Most cryptocurrency users do not need to understand the process of mining (production), but it is extremely important to understand that the creation of a virtual currency occurs in this way. Unlike traditional currencies, in which a bank or government simply decides to issue a certain amount, cryptocurrency must be created by users using specialized mining programs using specialized equipment and complex algorithms to issue new coins.
Emission through mining is the main distinguishing feature of cryptocurrencies. Here, no one can get any number of coins at the touch of a button. In the mining process, everyone competes, being on an equal footing and having access to the same equipment. Different people use different algorithms to create coins. You don't have to do this at all, as it requires special equipment, and electricity bills will eat up all the profits from mining coins. It is also important to note that the more coins are produced for a particular currency, the more difficult it becomes to issue new blocks, which means getting new coins. The algorithms are designed to prevent quick creation all coins at once, to enable the currency to stabilize and avoid its oversupply at the initial stage.
The number of possible coins in cryptocurrencies is limited. After all of them are released, the production of new ones will become impossible. This means that when all 21 million bitcoins are mined, they will remain the only coins in circulation in this system, and no others will be added. The same is true for other cryptocurrencies. That is why many consider them as a good alternative to traditional currencies, the stability of which is ensured only through agreements between states.
It should be borne in mind that it is quite difficult to mine coins profitably nowadays, as equipment, electricity, etc. will cost you more than just buying coins from the market. Better to use online exchanges where you can, saving yourself from the troublesome mining process.
Coinbase, Cryptsy and AlfaCashier are among the most popular and reliable sites where you can buy, sell and store bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.
Mining and software for mining coins
The cryptocurrency mining process involves two simple steps. Let's consider them in an understandable way.
The very first thing that is needed to start mining cryptocurrency is a program in order to. For large currencies, you can find several programs working with a common mining pool, and for smaller ones, only one client is usually offered, which also serves as a wallet for this cryptocurrency. You just need to download such a program and install it, after which you can proceed to the next step.
After the first installation, the program connects to the network and synchronizes with it. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, depending on how many blocks need to be solved before you can sync. When synchronization is complete, you can start mining.
To do this, you just need to go to that part of your wallet, which is intended for mining, enter the desired values and click the "Start mining" button. After that, the system will start "mining" coins, and, depending on the equipment used, the result will appear within a few minutes, hours or days. But the mining process is not limited to this.
When developing each cryptocurrency, its own coin mining algorithm is laid. There are two flavors of algorithms that are used in almost all currencies in existence today - SHA-256 and Scrypt. Mining using both algorithms is quite difficult, and its difficulty increases as the total number of mined coins increases. Here is a brief description of how these algorithms work so that you can better understand the mining process.
SHA-256
SHA-256 is the first algorithm to be used for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin was created on its basis. It was developed by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and first released to the public in 2001. SHA stands for Secure Hash Algorithm - Secure Hash Algorithm. It fits perfectly with the idea of cryptocurrencies, where you have to solve hashing problems in order to mine coins. The more coins are mined, the more complex the hashing algorithm becomes, since it was originally used in the security systems of companies and government agencies.
Scrypt
The Scrypt algorithm used in cryptocurrencies uses the so-called "proof of work" (proof-of-work). Scrypt is a key generation function developed by Colin Percival and places high demands on computer memory. It appeared in 2012 and was quickly introduced into cryptocurrency mining programs as an alternative to the SHA-256 algorithm that was used in Bitcoin. Scrypt is better for miners as it can improve performance by purchasing better hardware. In the case of SHA-256, it will not be possible to improve production by purchasing additional equipment.
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"I work - you rest" - this is what almost every user would like to hear from his computer. So far, the idea of making a submissive piece of iron work for a white man exists only in the frames of fantastic films. And for amateurs to make money without special efforts there is nothing left but to find out what it means to “mine bitcoins”. Although the effectiveness of such a solution seems to be rather ephemeral.
Bitcion: what is it and how to get it?
Back in 1998, an anonymous author under the mysterious name Dai Wei first described some electronic money that allow their owners to remain anonymous, thanks to a completely decentralized system.
Over the years, this concept has been gathering dust in a long box and was fished out of there by another anonymous author, Satoshi Nakamoto. The latter presented the first practical implementation of the old idea and gave it the name "".
