How to start mining bitcoins. Mining on a home PC - the most complete guide for beginners

How to start mining on your home PC using a simple program. We will analyze in detail the entire service and the program itself, and prepare the computer for mining on a video card.

Cryptocurrency mining on a home PC- this is perhaps the biggest dream, you just get money for the fact that your computer works. Of course, the complexity of mining is growing and a few years ago you could earn solid amounts on your home PC, but the cost of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies was different.

Now it is more difficult to mine coins, but for now you can make your computer or laptop generate income.

Instruction

Follow the steps below and start mining in 15 minutes.

1. Go through a simple registration on the site;
2. Download and run the Miner program;
3. Ready!

You will receive bitcoins every day, which you can:

• Withdraw in rubles to Qiwi or Bank card;
• Withdraw to the official Coinbase.com wallet for storage;
• Transfer to the Russian-language exchange Exmo.com for .

How much can you earn?

Probably the most important question is how much you can earn by mining on your computer. It is easy to find out, when you start the miner, it will calculate everything and show the amount you can count on.

Here is my screenshot of my computer with a 2014 graphics card. As you can see, no additional gestures need to be done.

Pros and cons

To begin with, let's talk about the pros and cons of this mining, so that it would already be clear whether we should register and earn on it. Important point, the display of earned money does not occur immediately, but after a while.

• Mining on a home PC using the program carried out on the video card, there is of course the possibility of mining on the processor, but it is much lower. You can use another program for the processor.
• Easy to install, You just download the program and everything works automatically.
• Very good FAQ section - answers to almost all questions and also fast technical support. support. I specifically wrote, received a response within a couple of hours.
• Convenient interface of the service, there are no complicated moments, that is, you can easily figure it out.
• You can withdraw earned funds immediately to.
• There is no link to a bitcoin wallet, that is, even if you lose access to it, you can use another wallet.

Of the minuses, it can be noted that the income is not large (relatively, more details below). But on the other hand, on home computer you won’t earn a fortune, although you can get a nice additional, passive income.

Of course, you can set up mining separately at a more professional level. But my personal opinion is that an increase in profitability at such capacities (one video card) does not make sense compared to the complexity of the settings.

Mining on a home PC: registration

For registration go to site and on home page at the top, click the button registration". Registering is generally easy. Enter your email, create a password, agree to the terms and that's it.

After that, an email will be sent to the mail, follow the link in it to confirm the mail. Next, using the login (mail) and password, log in to the site.

Mining on a home PC: program

Now you can proceed to the most interesting, downloading and setting up the program. Literally a few steps separate us from the first earned money in a passive mode.

If you have an antivirus installed, then during the installation of the program it can prohibit processes, just click "allow all" or "add to trusted" depending on your antivirus.

After successful installation, the program for mining on your home PC will automatically start, you need to log in to it. Enter the email address and password you used to register.

In the second step, a window will appear asking you to take the test. Just click "start scan" and the program will automatically determine the parameters of your computer.

In the program, on the "settings" tab, set the necessary functionality, the one that suits you. Money is credited in the form of crypto-credits and is automatically converted to Bitcoin and rubles (in the corresponding equivalent). You can see detailed statistics on the website in the "balance" tab.

It remains only for the cryptocurrency and start spending it!

How to increase mining profitability

As mentioned earlier, for large incomes, you need powerful equipment, but for a simple computer, this option is suitable.

What determines the profitability and how to increase it, here I have given a small educational program on the main points. To find out more, you can visit the FAQ page on the site itself:

1. The main power and ability to mine new cryptocoins, of course, depends on the video card. The best option is a video card with 3 GB of video memory.
2. Leave the computer running at full power when you are not at it, for example at night.
3. Do not disable the program itself, if you need the power of your computer, just pause the program.
4. Video card drivers can also affect performance. Read more detailed instructions on the website in the FAQ section - What drivers to install?
5. For Nvidia graphics cards install Windows 10 Anniversary Update? especially important for new maps.
6. If you know what you're doing, then give it a try. Here everything is individual and will need to be tested in real time.

It's all! Next time this process will take maximum half a minute!

