You’ve probably heard about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but what do you know about the blockchain technology that makes these digital coins possible? In this article, we’ll take a look at crypto mining – the process of building and verifying transactions on the blockchain – to understand how it works, why it’s essential to the success of cryptocurrencies, and how you can get involved in crypto mining yourself. Let’s start by looking at how the blockchain works.
How Blockchain Works?
In a P2P network, there are no servers involved.
The technology used in the blockchain is an open ledger. This means that each user has access to the entire record of transactions. No central authority controls the blockchain either, instead relying on multiple computers running special software that connects to the network over a peer-to-peer (P2P) network protocol.
In any given transaction, both parties’ identities and other relevant information will be encrypted and sent over to a decentralized network which maintains the public record of all transactions conducted over it. The concept of mining was created as a way to allocate resources in blockchain networks so that the chain could be secured and transactions verified.
Blockchain Transaction Process
All transactions are added to a digital ledger called blockchain that is updated every time a transaction occurs.
The data on blockchain is stored in cryptocurrency miners which are specialized computer servers. Transactions are verified by miners, who cryptographically sign each transaction using an encryption algorithm to prove their authenticity and location.
Miners must solve mathematical puzzles in order to verify transactions and earn cryptocurrencies. Solving these cryptographic riddles provides proof of work for each block of transactions generated in blockchain, hence crypto mining. These calculations are difficult and require massive amounts of processing power (hashrate) from specialized mining rigs containing high-end graphics cards or application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).
By providing computational power as verification for blockchain transactions, miners can earn virtual currency rewards like Bitcoin Cash. Processing power helps maintain a decentralized network through consensus algorithms built into most major cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin or Ethereum because there’s no central entity governing them.
What Crypto Miners Do
Crypto miners solve a complex computational puzzle in order to add a new block to a blockchain and get paid.
The first miner to solve that puzzle gets 50 bitcoins as a reward, which might sound like an enormous amount of money (it is), but it will quickly be halved until it reaches zero.
To ensure that Bitcoins have value, Bitcoin has a built-in deflationary currency feature—miners can only mine 21 million coins before bitcoin mining hits an artificial ceiling. That means that supply cannot exceed demand for very long.
This inflation schedule prevents competition between miners from causing bitcoins to devalue over time.
After enough time has passed since a block was added.
However, all future blocks are considered burnt (even if they are discovered later) and yield no reward at all; hence crypto mining. This helps keep inflation under control by ensuring that cryptocurrency becomes more valuable over time, rather than being constantly diluted by new coin generation.
There is also an upper limit on how many Bitcoins can ever be created: 21 million coins. Once again…that number just seems big now because we’re talking about 4 years ago when there were 1/100th as many issued as today…but that won’t last forever!
How Much Time and Money Does Crypto Mining Take
This can vary greatly depending on what type of mining operation you want to run. In Bitcoin, proof-of-work mining takes up a lot of computing power and electricity in order to compete for mining rewards.
For proof-of-stake coins, you don’t need all that hardware since staking does not require energy expenditure. So how much time and money do crypto miners spend on operations? That depends largely on how big their operation is and what kind of coin they are trying to mine (or stake).
You could, however, easily be spending anywhere from $100+ per month to nearly $500+ monthly!
Crypto Mining: As A Process
There are several different kinds of crypto mining. Each is useful for different reasons and may be worth exploring depending on your specific needs . Below, you’ll find an explanation of all three, as well as their pros and cons.
CPU Mining
Don’t bother with CPU mining unless you already have a powerful gaming computer that you’re trying to put to good use. It’s unlikely that your laptop or desktop has a processor powerful enough to make it worthwhile, and so using it for mining will just heat up your device unnecessarily. For hobby miners who want to get their feet wet with crypto mining, my advice is to proceed with caution when dealing with pre-built systems like those offered by Bitmain or Antminer.
GPU Mining
GPU miners are flexible and have the potential to mine different cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrency mining is a competitive space and is always evolving. New cryptocurrencies and mining methods are being created daily, which means that you need to stay current if you want to remain profitable. For example, Ethereum’s Ethash algorithm was considered an ASIC-resistant mining algorithm, meaning it could be mined with a GPU, but soon after its launch competitors emerged in the form of new coins like CryptoNight and Decred.
Because of its open-source nature, many cryptocurrencies can still be mined with CPU software, though not all platforms allow for such flexibility.