The process of obtaining each new unit of currency was called "mining"- a term from the field of mining. It consists in solving a complex mathematical problem by a computer.
Calculations can be done in different ways:
- Directly on the user's computer (a powerful video card is required);
- Collective work of PCs of many hundreds and even thousands of users ("pool");
- The use of cloud solutions (all work is done on remote computers, users only pay for access to hardware capacity);
- Using the power of supercomputers (mining farms).
Let's consider the first method in more detail as one of the few available to mere mortals.
How to mine bitcoins with a video card?
The price of modern video cards is such that, willy-nilly, you will think about the need to beat it off. If you have some computer skills, you can try to make money on the trendy direction of mining:
- The choice should be stopped only on the developments of the latest generations. Products two or even more so three years ago will in no way work;
- To increase production volumes, several video cards should be installed at once. Experienced users manage to use 4 to 8 graphics cards in parallel on one PC;
- Correct work with such high computing power is impossible without the use of specialized software. The most popular of them are NVidiaCUDA and AMDAPPSDK - for working with devices from NVidia and Radeon, respectively;
- It must be remembered that the installation of new video adapters requires an appropriate power supply capacity, a special architecture motherboard etc. Such a way of making money is in inept hands will result in the loss of expensive equipment;
- Of the software that has proven itself in the field of amateur mining, it is worth noting "Sgminer" and "ccMiner".
In this video, Artem Borisov will show how best to mine Ethereum on video cards from NVidia, what points should be taken into account when mining this cryptocurrency:
Review of popular modern cryptocurrencies
As of 2017, the cryptocurrency market is seriously overheated. The eyes of a potential miner run up from the abundance of new names that until recently were unknown to anyone:
- « Auroracoin»- was created in Iceland as a real alternative to traditional fiat money;
- « BitConnect»- allows you not only to invest the available money, but also to get significant profits from speculation;
- « BlackCoin»- especially protected system;
- « Dash"- currency with the possibility of lightning-fast transactions;
- « Dogecion"- arose on the wave of popularity of the Internet meme of the same name (" Doge ");
- « DigitalNote"- for the first time began to use technologies to protect transactions;
- « IOTA"- also known for the use of blockchain;
- « Emercoin"- according to the creators, is one of the most reliable financial solutions;
- « Litecion"- uses a key-password (script) as a hashing algorithm;
- « MazaCoin"- a derivative from another cryptocurrency," ZetaCoin ";
- « Monero"- a solution using the" CryptoNote "puncture with improvements in the form of scaling and decentralization;
- “NEM” - in addition to the trend blockchain, also uses the “EigenTrust ++” algorithms.
What is better to mine?
The above list is far from complete. According to official data, their number has exceeded 900 and continues to grow. Needless to say, only a few of them can bring profit to miners.
Consider factors , which should be considered when choosing a currency for mining:
- Market capitalization. It is the total value of assets on the stock market;
- Liquidity. This is a value that shows the speed with which the owner of a product will be able to sell it at a market price;
- Prevalence. It is important that new tools are accepted by online stores around the world;
- Current exchange rate in national currency. So, bitcoin now costs about 200 thousand rubles, which makes it an excellent investment object;
- Perspective. There are known, albeit rare, cases of the collapse of cryptocurrencies. The most iconic precedent happened with the "Coinye" coins, which were created by the American artist Kanye West;
- Volatility is the rate at which prices change over a short period of time. Mainly important for speculators.
In terms of the totality of indicators, the most "trendy" are "Ripple", "Litecoin" and "Etherium". The latter is worth a separate discussion.
Is it profitable to mine bitcoins in 2017?
Today it is not possible to jump into the last car of the departing bitcoin mining train: he left a long time ago... At the present stage, earnings on the cryptographic gold rush are practically zero:
- An average computer farm with a capacity of 200 W at a tariff of about 3 rubles per kilowatt of electricity gives a profit of 3.97 rubles. Per day. Few people in their right mind and sober memory would dare to call such earnings significant;
- Subsequently, the complexity of the calculations will only increase, and the income of the would-be miner will surely fall. According to experts, by August 2018, the profitability of this enterprise will fall by an average of 5%;
- It is already becoming obvious today that the extraction of this currency makes sense only if there is own supercomputer capacity in cool regions (to minimize cooling costs).
What is profitable to mine?