Bitcoin still remains the most expensive digital currency. At first, 1 cost 1 cent, in December 2017 they gave $20,000 for it. It is difficult to calculate the exact number of those who believed in cryptocurrency from the very beginning, but in fact they all became crypto millionaires.

The digital money market is unpredictable, but very promising. What do you need to make money on bitcoin mining now?

Mining - extraction of encrypted and limited in the amount of cryptocurrency program code, on the basis of which mathematical calculations take place by selecting a set of numerical variations.

The result of the calculations is to find a new block of the chain - the blockchain. For each found, a reward is paid in the form of crypto coins.

Simply put, it is cryptocurrency mining.

Recall that the number of BTC coins is limited and the volume of emission is known in advance - in total, 21 million bitcoins can be mined.

Since cryptocurrencies are not regulated by any government organization, then Anyone can mine bitcoin. But if until recently it was possible to mine new coins at home using a computer and a powerful video card, today you can’t mine anything in this way. According to many experienced miners, only cloud mining sites allow you to earn on bitcoin mining. And even Asics are no longer profitable, since the income does not exceed the cost of buying equipment and electricity.
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And the miners themselves have become more resourceful and technologically savvy.

They use powerful expensive equipment, invent new schemes and ways to increase the profitability of mining in order to recoup their investments and earn.

Now bitcoin miner is Indiana Jones in the cryptocurrency world, who constantly has to do the impossible to achieve the goal.

There is also a simplified way to get the desired coins - use automatic miners. They are installed on your computer or other device, and then the program itself mines coins. Cryptocurrency mining in automatic mode- the best option for dummies, for whom the principle of mining coins is still obscure.

If, for various reasons, it falls, it will entail a collapse in the value of the first cryptocurrency.

This can happen, for example, if large states impose a ban on cryptocurrency, and mining becomes an illegal activity. The Chinese government is already waging an open war on digital money.

Is mining legal in Russia? To date, it is legal, and any resident of Russia can mine bitcoins.

What is bitcoin mining

Mining principle consists in the fact that computers around the world, located in different parts of the earth, solve mathematical problems, the result of which is the generation of a new chain of blocks - the blockchain.

Blockchain is a chain of blocks that stores information about all transactions / money transfers for the entire existence of the Bitcoin network.

Mining process not controlled by any authority and distributed to all network members, which provides complete decentralization and data security.

How bitcoin mining works is reflected in the infographic:

All transactions are recorded on the public Bitcoin network, and the data is transmitted to the miners along the chain. The purpose of their actions is choose one single hash from a million combinations, suitable for all new transactions and secret key, without which it will not be possible to receive a reward.

The hash looks like this:

067f8e487c8a89ef95tm7a4321a0

When the computer selects the correct hash, the block is closed, the miner or members of the mining pool receive a reward for it and proceed to generate the next block.

Mining is divided into amateur and industrial.

In the first case, the extraction of coins occurs on a computer using special program installed on a PC with a powerful graphics card → today long and ineffective.

Industrial mining uses a whole range of special equipment, called ASIC. It includes powerful computers, video cards and cooling systems, which are combined into a farm → effective but costly.

You can see how the mining process takes place on a large Chinese farm in the video.

Difficulty of bitcoin mining

In the Bitcoin network, the difficulty of mining a new block is recalculated every 2016 blocks, that is, approximately twice a week. The difficulty level can increase or decrease depending on the time spent creating a new batch of blocks and how different it is from 2016 minutes (20160*10). Average to generate 1 block takes 10 minutes. The reward for one found block is now 12.5 BTC.

The probability of a miner receiving a reward during this time is the ratio of its computing power to the computing power of the entire network. If it is small, then the chances of picking up the reward are also not high.

Since the complexity of bitcoin mining is constantly increasing, users are encouraged to organize mining in several ways:

solo mining

It involves the independent purchase and configuration of equipment. The user takes the reward for the found block. On the this moment Bitcoin solo mining is practically obsolete, because it does not make a profit.

cloud mining

The most relevant bitcoin mining option in 2020. Provides maximum profitability and at the same time does not require the user to participate in the technical part of the process. All you need to do is buy a cloud contract, top up your balance and wait until you can withdraw your cloud-mined funds.