ASIC Mining
It’s important to note that ASIC mining works on particular algorithms.
It is practiced on special equipment. This means that, if you don’t have access to an ASIC machine, then it will be impossible for you to mine cryptocurrency with your CPU or GPU. That said, it is possible for a large mining operation using custom hardware (like an ASIC) to attack and use up all of a coin’s hash rate.
Crypto Mining: As a Method
Most major mining farms have an approach that differs from small-scale miners. On a large scale, all factors are taken into account and depending on them, mining with different methods occurs. We’ll analyze three methods for mining crypto: Cloud Mining, solo mining and pool mining. Each method has its own benefits and drawbacks. Let’s dive in!
Cloud Mining
The major benefit of Cloud Mining is that it helps to expand crypto usability.
Cloud mining enables anyone to earn crypto without massive investment in a dedicated mining rig. It also guarantees much lower entry costs, as you don’t have to buy expensive hardware. You do need some kind of power source though, and most cloud mining companies provide electricity for that purpose; if not, you can use your own or get free solar power from Google (seriously).
Be aware that most cloud mining services charge high fees for withdrawal.
Solo Mining
While it’s more difficult to set up, solo mining is still a viable option for miners who want to own their equipment and maintain complete control over its settings. This approach allows you to choose your own mining pool and can still be profitable.
Solo mining, however, takes a lot of time. Although some people have had success with it, we don’t recommend trying it unless you have high-end hardware that can handle these tasks quickly and easily.
Pool Mining
One of two forms of Bitcoin mining. Pooled mining is when a group of miners pool their resources together to find blocks faster.
In exchange for providing processing power, miners are rewarded with new coins on a pro-rata basis based on how much work they have contributed.
Where Can You Mine For Cryptocurrencies
If you have a home computer, a modern laptop or an old smartphone lying around then you can potentially mine cryptocurrencies and make some profit from it.
The main thing that differentiates mining from buying or trading cryptocurrency is that you do not necessarily need to buy new equipment in order to start mining. Of course, having better and more powerful hardware is going to increase your chance of getting a return but if anything happens to your computer there is no immediate financial loss.
Nowadays with all of these different alt-coins out there on the market it’s hard for any single person or organization to mine them all because they would require more computing power than anyone currently has available.
In order to mine specific coins you will have to research what they are trying to achieve and find out which ones are best suited for mining rather than just trying every coin in existence until one sticks. So what should you look at when researching?
As mentioned previously, each coin is targeted at different users so there isn’t really a solid answer except maybe finding one coin that suits your requirements perfectly. Some people might prefer coins with smaller block rewards while others will prefer ones with high difficulty levels and large block rewards; again, it depends on preference.
Other things like ASIC resistance (ASICs are dedicated computers designed specifically for mining) could be very important depending on where a certain coin’s development team want to take their project as well as how much people like using specific software.
BTC/ETH : Is Crypto Mining Worth It in 2022?
Many crypto experts think that mining in 2022 is still highly profitable and will remain so for some time.
Even as more powerful, specialized hardware comes online, it’s unlikely to make mining any less profitable than it is today. It all depends on how big you want to go, really. You can start by buying a simple Bitcoin ASIC miner and slowly grow your operation as you learn and get more capital.
In 2022, mining rigs can pull in roughly $2 worth of bitcoin per day if you’re looking to turn a quick profit — but with costs like electricity and equipment rental, many miners are making over $200 per day by starting small and growing their operations as they learn how to get bigger payouts.
Best 5 Profitable Crypto To Mine In 2022
As of now (2022), Bitcoin is the world’s strongest and oldest Cryptocurrency. But its not the best to mine.
When it comes to mining, hash power is more important than market capitalization or price. Hash power refers to how many calculations a miner’s computer can perform per second, expressed in hashes per second. The best coins to mine are often those with a high hash rate, that way they will be found faster and easier.
RavenCoin (RVN)
Is a Cryptonote algorithm based alternative coin with a focus on energy efficiency and true decentralization. A fork of Bitcoin, Ravencoin aims to implement a range of changes including ASIC resistance via memory-hard proof-of-work function, specifically tailored towards GPU miners working in collaborative groups known as mining pools.
It also uses an X16R algorithm that changes every 16 blocks or roughly every 2 hours. This high rate of blockchain iterations forces Ravencoin users to reattach their transactions to stay in line with new blocks.