One of the most promising areas in modern mining is “ Ethereum"(Or" Etherium "in English). The currency was announced back in 2013 by a Canadian developer of Russian origin Vitalik Buterin. Since then, it has noticeably increased in market capitalization and popularity, second only to Bitcoin (which, as we have already seen, is almost impossible to get):
- As of mid-September 2017, Ether costs about 20,000 rubles;
- The aggregate market capitalization is in the order of $ 20 billion;
- Volatility is at an excellent level - around 1.5%. For comparison, the market leader Bitcoin has only 0.83%, while the closest competitors Ripple and Litecoin are in the red zone at all (-0.72% and -1.29%, respectively);
- The currency is well accepted by the expert community, business and ordinary users. If the latter value predominantly short-term profit, then the former note the high security and speed of the system;
- Another advantage of Ether is that its maximum output is not limited by anything. The same bitcoin has an established software "ceiling" of 21 million copies.
In 2017, the question “what does it mean to mine bitcoins” is as relevant as a VCR is appropriate in an ordinary person's apartment. Today it is already obvious that the enterprise for the extraction of this cryptocurrency is absolutely useless. It is much wiser to invest in new players, for example, the now fashionable "Ether".
Mining Farms Videos
In this video, analyst Dmitry Moskaev will show how bitcoins are mined, and will tell you why this activity is no longer profitable for the current day:
Despite the fact that the cryptocurrency appeared eight years ago, it gained the greatest popularity in the post-Soviet space at the beginning of this year. An unprecedented excitement flared up around it, and many Internet users literally rushed to study what blockchain, pool, bitcoin are. And they also began to find out where to start mining cryptocurrency. To date, quite a few films have already been shot about this phenomenon, which have been translated into Russian and are in the public domain. They can hardly be called a guide to mining (mining) bitcoin or any other.That is why today we will tell you about cryptocurrencies in simple words.
What is cryptocurrency?
More lucidly, cryptocurrency is digital currency that has cryptographic protection. The new unit appears in the process of solving complex mathematical algorithms and consists of one hundred million parts, each of which carries a unique cryptographic code (signature). Immediately I would like to note the fact that it is impossible to forge a digital currency, since information about each unique cryptographic signature is copied and stored on all computers involved in the extraction (mining) of the cryptocurrency.
The cryptocurrency is only digital. It is impossible to touch it, put it in a purse or a safe in a bank. The main advantage of such money is that it is decentralized and is not under the control of any state or institution.
The number of coins created is strictly limited and cannot be changed. Everyone can find out for certain when, for example, the last bitcoin will be mined. Controlled emission gradually complicates and slows down the mining process, and also eliminates problematic phenomena such as inflation.
The value of digital money directly depends on demand. The more investors show interest in a particular cryptocurrency, having invested a significant amount in its development, the more expensive it will be. State banknotes are backed by gold reserves, and cryptocurrencies are backed by investments.
What is cryptocurrency mining in simple words?
We have already mentioned that cryptocurrency appears as a result of solving complex mathematical algorithms. It is beyond the power of an ordinary person to effectively cope with such tasks, which is why they began to use the computing power of a computer for this purpose, and the process itself was called mining.
During the mining of cryptocurrency on a PC that is connected to the Internet and is involved in the cryptocurrency system, information comes in the form of blocks (blockchains). Such blocks contain a huge number of algorithms that need to be processed and get the only correct solution. Every decision is digital signature for a specific information cell located in a block. And also it is the very same cryptographic protection against hacking.
The blocks themselves appear as a result of transactions using a certain type of cryptocurrency. For example, if someone paid for a purchase in an online store using Bitcoin, and your equipment is configured to mine the bitcoin cryptocurrency, then it will immediately detect this transaction and contribute to its completion by solving all the same algorithms. And you will receive a reward in the form of several hundred Satoshi (1 Bitcoin = 100,000,000 Satoshi).
First steps in mining
We hope that we managed to explain in simple words what cryptocurrency mining is. If you decide to start mining, for example, Ethereum or Bitcoin, it will be enough to have an idea of how the system works. Let's move on to the technical part and find out where to start mining cryptocurrency.
The most efficient way to mine digital currency is by mining using a video card. Just a few years ago, it was possible to earn several thousand bitcoins per day using a weak video adapter and a simple processor for this purpose. However, the process of mining any cryptocurrency in demand is constantly getting more complicated. And in order to profit from this kind of activity today, it is necessary to think about assembling the "farm".