But there is too much total power in the world right now, and no major miner can compete with the pools.

Investments in third party services also quite reasonable: what is the point of buying your own equipment if it will still be inferior in capacity to production?!

Mining in pools

Many users unite in communities and jointly mine and divide cryptocurrency according to the share of participation. Thus, the mining speed increases, as well as the chances of each participant to receive part of the reward.

How to start bitcoin mining

How to start mining bitcoin? First of all, you need to understand what equipment or service will be used for mining.

With the advent of ASICs - special chips designed for digital counting units, the speed of computing processes has increased many times over. At the same time, mining became safer: the system is protected from hacker interference and guarantees the operation of long chains of blocks.

To date, entire model lines of ASICs have been developed, which give out incomparably greater performance. Ordinary computers are not able to compete with them, therefore they are no longer relevant in the BTC mining market.

Cloud mining without investment

Mining on the phone

The cryptocurrency industry is incredibly popular. Application developers for mobile devices do not ignore this loud trend. Today bitcoin mining is available even on the phone, that is, you can mine cryptocurrency without exaggeration anytime and anywhere.

Technically, mining mobile phone is no different from mining on a computer. The procedure is identical, the only difference is in device power, which is a priori lower for smartphones.

Therefore, mining on Android or iOS is possible for those cryptocurrencies, for the algorithms of which mobile versions of miner programs have already been developed. However, new applications for mining on android or ios appear every day.

Often mobile mining is used for the purpose of familiarization.

Without special equipment, the user gets the opportunity to find out how the pools work, how the reward for the found block is calculated, and how the whole process of mining cryptocoins works.

What is a bitcoin mining pool

Bitcoin mining pool is a specialized web service that provides miners with its services to increase the chances of getting btc coins. The core of their work is application of maximum parallelization of calculations. That is, the participants of the bitcoin mining pool are looking for their own options for solving the algorithm without being tied to the activities of other miners.

Users provide the pool with their computing power to find the block, and the service acts as a solo miner.

But before joining a particular pool, you need to know its capacity and remuneration distribution rules. These indicators directly determine whether mining will be profitable.

Which one to choose, each miner decides for himself. But we advise you not to experiment and choose a service from the list of the best bitcoin mining pools in 2020:

Bitcoin mining software

To mine bitcoin on your computer, you can download and install special miner programs on it, such as . They are easy to use, make it easy to set up pools, and are compatible with most operating systems.

Cons - high requirements for equipment and modest earning opportunities: the cost of BTC coins mined per day is about half a dollar.

Is bitcoin mining profitable at home?

The concept of home mining was popular in the early 2010s. Is Home Bitcoin Mining Profitable in 2020? Probably not . The complexity of the calculations does not allow us to talk about adequate profit when working with low-performance equipment, which is a PC.

But if you mine on your home computer not bitcoin, but some promising altcoin, for example, then perhaps after some time the equipment will pay off, and the miner will come out in plus.

Like any other business, mining makes sense only when earnings pay off the money spent on a video card and electricity.

Profitability can be calculated bitcoin mining calculator, which will give an average figure of how much you can mine with a particular card. The calculator window will display data on the spent electricity. This will allow you to understand whether mining will pay off.

Pros and Cons of Bitcoin Mining

Contrary to skeptical opinions, Bitcoin mining remains relevant in 2020. It all depends on the amount of money that the miner is willing to invest. If there is a possibility of large investments, then mining farms would be the best option, since with large large investments their payback is higher.

With small investments, it is more profitable to invest in cloud mining and, having paid back the initial investment, scale further in this direction.

After getting acquainted with digital currency, many users have a question, what kind of electronic money is the most profitable to mine, as well as where and in what way. In this material, the most profitable option to date is considered.

Let's start with the fact that every couple of months the profitability of mining decreases due to the fact that more and more people learn about it. Recently, the bitcoin exchange rate, which has sagged more than twice, has also made its contribution. For comparison, in winter, the most profitable video cards in terms of mining could be recouped in two months, and now this process takes 6 or more months.