ROI since launch: 39%
Algorithm: Proof-of-Work
Current Price as on May 2021: $0.1634
Hashing Function: X16R
Block Mining Reward: 5,000 RVN
Monero (XMR)
An anonymous, decentralized cryptocurrency that has grown in popularity and market cap since its 2014 launch.
Monero was specifically designed to be resistant to ASICs, making it possible for anyone with a standard PC to mine XMR coins at a profitable rate. Monero aims to provide users with true financial privacy and fungibility by protecting transaction data from blockchain analysis. It uses ring signatures, stealth addresses, and ring confidential transactions (RingCT) to obfuscate transactions; moreover, transactions can’t be linked with their originating IP address, as every transaction generates unique cryptographic keys that are destroyed after use.
Current Mining reward: 2.15 XMR/block
Algorithm: Proof-of-Work
Current Price as on May 2021: $456.56
Hashing function: CryptoNightR
Network Hashrate: 1.86 GH/s
Number of blocks: 2,272,762
LiteCoin (LTC)
Litecoin is an open-source software project released under MIT/X11 license.
It is a global, decentralized currency that enables instant payments to anyone in the world and that can be efficiently mined with consumer-grade hardware. Litecoin was an early Bitcoin spinoff or altcoin, starting in October 2011. Since then, numerous other cryptocurrencies have been created.
ROI since launch: 743.42%
Algorithm: Proof-of-Work
Current Price as on May 2021: $359.08
Hashing Function: Scrypt
Block Mining Reward: 12.5 LTC
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
Ethereum Classic is a cryptocurrency aiming to maintain the original Ethereum blockchain.
Ether is the currency of the Ethereum ecosystem. It is used to pay for computation time and for transaction fees. Those who wish to use the network must have Ether in their possession to cover these costs. The supply is finite; there are a total of 84 million units in circulation and no more will be created after that number has been reached. There’s also a pre-sale amount that’s not included in the cap.
In 2016, a group of miners and developers decided to create an alternative version of Ethereum because they were worried about whether Ethereum could scale effectively.
ROI since launch: 525.52%
Algorithm: Proof-of-Work
Current Price as on May 2021: $292.10
Hashing Function: Ethash
Block Mining Reward: 3.2 ETC
Zcash (ZEC)
Unlike other coins that were developed with certain algorithms in mind (for example, Bitcoin uses SHA-256 and Litecoin uses Scrypt), Zcash was developed to use Equihash.
This algorithm is designed for mining on GPUs, and can also be mined using specially designed ASICs. It’s important to note that, despite its name, Equihash is not a truly equi-hash in that it doesn’t give any mining advantage to CPU or GPU owners over ASIC owners.
Zcash is categorized under easy coins to mine as its algorithm allows it to be mined using a variety of different hardware setups ranging from simple CPUs to complicated GPUs and even specialized ASICS.
ROI since launch: -99.29%
Algorithm: Proof-of-Work
Current Price as on May 2021: $307.11
Hashing Function: Equihash
Block Mining Reward: 10 ZEC
So, Is Crypto Mining Legal?
There are a number of different ways to generate cryptocurrency, including mining, but some people think that it’s illegal.
However, while there have been some instances of crypto miners getting in trouble with the law (for example, an incident where miners accessed electricity illegally), that’s usually not the case. There is legal crypto mining and illegal crypto mining.
Although crypto mining is 100% legal. The difference between legal and illegal lies in where the energy comes from: *Legal Crypto Miners Use Legal Energy to Mine Crypto : Legal crypto miners will be sure to check what they need as far as permits and paperwork is concerned before doing anything else because mining without permission from your power company or government can get you into trouble – or even land you in jail!
Why Cryptocurrency?
With the invention of Cryptocurrency, many people have stopped using paper cash and coin currencies.
A lot of countries including U.S.A is trying to create paper cash currencies but it’s not effective. The other use of Crypto currency is that when you transfer it from one user to another, there are no fees or hassles of any kind just like sending an email or making a bank transaction online.
Apart from its benefits, crypto mining remains an interesting hobby for a lot of people even adults who want to make some good money by having their own farms for crypto mining such as bitcoin, Litecoin etc… Many enthusiasts found that crypto mining provides them with endless fun as well as profit too! People have become more inclined towards cryptocurrency. The reason behind this is:
Privacy & Control Over Finance
Money is a sensitive subject for many people. It’s also an instrument that has so much control over our lives. We rely on it to pay bills, to buy groceries, and to feed our families. But there are still so many people that don’t understand how money really works, or how they can take back their own control over finances.