"Farm"
The most profitable cryptocurrencies for mining are Bitcoin, Ethereum and Littlecoin. It is on their production that the main capacities of miners around the world are directed. Getting these coins becomes more difficult day by day. In order to speed up the process, miners began to assemble "farms" that have much in common with a regular computer, but significantly surpass it in performance.
To assemble a farm, you need to acquire the following components:
- motherboard with the ability to connect multiple graphics adapters;
- small hard drive;
- high-frequency processor;
- one bar random access memory(4-8 GB);
- 4-8 video cards with video memory from 2 GB;
- powerful power supply unit (from 750 W);
- risers (extension adapters from the video card to the motherboard);
- additional cooling;
- start button;
- frame.
Video cards for the "farm"
The most optimal video cards for mining cryptocurrency in 2017 are considered to be the Radeon RX 470. Having impressive characteristics, they are much cheaper than their closest competitors from Nvidia. However, giving preference to Radeon, you will have to think carefully about the system additional cooling, since these video adapters are much hotter than those of Nvidia. The average cost of a semi-professional "farm", working with four video cards, is $ 2300-2700, which is quite expensive for the budget of the average Russian citizen. However, with proper setup and continuous work, such a "farm" will pay for itself in 6-9 months and will start bringing you income.
Step-by-step instructions for mining cryptocurrency
After the equipment has been purchased, secured in the frame and connected, you need to install all the necessary software. Step-by-step instructions for mining cryptocurrency are as follows:
- installation of the operating system;
- registering a wallet and getting an address;
- installing and configuring the client;
- pool selection.
OS and cryptocurrency wallets
We install the operating system into our "farm". Then we set up access to the Internet and start a special wallet for digital currency. You can create a wallet for specific coins, for example, bitcoin. But we recommend using a universal one, in which you can store absolutely any cryptocurrency.
Among those who are engaged in cryptocurrency mining, the following multicurrency wallet services have extremely positive reviews:
- MultiCoinWallet.
- HolyTransaction.
- NoobWallet.
- Cryptonator.
- C-cex.com.
Client program for cryptocurrency mining
Having chosen one of the services, on which, after registration, you will be assigned a unique address-account, you need to download the client-program for the extraction of digital currency. To figure out which program is better for mining cryptocurrency, we will be helped by a rating based on the popularity of a particular client, which looks like this:
- 50Miner... This program will not take up much hard disk space. With a rather small "weight", it has all the necessary functionality, and a simple and pleasant interface will make the client setup simple even for a beginner.
- BFGMiner... The most popular program in the post-Soviet space, as it has a Russian interface language. Setting up the client will not take much time, since everything is very clear. A distinctive feature from many other programs is the ability to control the cooling system. You can ask optimal parameters rotation of coolers.
- CGMiner... This client is perfect for those who know perfectly well how cryptocurrency mining works, and also has an idea of MS Dos OS. Using this utility, you can create your own pools, configure them, and also increase the performance of video cards installed in the "farm" by overclocking them. In order to use the program, you must have high-performance graphics adapters.
- Diablominer... This program is popular with experienced miners who know MS Dos. To use the client, you need to equip the "farm" with a high-speed processor and powerful video cards. In the process of mining, you can use the processing power of the processor and video adapters. Works with such operating systems as Mac, Linux, Windows.
- Bitminer... The set of functionality is very similar to 50Miner. In order to start earning your first satoshi, you do not need to install the program on your computer, you just need to run the "exe" file from the downloaded folder. A serious disadvantage of this client and 50Miner is the consumption of a large amount of RAM.
Pool selection
In our article, we have already talked about cryptocurrencies. In simple words, this is earning digital currency by using the computing power of your equipment. And they also talked about the fact that this process is constantly becoming more complicated. In order to make mining more efficient, people are united in groups (pools).
After installing one of the pools, you will have the opportunity to join the work of one of the pools, of which there are already about two thousand.
Choosing the right pool can be confusing for a beginner. After all, there are both simple groups that mine exclusively one type of digital currency, and multipools, in which it becomes possible to earn several cryptocurrencies at once, for example, bitcoin and ethereum.