Does this mean that the train has finally left? We will not speculate on this topic, but in 2009, bitcoin mining was also absolutely not profitable, and just a couple of years later, people who spent several weeks mining coins earned quite a lot of money on the jumped value. It is possible that the prices of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies expect several more jumps in the future, and a small number of coins by current standards can pay off handsomely. But again, no one can give any guarantee that this will bring its dividends.

Everything written below will be devoted to the most effective way obtaining coins and answering questions: what to mine, where to mine, how to mine, and to some extent what to mine. A more profitable way of mining within an error of a few percent does not currently exist.

So let's start with question number one.

It is very difficult to answer this question. And no matter how trite it may sound, bitcoin is probably the best thing to mine, primarily in terms of reliability. On the other hand, ceteris paribus, its price increase ratio is likely to be lower than that of one or more altcoins, which are currently worth literally a penny. Of the alternative digital currencies, at the moment it is worth taking a closer look at Litecoin, Dogecoin and, possibly, Blackcoin. This is a subjective point of view, but it is these three digital currencies that currently have the best prospects.

You can find the list of cryptocurrencies on your own in these lists: coinmarketcap.com, www.cryptmarketcap.com.

What to mine?

Since this material is intended primarily for ordinary owners of home computers, mining will be considered solely in terms of the use of video cards. ASIC boards for sha256 (bitcoin) are bypassed immediately due to their high cost. ASIC boards for scrypt with decent performance have not yet appeared on sale, and hardly ordinary user wants to immediately invest in them an amount in the region of $ 1000 (for the average price / performance ratio of the board). Nevertheless, just in case, we leave a link to the websites of manufacturers of the most promising ASIC boards for scrypt: zeusminer.com , www.kncminer.com/categories/litecoin-mining-hardware .

These boards are much more profitable in terms of performance per kilowatt and require on average 20 times less electricity than a video card of comparable performance.

But back to video cards. The most profitable video card in terms of khash/$ or khash/watt can be found in this table.

At the moment, in the performance / cost category, oddly enough, not latest models, and veterans represented by Radeons 7870, 5970, 5870, R9 270X. True, it is worth noting that the absolute performance of these video cards is relatively low, and if you plan to install more than one board in a computer, the additional costs for a PSU, PCI-E risers, possibly a new motherboard with several PCI-e slots, can be significant. and in this case it is better to immediately take something more productive - for example, R9 280x.

PCI-E riser is a cable 20-30 cm long that allows you to take out a video card, which improves its cooling, and connect PCI-E 16x video cards to a PCI-E 1x slot. Performance does not drop, since mining does not require intensive data exchange over the bus. Attention, connect PCI-E 1x adapters only to the corresponding connector and do not use it with a 16x slot, because motherboard will try to supply additional power for a full-fledged slot through a limited number of contacts and, most likely, will burn both the slot itself and the riser.

Where to mine?

Let's start with the fact that it is unprofitable to mine bitcoins using video cards. The easiest way to explain this is with an example. If you mine the most profitable altcoins at the moment and then exchange them for bitcoins, then on average you will get 50 times more bitcoins than when mining directly.

What altcoins should be mined for this? Fortunately, you don't need to know the answer to this question. There are so-called Profitable Pools that automatically track the rate of altcoins and extract the most profitable ones at the moment, often switching between them literally every few minutes.

Recently, the number of such pools has been constantly growing, but only a few of them show good profitability, which can be found on the PoolPicker website.

As you can see, the situation changes almost every day, and it is possible that the most profitable pool today will be the least profitable tomorrow. However, there is a simple answer. The recently launched NiceHash pool is on average showing the best performance over several days. This is explained very simply. NiceHash is not just a pool, in the usual sense of the word, but a site where you can rent out the power of your computer, so the profit here is a little higher.

Lease does not in any way mean the use of your computer at any time required by the tenant. You start mining yourself at your convenience and can turn it off at any time, so there is no question of performing incomprehensible calculations on your computer. In fact, just like in traditional pools, you mine coins for the server, which is an intermediary for transferring them to the tenant.

The advantages of NiceHash include payments that occur 4 times a day, while other pools do this, as a rule, once a day, and then only if there is a certain amount on the balance.

If, out of interest, you want to find out and calculate the profitability of coins yourself, then this can be done using the sites: www.coinchoose.com/litecoin.php , www.coinwarz.com/miningprofitability/litecoin

How to mine?

