Mining is one of the most popular ways to make money with crypto. However, it has been steadily becoming less and less profitable as time goes on. Despite this, mining is one of the most essential components of the crypto world, both because of its necessity for the normal functioning of the blockchain, and because of its near-cult status. Mining is something many crypto enthusiasts want to try even if it won’t bring them any profit. However, that doesn’t mean that cryptocurrency mining can’t be profitable – or easy.
In this article, we will explain everything you need to know about cryptocurrency mining and then take a look at the best digital currencies to mine.
take a look at the best digital currencies to mine.
What Is Cryptocurrency Mining?
How Can You Mine Crypto?
ASIC Mining
GPU Mining
CPU Mining
Crypto mining methods
Solo Mining
Pool Mining
Cloud Mining
What are the Best Cryptocurrencies to Mine?
Most Profitable Coins to Mine
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
Monacoin (MONA)
Vertcoin (VTC)
ZCash (ZEC)
Grin (GRIN)
Monero (XMR)
RavenCoin (RVN)
Dash (DASH)
DigiByte (DGB)
Litecoin (LTC)
Easiest Cryptocurrencies to mine
Aeon (AEON)
SweatCoin
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Bitcoin Gold (BTG)
Final Thoughts
Frequently Asked Questions
Why isn’t it a good idea to mine Bitcoin?
Is crypto mining still profitable?
Which cryptocurrency is the best to mine in 2021?
Which cryptocurrency is the easiest to mine?
Is it worth mining Ethereum 2021?
What Is Cryptocurrency Mining?
how to build a mining rig
As we have said in some of our previous guides on crypto mining, it, unfortunately, does not include such exciting objects as pickaxes or diamonds. Fortunately, however, it also doesn’t require you to do any manual labor to get to a treasure arguably more valuable than the shiniest of gems – cryptocurrency.
To put it simply, cryptocurrency mining is the process of solving complex mathematical equations in order to validate crypto transactions. Mining can be different based on the cryptocurrency being mined: if it has a proof-of-work (PoW) hashing algorithm, it will require to spend a lot on electricity costs and have top-notch mining equipment. Proof-of-stake (PoS) based cryptocurrencies require you to own a large amount of said crypto: the more you have, the more profit you can get. That’s why it’s called proof of “stake”, PoS
How Can You Mine Crypto?
Crypto mining can be divided into 3 categories depending on what hardware is used. Here they
ASIC Mining
ASIC miner, or an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit Miner, is probably the least well-known yet the most efficient form of crypto mining hardware there is. Unlike CPUs or GPUs, ASICs are designed for a single purpose: for ASIC miners, it is naturally “mining”, or solving complex math problems that validate and secure the blockchain.
Generally, most ASIC miners are designed and created to mine specific cryptocurrencies. ASICs are generally not that expensive, on average costing around $300 to $500. ASIC miners are around 100,000 times more efficient and have a higher hash rate than the best CPU and GPU miners – they have a lot of mining power. However, one downside of ASIC mining is that it is not available for all cryptocurrencies. Additionally, unlike the other two mining equipment types, ASICs are not upgradeable and aren’t as durable. You might like to read this article to learn more about ASIC miners.
GPU Mining
GPU, or Graphics Processing Unit, is basically a graphics video card we use for things like watching movies or playing games on our computers. It can also be used to mine cryptocurrency.
GPU mining isn’t as efficient as the ASIC one (although the hash rate can still be high) and is on average more expensive. However, it gives miners flexibility, allowing them to mine different coins using the same hardware device. Additionally, GPU miners can also be used for non-mining activities, and are something that many people already own.
On the other hand, although most people already own a GPU, the computer it is used by is likely not strong enough to be considered a profitable mining rig that will be good enough for GPU mining. So not only will you have to buy an expensive GPU, but you will also have to pay for a computer that can actually support it. Moreover, due to GPUs’ high power consumption, maintenance fees for GPU miners are high, too.