Before connecting to a particular pool, it is better to spend a little time exploring it. Give preference to those resources that have been working steadily for more than one year and have the largest number positive feedback... Also pay attention to how the accumulated coins are paid out. In total, there are about thirteen of them, but the following are more popular:
- PPLNS - all miners in the pool receive a profit, the amount of which directly depends on the last number of invested shares.
- PPS - the resource determines the share of each participant in the pool and pays for it according to the contract.
- PROP - the amount paid is proportional to your share of power in a particular pool.
Best pools in 2017
From the moment the cryptocurrency attracted the attention of millions of people, pools began to appear like mushrooms after rain. However, most of the services, unable to withstand the competition, cease to exist. Many of them never returned the money they earned to people who used the computing power of their PCs in their pools. In order not to lose your own money, we recommend that you use only proven and most reliable sites. The pool rating for today looks like this:
- F2Pool.
- AntPool.
- BTC China.
- BW Pool.
- Bitfury.
Cryptocurrency faucets
Not everyone has the opportunity to allocate about $ 3000 from the family budget to build a "farm". But this is not at all a reason to think that you will never become a miner. Today there is a way thanks to which the mining of cryptocurrency without investment becomes real. It is this opportunity that is provided by sites that are called cryptocurrency faucets among miners.
The principle of operation of such resources is quite simple. You go to the site and perform one of the actions for which you receive a reward. For example, you may be prompted to enter a captcha, play a game, collect puzzles or watch a video sequence, after which a certain amount of coins will be credited to your account. It may seem to you that the owner of the resource is a rich and very generous person, but this is not so. The webmaster receives income from advertising that has been placed on the site. The more visitors there will be on its resource per day, the more the advertiser will pay for the space for the banner.
You won't be able to make a lot on such "faucets", but the funds raised can be reinvested in the purchase of capacities on resources offering cloud mining services. A similar scheme can be useful for people who do not know where to start mining cryptocurrency.
Top cryptocurrency faucets
In order not to waste time, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the list of the most reliable and generous "taps":
- Cryptoblox.
- Getmyfaucet.
- Cryptospout.
Today there are many such resources, but most of them are insolvent.
Content
The only way to issue bitcoin (btc) cryptocurrency is by mining bitcoins, which is the creation of new blocks by performing a certain mathematical task through specialized program installed on your computer. There are several ways to mine the demanded digital currency, each of which has its own advantages and disadvantages.
What is mining
The process of creating virtual coins got its name because of the labor intensity comparable to mining (from the English mining). The essence of mining is to perform calculations of mathematical problems in order to pick up some value. The purpose of such operations is to obtain a hash - a bit string of fixed length. After the code is decrypted, another block of bitcoins appears, including a cryptographic signature. This signature is generated based on the hashes of the previous blocks.
A sequence of bitcoin blocks appearing one after another form a blockchain. The selection of the digits that form the basis of the hash is carried out automatically. Bitcoin mining involves a reward in the form of btc coins, which go to the first miner who guesses the hash. The amount of virtual reward is halved every four years. At the time the system was launched in 2009, miners could count on 50 btc for the decrypted hash, now the reward is already 12.5 bitcoins.
Basic principles
The Bitcoin mining process must follow certain principles in order to maintain the cryptocurrency's validity and network security. The main principles of mining are:
- the complexity of creating a currency;
- set average time for calculating one block;
- lack of a single intake center;
- automatic increase in the difficulty level as the number of miners grows;
- the amount of remuneration is set by the system and provides for a gradual decrease;
- obligatory confirmation by miners of the transaction between the participants of the bitcoin network by including it in the block;
- autonomous self-regulation of the network.
The difficulty of mining cryptocurrency
Due to the constant increase in the number of miners of electronic coins and the steady growth of computing power, a mechanism is needed to compensate for this growth. As such a mechanism, the complexity parameter was provided, on which the amount of mined cryptocurrency per unit of time depends. The technical side of the concept of "computational complexity" is described as the number of attempts required to generate a hash.
Mining types
Earning bitcoins can be done in several ways, which involve the use of specialized devices or payment for renting someone else's facilities. There are also shareware types of mining. The methods differ from each other in the size of the required investments and the expected income from production. The most popular types of bitcoin mining are:
- using personal computer or laptop;
- using GPU;
- using FPGA modules and ASIC chips;
- creation of mining farms;
- cloud mining;
- bitcoin faucets, bitcoin games.
