins and adapt to different algorithms. However, they are not the most efficient choice when it comes to profitability.

What Is ASIC Mining?

ASIC stands for Application-Specific Integrated Circuit. These are custom-built chips designed to do one thing and one thing only: mine a specific cryptocurrency. Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Ethereum (prior to the merge) have ASIC-compatible algorithms.

Herron and the Frontier team started with GPUs, but quickly pivoted to ASICs when the market crashed and GPU profitability nosedived. Today, the overwhelming majority of their mining operations are ASIC-based—and that’s by design.

Why ASICs Dominate the Mining Landscape

According to Herron, roughly 85%–90% of crypto mining today is done via ASICs. The reason? ROI. ASICs are:

More energy-efficient than GPUs
Cheaper on a per-hash basis
Better suited for long-term deployment in high-volume facilities

GPUs still have a role to play, particularly in mining ASIC-resistant coins or serving the growing demand for AI and rendering services. But when it comes to mining dominant cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, ASICs are king.

The Economics of Mining: It’s All About the Numbers

One of the most important lessons Herron shares is that crypto mining is a numbers game. You can have the best intentions and the coolest technology, but if your operation isn’t profitable, it won’t last.

There are three primary factors that determine mining profitability:

Hardware efficiency – Newer ASICs produce more hash power while consuming less electricity.
Electricity cost – The biggest operational expense. Even the most efficient hardware will struggle if you’re paying retail power rates.
Bitcoin difficulty and price – As more miners join the network, mining becomes harder (higher difficulty), reducing rewards. Profitability is only sustained if the price of Bitcoin rises proportionally.

Herron uses a memorable analogy: imagine a pie (Bitcoin rewards) in the desert surrounded by hundreds of hungry rabbits (miners). The faster and more efficient the rabbit (your mining rig), the bigger the slice it can grab. If too many slow rabbits join the race, they’ll barely get crumbs.

Hosting Services: The Backbone of Modern Mining

Not everyone can negotiate cheap power contracts or build data centers in remote locations. That’s where companies like Frontier Mining come in. Frontier offers hosting services for investors who purchase ASIC miners but need a place to run them efficiently.

Herron breaks it down into three core services:

Power – Frontier secures electricity at industrial rates, often by setting up shop near oil drilling operations (utilizing flared natural gas) or defunct industrial plants.
Internet – High-speed connectivity is essential for minimizing latency and maximizing uptime.
Management – 24/7 monitoring and repairs are crucial, as mining machines run around the clock and are prone to failure under constant strain.

Hosting with a provider like Frontier simplifies the process for investors and allows them to focus on ROI rather than infrastructure.

The Future of Mining: Centralization vs Innovation

Herron is realistic about where the industry is heading. While Bitcoin was designed to be decentralized, the mining ecosystem is slowly becoming more centralized due to economies of scale.

As institutional investors enter the space with deeper pockets and better access to capital, it’s likely that small-scale miners will get priced out. Frontier’s goal is to give those smaller players a fighting chance by offering industrial-grade services at affordable rates.

But even if mining becomes more centralized, Herron sees it as a net positive. A decentralized currency powered by centralized mining is still a step forward from a centralized monetary system controlled by governments.

Beyond Mining: Computational Power as Currency

Herron believes that the true legacy of cryptocurrency mining won’t be limited to Bitcoin. Instead, it will serve as a proof of concept that computational power is valuable and tradeable.

In the near future, we’ll see compute-for-hire models powering everything from AI rendering to big data analytics. Blockchain miners are simply the first generation of a new infrastructure economy—one where processing power becomes a global commodity.

As demand for decentralized finance, artificial intelligence, and cloud gaming grows, so too will the need for reliable infrastructure. Companies that can manage massive amounts of data at low cost will define the next wave of tech giants.

Tools for Adoption: BitPay, Stablecoins, and Business Readiness

One area Herron sees huge potential is crypto payment adoption. Tools like BitPay and Coinbase Commerce are making it easy for businesses to accept cryptocurrency while converting it into fiat instantly. This removes the volatility risk and encourages adoption.

Stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to the US dollar or other fiat currencies—also play a critical role in facilitating transactions, especially in countries facing currency instability.

Human Psychology and the Evolution of Tech

In a fascinating detour from mining, Herron explores how human psychology shapes the way we adopt technology. Using Apple as an example, he suggests that tech giants intentionally slow the release of innovation to avoid overwhelming consumers and to maximize profits over time.

He even argues that we’re already cyborgs—our smartphones function as extensions of ourselves. From Siri to AR glasses, to eventual neural implants, each innovation nudges us closer to a fully integrated human-computer experience.

Space, Survival, and the Bigger Picture

Herron ends the conversation with a bold vision: Earth won’t support human life forever, and space colonization is inevitable. Technologies like blockchain, AI, and decentralized infrastructure will play a critical role in humanity’s long-term survival.

Frontier Mining may have started with a few GPUs in a closet, but the company’s name is no accident. Herron sees Frontier as a step toward a bigger, bolder future—one where computational power enables a freer, fairer, and more resilient world.

Final Thoughts: The Decade Ahead for Bitcoin Mining

As Herron notes, the next 10 years will likely bring:

Greater centralization of mining through institutional adoption
Increased demand for compute power beyond blockchain
Improved infrastructure and hosting models like those provided by Frontier
Global adoption of digital currency, whether crypto-based or government-issued

While the exact path is unknown, one thing is clear: mining isn’t just about earning Bitcoin. It’s about powering the internet of trust—and that’s a movement worth building.