Consider mining on the example of NiceHash. Setting up another pool is fundamentally no different.

First you need the Sgminer program, since Cgminer with NiceHash does not work and gives a Rejected error. On the official website of Sgminer, only the source code of the client is available, which you can compile yourself if you have the required knowledge, and the finished version of Sgminer for Windows can be downloaded from sgminerwindows .

You will also need a bitcoin wallet, such as MultiBit, to work.

Registration on the NiceHash pool is not required, since the username is the bitcoin wallet address, which can be viewed in MultiBit.

To start mining, you need to be near executable file sgminer.exe to create a bat file with any name, for example NiceHash.bat. The contents of the bat file should be something like this (on one line):

Sgminer -o stratum+tcp://stratum.nicehash.com:3333 -u 1FL7DA4QUTjuiMNeix2P3TDHvefnyw3Ek2 -p x --temp-target 80 --auto-fan

-o stratum+tcp://stratum.nicehash.com:3333 — pool address

-u 1FL7DA4QUTjuiMNeix2P3TDHvefnyw3Ek2- username, and in this case, the address of the bitcoin wallet

-px- password, which can be anything

--temp-target 80 --auto-fan -- sgminer will take over the control of the cooler and keep the GPU temperature below 80 degrees

To improve performance, you can add an activation of the experimental kernelzuikkis to the string. This can speed up the graphics card by an additional 2.5%.

-k zuikkis

This core does not work well with all video cards, so before using it, compare the number of hashes with and without it.

Also, the bat-file should contain performance settings that are unique for each specific video card. You can see them. It is even better to read the material to understand this issue in a little more detail.

It is advisable, although not required, to add a spare pool to the string. If NiceHash runs out of orders, then the miner will be idle, so it is recommended to register any other Profitable Pool as a backup.

After saving and running the bat file, the Sgminer window should look something like this:

Results

Buying altcoins instead of mining them involves a mechanism known as buying pressure. The presence of demand leads to the fact that offers with the lowest price are quickly sold out on the exchanges, and the price begins to creep up. This results in slow growth in the short term and orders of magnitude higher prices in the long term.

If some points in the text raised additional questions, read also the materials and.

The topic of mining is currently particularly covered on the network. People are interested in the incredible growth of bitcoin and the mining process of the super popular . To become a miner, you need to thoroughly approach the issue and carefully prepare. This material from Threshbox is just aimed at this. In the latest article, you will learn what mining is, how to start mining bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, whether to mine collectively or alone, and what kind of hardware is best for this business.

What is mining

Mining (from the English "mining" - mining) is a decentralized computing process, which serves two main purposes:

• Confirms transactions in a trusted way, using the computing power of the miner to process data.
• Creates (releases) new bitcoins in each block.

Notable Information: what is the proof of work (proof of work). In the bitcoin system, there is a piece of data that requires certain resources (computing power). Proof of work is one of the consensus algorithms (general agreement) that provides confirmation of the complex and lengthy work described above. In most cases, it occurs randomly and does not require any action on the part of the user.

Software and Wallets

The whole point of bitcoin mining is to earn them. But what software should be used for this? Moreover, as soon as a certain amount of bitcoins is earned - where to store them safe and sound? The answers to these questions are provided by the Threshbox editorial with recommendations for the best and safest mining software.

Among software for mining, there are several good and multifunctional options. Most of the presented programs are available for the leading desktop operating systems: Windows, macOS and Linux.

• MinePeon. A simple open source miner that may require an additional WinDisk32Imager utility to burn disk images to USB SD/CF cards.
• EasyMiner. Cross-platform (available on Windows, Linux and Android) miner with a convenient graphical shell. Automatically configures work for bitcoin and provides activity schedules for its production.
• BFGMiner. Modular miner. Supports operation on gate arrays (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), graphic graphics cards (GPU) and central processing units (CPU). Available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
• CGMiner. Powerful miner with support for multi-threaded multi-pool GPU, FPGA and ASIC. In addition, it offers monitoring of ATI (AMD) video cards, overclocking and computer fan speed settings for bitcoin and cryptocurrency derivatives.
• NiceHash Miner. A multi-user miner based on CGMiner. It supports more than 20 algorithms and uses cloud mining technology, thanks to which you do not need to look for pools.