Mining bitcoins on your home computer
Mining cryptocurrencies with a video card
The time when it was profitable to mine bitcoins using a conventional video card has already passed, since the mining process has become much more complicated and more power is required to carry out calculations. With the rise in interest in bitcoin due to the increase in its value, manufacturers of graphics accelerators and processors began to develop powerful graphics cards.
Mining farms
A large number of computers involved in the mining process are the so-called bitcoin mining farms. The principle of their work is the continuous execution of calculations. Hashes are generated using:
- A large number of video cards are the most energy-consuming type of farms.
- FPGA modules are economical in terms of power consumption.
- ASIC processors - the asic device (specialized processors) is the most expensive, but at the same time its speed is maximum.
Cloud mining without investment
The principle of obtaining bitcoins using cloud mining is identical to the usual mining of electronic coins, except that they do not use their own power, but third-party leased ones. The amount of cryptocurrency mined depends on the rent charged. There are also free services offering their equipment for mining.
How to start mining
In order to start mining the first coins, first of all, it is worth deciding on the mining method. The size of the initial investment will depend on the method chosen. The general step-by-step algorithm for how to mine bitcoins looks like this:
- Purchase the necessary equipment.
- Install the selected bitcoin mining program on your computer.
- Select a pool site.
- Register a wallet to withdraw the reward.
- Launch the software.
What are pools
To increase the chances of getting btc coins, specialized web services (pools) provide miners with their services, which are to use maximum parallelization of computations. This method of mining provides for the pool members to search for their own solutions without linking them to the decisions of others. Miners provide their computing power to the pool, and the pool for finding the block acts as a solo miner. When choosing a pool, you need to know the rules for distributing rewards and the capacity of the pool.
Cryptocurrency mining software
You should start mining bitcoins by installing the software. Mining programs are divided into two types: for processors and for video cards. The choice of software must be based on the parameters of the existing equipment. The most popular programs among users are presented below:
- name: Bitminter;
- characteristic: the application, which is also a pool, runs on video cards, there is support for ASIC, is compatible with all operating systems;
- pros: suitable for both beginners and experienced miners, ease of installation;
- cons: no
- earning opportunities: the value of coins mined in 24 hours is equivalent to $ 0.5.
Console client that is easy to use for both beginners and professional miners:
- name: BFGMiner;
- feature: console client supporting video cards and FPGA devices, scrypt, RPC support;
- pros: easy customization pools, the ability to control the cooling elements of the computer;
- cons: high requirements for equipment;
- earning opportunities: an experienced miner receives 18 thousand satoshi per day.
For users who have knowledge of the MS Dos operating system, who have equipment with a powerful processor and video card, the DiabloMiner program is suitable:
- name: DiabloMiner;
- characteristic: support for operating systems such as Windows, Linux, Mac, installation of video cards of different series is provided;
- pluses: ease of configuring pool parameters;
- cons: not suitable for beginner miners;
- earning opportunities: on a powerful computer, you can get a reward of 20 thousand satoshi per day.
A console client that easily adapts to user requirements is the Ufasoft Miner program:
- name: Ufasoft Miner;
- characteristic: it is possible to change the pool address, suitable for the extraction of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ether, litecoin;
- pluses: several modes of operation, depending on the level of the user;
- cons: requires a lot of RAM;
- Earning Opportunities: Experienced miners are rewarded from 18,000 Satoshi.
The CGminer program is more suitable for users with extensive experience in the MS Dos system:
- name: CGminer;
- characteristic: assumes installation on powerful processors, when overclocking a video card, it increases MH / s to the maximum;
- pluses: there is a possibility of reprogramming, easily configurable;
- cons: not suitable for beginners;
- earning opportunities: from 18 thousand satoshi per day.
50 Miner is a graphical frontend for several of the most popular miners such as Cgminer, Phoenix, Diablo, Poclbm:
- title: 50 Miner;
- characteristic: it is possible to use it without installation, while all settings are saved in the configuration file;
- pluses: ease of authorization, compactness;
- cons: instability of work, a lot of RAM is required;
- earning opportunities: with the minimum initial conditions, you can earn 15 thousand satoshi per day.
Is bitcoin mining profitable at home?
