What hosting changes
With professional hosting, a facility operates physical mining equipment on your behalf. Depending on the agreement, you may send your own miner or buy one for installation there. The provider supplies agreed services such as power, cooling, connectivity, and hands-on support. You still need to understand the machine, its costs, and the rules governing access to it.
Ownership and custody are different questions. Ask whose name appears on the purchase invoice, how the device is identified, and how you can recover it. A dashboard showing hashrate does not by itself prove ownership of a particular serial-numbered miner.
Read the service and price together
Request the complete agreement and a sample invoice before paying. A quoted energy rate may exclude installation, deposits, repair labour, replacement parts, shipping, or other fees. Alternatively, a fixed monthly charge may bundle several services. Compare the same scope across offers and identify which charges continue while a machine is offline.
Downtime needs a written explanation. Ask how planned maintenance, equipment failure, power curtailment, and network outages are handled. Check notification procedures, repair approval limits, any service credits, and the conditions attached to them. An estimated installation date is not necessarily a guaranteed start date.
Keep control of the relationship
Where supported, use your own pool account and receiving wallet, with a distinct worker name for each machine. Clarify who can change the pool configuration or payout destination. Agree how operating data will be shared and how you will verify it against pool records. Hosting transfers physical work; it does not remove market risk or the need for oversight.
- Document the device identity, location, support contact, and agreed charges.
- Read renewal, termination, retrieval, and return-shipping provisions.
- Keep copies of invoices, contracts, incident reports, and repair approvals.