A financial product that represents Bitcoin mining power can now be traded on the Arbitrum network following the release of Lumerin, a hash power marketplace, a representative told CoinDesk.

The Lumerin Hashpower Marketplace allows Bitcoin miners to easily buy and sell capacity to interested peers and non-miners, allowing purchasers to increase their chances of earning bitcoin rewards without buying rapidly depreciating equipment. Trades will be routed through smart contracts and will specify hashrate amount, duration and price.

Potential buyers can browse and select contracts that suit their needs, secure in the knowledge that they are engaging in direct, trustless transactions and paying in real time as the contract is completed.

For sellers, miners in low-electricity-cost areas gain the ability to arbitrage below-average prices by selling hashrate contracts at market prices, keeping the difference.

Hash power, or hashing power, is the power a computer or specialized hardware uses to run and solve different encryption algorithms that safeguard blockchains such as Bitcoin. These owners, called miners, typically run massive hardware systems that use significant electricity to maintain the network, in return for bitcoin (BTC) rewards.

Some miners, however, may have excess capacity that would otherwise lie vacant. Marketplaces such as Lumerin offer the rights to this power to buyers, who get a chunk of the bitcoin rewards.

Such a model lets users mine Bitcoin without the need for highly specialized knowledge, costly hardware outlays, or long-term commitment.