To understand whether it is profitable to mine bitcoins at home, you should calculate the size of the required investments and predict how quickly they will pay off. Considering that since the emergence of the process, which today is called mining, the situation on the cryptocurrency market has changed significantly, it is worth knowing the main factors affecting the economic feasibility of mining now:
- The complexity of mining contributes to the constant growth of equipment capacity, which affects its cost. At home, it is difficult to provide a competitive level of mining speed.
- The growth of the btc rate in relation to official currencies attracts new members to the network. If the bitcoin rate falls, the profit from their sale may not cover the invested funds.
How much can you earn from mining
Bitcoin mining pursues the goal of making a profit, so before you start mining cryptocurrency and wait for the computer to make money on its own, without your participation, you should find out what level of earnings you can expect. There is no definite answer to this question, because the amount of income depends on many factors, such as:
- fluctuations in the bitcoin rate;
- the relevance of the chosen mining method;
- equipment purchase costs;
- the number of miners in the network;
- the cost of electricity.
You can calculate the approximate profit from mining using specialized calculators (for example, on the Russian information site btcsec), taking into account the set of parameters entered by the user. However, even in this case, it should be borne in mind that when the bitcoin rate changes on the cryptocurrency exchange, the calculation results will be irrelevant.
Bitcoin mining costs
In order for Bitcoin mining to be profitable, the income from it must cover all the costs associated with mining. The economic component of expenses includes the costs of:
- purchase of special equipment;
- payment of bills for consumed electricity;
- repair and adjustment of capacities;
- payment for the rental of facilities.
Special equipment
The future bitcoin miner should take into account that in order to make a profit, it is necessary to have competitive equipment. Given the technological race driven by high demand, the cost of specialized equipment has increased significantly. In addition to the main elements (video card, chip, module), you will need software to monitor the temperature of the equipment and a cooling system.
Electricity costs
Bitcoin mining involves the operation of equipment for a long time, which leads to a large consumption of electricity. The higher the processor and graphics card power, the more impressive your electricity bills will be. In addition, the need to use cooling elements also leads to an increase in power consumption.
Depreciation of home PC power
If you plan to mine bitcoin on home computers, you should take into account the fact that the load on the main elements of the machine will increase. Constant overheating of the processor and video card leads to a deterioration in their performance, and faster failure. The miner will often have to repair his computer and buy new parts, which will lead to additional costs and downtime will negatively affect the profit made.
Pros and cons of mining
Before you mine bitcoins, you should familiarize yourself with the positive and negative aspects that you will encounter in the mining process. The pluses of bitcoin mining include:
- Stable passive income. Bitcoins are mined without your participation. By setting special program you can go about your business.
- For btc mining, an investment of funds is not necessary. If you do not want to risk investing your money, there are free ways production, however, in this case, one cannot count on a large profit.
- The mined bitcoins can be easily withdrawn from the system (sell, exchange, pay for purchases).
Miners who are mining virtual coins note the following disadvantages of bitcoin mining:
- Equipment failure. Using a home computer for mining leads to a rapid heating of the video card.
- High energy consumption. Increasing the level of mining difficulty requires an increase in the mining speed, which became possible with the advent of new technologies. Powerful devices are energy consuming, so bitcoin miners have to pay large bills for consumed electricity.
- High risk. Investing money and time in bitcoin mining is a high-risk investment, due to the fact that the price of the cryptocurrency is unstable, and at any moment the bitcoin exchange rate may fall.
Discuss
How to mine bitcoins - the essence of the process and where to start, types and profitability of earnings
Hello friends, in this article, by the way, the first on this site about mining (the article is constantly updated), we will talk about how to start mining on a video card (GPU) and where to start. If you are too lazy to read, at the end of the article there will soon be a video on how to start mining for beginners. But first, I advise you to read the first 2 paragraphs on how to start mining a beginner.
Start mining
This article deals, as you understood above, about mining on a video card and step-by-step instruction... This mining guide is for beginners. We will set up mining, connect, install software, overclock the video card, and so on.
Mining getting started
What do we need to start mining from scratch
Step by step mining
- And probably the most important thing for mining on a video card is a video card (GPU), at least one, also more or less modern, about no more than 3-4 years old, and not budgetary. (It is also possible to mine on, hard drives and ). If you want to choose a video card, then you are here - there are selected best cards, compiled tables and top.