In order to mine with GPU (or CPU), you need not only the usual wallet-hardware combo but also compatible mining software. Learn more about the software you can use for GPU mining and CPU mining here.
CPU Mining
CPU, or Central Processing Unit, is the oldest and, well, the most outdated type of mining hardware. CPU miners allow you to mine crypto using your computer’s processing power.
Not only is it extremely slow and inefficient, but CPU mining is also harmful to your computer. The profit you will make with a CPU miner will in most cases be incredibly meager, and won’t be worth it.
CPU mining also includes mobile mining… which is definitely not worth it. It’s easily overloaded, consumes too much power, and overheating will damage your device – all for a little to no return in terms of profit.
However, CPU and mobile mining are both a good choice for people who are after the experience and not the profit, since you don’t really need to make an initial investment. If that’s the case for you, make sure you choose a cryptocurrency that isn’t too hard to mine and one that doesn’t require a lot of computational power. We discuss the best CPU miners in this article
Crypto mining methods
Other than by the hardware used, crypto mining can also be divided into 3 subcategories depending on what method was used to extract the coins.
Solo Mining
Just like the name suggests, solo mining involves the miner acting solo, without any type of support from others. This can be anything from a newbie farming coins on their phone to a large-scale mining operation that involves warehouses full of mining rigs. Unless you have the latter, this mining method won’t be very profitable, if at all.
Pool Mining
Pool mining is done by using the collective power of several devices working together to mine a single block. Although the costs and power consumption are reduced, so are the profits: the block mining reward is divided between everyone in the pool. Pool mining requires you to have your own mining rig.
There are a lot of different mining pools out there, and we recommend researching them thoroughly before joining one. If you want to find a good Bitcoin mining pool, read this article.
Cloud Mining
Cloud mining allows you to mine crypto without owning a mining rig or having to pay for electricity. When using this method, you basically rent out somebody else’s mining rig and receive a cut of their profit in return. Conversely, if you already own a mining rig, you can rent it out to help pay for the various expenses and costs – but then your profit will be reduced, too.
Usually, the miners you rent belong to large-scale mining companies that incur much lower costs than individuals with one or two mining rigs. Similar to when using mining pools, cloud mining doesn’t let you get the full block reward.
What are the Best Cryptocurrencies to Mine?
Now that we’ve looked at what crypto mining is and how it’s done, let’s discuss what cryptocurrencies are the best to mine.
Most Profitable Coins to Mine
The main thing people are looking for when choosing to mine is profitability. However, some beginner miners may misinterpret this metric: it doesn’t just depend on the coin’s price. You also have to consider the costs associated with running a mining rig for said cryptocurrency, consider how much of it you will be able to get per day, the number of blocks that you need to mine to make a profit, and so on.
A good way to calculate the profitability of your future mining operation is to use a mining calculator. Input the crypto you want to mine, your hardware, hashing power, and so on to see how much profit you have the potential to make per day.
Alternatively, you can also use a website like whattomine.com to see which coin currently has the highest rewards per block and is the most worthwhile – but don’t chase after immediate profits, as mining is a rather long term investment and due to the high volatility of the crypto market what may be profitable today can turn cause you to incur losses tomorrow.
Easiest Cryptocurrencies to mine
Profitability, however, isn’t the only metric prospective crypto miners pay attention to. When you’re just about to start mining, it can be a good idea to mine cryptocurrency that won’t require you to set up a complex mining operation or an over-the-top mining rig. Let’s take a look at the top cryptocurrencies that are known for being easy to mine.
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of cryptocurrencies out there, so it can be hard to decide which one you want to mine. As you can see from our guide, there is no one “best” cryptocurrency to mine. Some are better, some are worse when it comes to mining and profitability. But, in the end, you will have to make a decision based on what resources you have, what goals you are after, and, additionally, what chain and project you might be interested in supporting.
As always, we remind you to DYOR – do your own research – and carefully assess the risks before you start mining and investing money in crypto. Good luck on your mining journey!
Great idea!
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