They don’t know how they can get in on crypto mining when they don’t have any money of their own to invest at all. How do you explain something as complex as cryptocurrency mining when all a person knows is fiat currency? You start with basics and work your way up slowly until you reach a level of complexity that fits their current understanding.
The Benjamins
The cryptocurrency market is growing at a rapid pace, and already, the industry is a $200 billion behemoth. From 2017 to 2025, the global cryptocurrency market is expected to outstrip $38 billion.
This means that the demand for blockchain developers will only continue to grow; developers are making millions off of crypto mining profits and there’s no sign that the trend will slow down anytime soon. If you’re hoping to get in on the action yourself, it might be worth your while to learn how crypto mining works and consider whether or not you should start mining—or if you should hire someone else!
Either way, learning about crypto mining may help you make better business decisions moving forward.
Its a Generation Z Concept
The good part about Cryptocurrency is that its concept is still new and exciting. This generation isn’t afraid to try new things, and Cryptocurrency is quickly growing in popularity, especially with Millennials.
There are all sorts of ways to get into Crypto, whether you have time for trading or not. Bitcoin cash and Ethereum are two fast-growing coins that offer great options for investing in Cryptocurrency without needing a lot of money. Newbies can just buy enough of these coins to hold until they appreciate in value, which can be a good way to build up an investment portfolio quickly.
The Verdict: Should I Invest In Crypto?
Although why some people are not getting involved in cryptocurrency is a bit of a mystery to many experts, there are plenty of reasons for it.
Although personally, I’ve never done any sort of cryptocurrency mining myself – which is probably the most labor-intensive type of crypto currency mining out there – I have friends who specialize in that particular kind of mining and they say it’s a tedious process even with all the crypto mining software out there to make things easier.
Cryptocurrency mining can definitely be done quite easily by just about anyone, but still, some people don’t get involved in it and here are the reasons why:
Geographical Location
Though we don’t cover that in detail here, location also plays a major role when it comes to mining profitability. Longer-term mining contracts tend to be more profitable in places with cheap electricity. For example, Russia has some of the cheapest electricity in Europe, while Brazil has notoriously high energy costs.
The rule of thumb is that if you can make money mining bitcoins in a particular place, you can probably make money mining bitcoins there for a while, until competition pushes down profits.
Resource Intensivity
A single Bitcoin transaction uses enough electricity to power roughly 30 American homes for a day.
This incredible amount of energy is due to something called proof-of-work (PoW) mining, which requires miners to solve complex equations in order to earn rewards from verifying transactions on a blockchain. Today, PoW remains one of two popular ways of validating cryptocurrency transactions and achieving consensus at scale. It’s also essential for crypto mining itself.
The more powerful your computer rig, or mining rig, is — typically measured in hash rate (TH/s) — and depending on how much spare power you have available compared to everyone else in a given network, determine how many coins you can mine per unit time.
Its Costly
The cost of a bitcoin has risen dramatically since it was created.
Bitcoin mining is a lot like a giant lottery where you compete with your mining hardware with everyone on the network to earn bitcoins. Faster Bitcoin mining hardware is able to attempt more tries per second to win this lottery while the Bitcoin network itself adjusts roughly every two weeks to keep the rate of finding a winning block hash to every ten minutes.
In the big picture, Bitcoin mining secures transactions that are recorded in Bitcon’s public ledger, known as a blockchain. By conducting a random lottery where electricity and specialized equipment are The only two factors, miners who solve these equations receive transaction fees and Bitcoins from coinbase which is one of world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
Returns on Investment
While a lot of people have made money through Cryptocurrency, it is not the same for everyone. You can also make money from crypto mining. However, you need to do your research and make sure that you are using the right technology.
Sometimes simply having a high-end computer will not be enough for effective crypto mining. With its supply down 50% there was already expectation that its price would go up by at least 50%. Which happened on May 27, 2017. When Bitcoin hit $2,500 per BTC (bitcoin). Something interesting with bitcoin too is their expected halving every 4 years until 2024 when they end completely with their final halving in 2024 where only 100 Bitcoins will be given out each 10 minutes instead of 50 Bitcoin before then.
But with halving comes reduction in supply which has always historically made all coins worth more once done.