- Naturally the computer ( system unit) or with an installed Operating System (Windows x64). It is the 64 bit version
- It will be determined with the currency that we will mine. Depends on the video card, in our example the description will be ether mining eth. It is better to mine on Nvidia at the moment (12/28/2017) ZCASH - more on that below. Now aired.
- Since our mining is online, we need the Internet. Fast speed is not needed, but good ping is desirable, more on that below.
- Select a pool (POOL) where we will mine ethereum (do not confuse with etherium). Next, select the miner program and configure it.
- Choose an exchange or wallet where our Ethereum coins will drip and accumulate, and also services where you can transfer our earned coins to rubles and withdraw to the card.
Mining instruction start
And so let's start, you have a suitable video card and all of the above listed in points 1, 2, 4 above and the drivers must be installed. If there is no video card, then read what article. If you do not have video cards and equipment, for more information about what kind of equipment you need for mining, follow the link -.
In our example, there will be Windows 7 x64 OS (by the way, ether mining only on x64 bit operating systems), two video cards AMD Radeon Sapphire RX 470 4gb. The processor does not matter, in principle, like the amount of RAM, but 4 gigabytes or more is recommended. The easiest manning kit for beginners. UPD 3x Gigabyte and lower versions of video cards are no longer under go for mining ether, if you have 3gb or less, then you need to look for an alternative. There are other algorithms and currencies for mining, the list is .
Fast Internet is not needed, but with good ping. If you connect via a cable, then of course it's better than the option with Wi-Fi, but Wi-Fi will work (I'll write about this later), you can also read -.
How to start mining
Select the pool where we will mine the ether coins:
1.ethermine.org
Pros of this pool:
- + Large pool power
- + Small and fair commission 1%
- + Good ping
- Pool in English
- A little incomprehensible site (for beginners), but we will describe here how to set up using its example
2.dwarfpool.com/eth
pros:
- + for those who are from Russia, they have a server in Russia which is good for ping
- + small commission 1% which is not secretly overstated
- + Good pool power
- + Easy to configure the miner
- - A little incomprehensible site (for beginners)
3.ww2.coinmine.pl/eth/
Pros:
- + Honest small commission 1%
- + Good ping
- + Good power
- + Better protection
- - More complex customization manner
- - There are difficulties with the site too
4.eth.nanopool.org/
- + Simple site
- + Easy to configure the miner
- + High power
- - There are rumors among miners and many argue that the stated commission of 1% is well understated
At the moment I have selected and will show the setting in example 1 - ethermine.org open the site in your browser
So the pool has been chosen, now you need to select a wallet or an exchange in advance. What is a wallet, Ethereum Wallet? This wallet is located on your computer, coins are sent to it, then from this wallet through services they can be withdrawn to the card, which at the moment is not profitable, it is more profitable to transfer to bitcoins, and then to the card in rubles, but this can be done on the exchange. But the wallet is much safer than exchanges, I will soon write an article on how to create
purse.
But for newbies it is better to work with exchanges
- Binance is a more professional exchange, a good alternative to exmo!
- Exmo is a great exchange, especially for beginners who love miners.
- Yobit is a good Russian exchange.
There are many of them, but let's start with the simplest one, then with the advent of experience you will go to a more interesting exchange, I also advise you to read the list of good ones.
After downloading, unpack the archive with the miner to a convenient place for you, the folder into which you unpack, preferably that was named in Latin (in English). This is the content you should get.
Now let's start setting up the miner and mining
Next, the Start.bat file, right-click on it, and select change. If the start button appears, click on it.
Here is the code for our file that we will run
and we need to edit it for your pool and your wallet (exchange)
-epool and after that we indicate the address of the pool since we selected ethermine.org, we should get:
Epool eu1.ethermine.org:4444
(This is the address and port for mining, for other pools you can find out on the pool's website)
Do not close the text editor
If you do not have equipment, then I advise you to read -.
Also, if you do not want to suffer with setting up and purchasing equipment, there is a cloud mining solution -.
The video of this article is coming soon - how to create a mining.
Mining in Russia is developing, so you develop with us in 2020, good luck to everyone in mining, now you are not a mining beginner !!!
If your card is less than 3 gigabytes, then you can choose another algorithm, the list -.
Write questions in the comments.
You can also ask your questions on the forum, and be sure to get an answer -.