And now about wallet programs. For bitcoin, we strongly recommend that you only use wallets where you can store and use your own (private) keys. For example, the most suitable, simple and safe options is, first of all, official Blockchain wallet, as well as third-party solutions Breadwallet, Copay and Armory. We do not recommend using various hosted (server) wallets (for example, Coinbase or Circle), since they store the entire database on the provider's servers. The provider in this case can have full control not only over public, but also over private keys.

All mined bitcoins become a real currency that can be bought, used for transactions, or even put up for auction on the Bitcoin trading platform.

Which pool to choose

Mining pools are cooperative groups of miners who agree to distribute rewards for closing new blocks in proportion to the hash power provided. Simply put, pools are made for collaborative mining. The miner can use any pool where it is convenient for him.

If you do not plan to mine solo (alone), then mining pools are recommended for use. The list below shows the largest mining pools for bitcoin and more.

• AntPool. Chinese mining pool supported by BitMain. Production relative to all new blocks is 15%.
• DiscusFish/F2Pool. A mining pool called DiscusFish, also known as F2Pool, is also based in China. Over the past six months, the production of this pool has become equal to 12%.
• Bit Fury Pool. BitFury is one of the largest manufacturers of Bitcoin hardware and chips. Currently, this private mining pool mines about 12% of all bitcoins in three processing centers across Georgia.
• BTCC. The third largest Bitcoin mining pool in China. Today he owns about 7% of all bitcoins.
• ViaBTC. This mining pool was created in 2014 and is also based in China. ViaBTC mining is 8% of all new blocks.
• BTC Top. One of the newest mining pools. It doesn't have its own website, so it may be a private pool.
• Slush Pool. Slush is officially the first bitcoin mining pool. Based in the Czech Republic. At the moment, it mines about 6% of all bitcoins. Considered one of the best and most popular mining pools in the world.
• Bitclub.Network. A huge mining pool for mining various cryptocurrencies.
• GBminers. Competitive mining pool from India with a share of 5%.

The best hardware for mining

As you know, the earnings of bitcoin and other crypto-currencies are directly proportional to the computing power that the miner provides for the network. The more powerful your computer, the faster and more you can earn. Therefore, we have also compiled a review of the best hardware available on the market today.

At first miners used central processing units(CPU), but to strengthen the cryptocurrency network, they stopped “pulling” mining and became insufficiently productive. Then there was a rapid transition to graphics processing units (GPUs) in the form of computer graphics cards, as they were able to speed up the hashing process by 50-100 times and consume much less power. Shortly thereafter, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) began to be used for mining. To this day, most of the listed equipment is suitable for mining.

AntMiner S9

Best ASIC miners:

• AntMiner S7, price: $480.
• AntMiner S9, price: $2,280.
• Avalon6, price: $500.
• CoinTerra TerraMiner IV, price: $1,500.

ASIC Miner BE Tube

Best Bitcoin ASIC Miners:

• AntMiner S5, price: from $150.
• AntMiner U3, price: $90.
• ASIC Miner BE Tube, price: $320.
• ASIC Miner BE Prisma, price: from $600.
• Avalon 2/3, price: $3,075.
• BTC Garden AM-V1, price: $350.
• VMC Platinum 6 Module, price: $9040.

BPMC Red Fury USB

There are also USB bitcoin miners. Thanks to USB miners, you can save a lot of money. Among them, the most popular offers are:

• AntMiner U2, price: $50.
• BPMC Red Fury USB, price: $45.
• GekkoScience, price: $50.
• Avalon Nano 3, price: $55.

MSI GeForce GTX 1080

The best video cards for mining various cryptocurrencies:

• Gigabyte Radeon RX 560 (4 GB), price: 23,500 rubles.
• ASUS Radeon RX 580 (4/8 GB), price: from 35,000 rubles.
• Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 (4 GB), price: 38,000 rubles.
• ASUS Radeon RX 570 (4 GB), price: 41,990 rubles.
• Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1070 (8 GB), price: from 49,500 rubles.
• ASUS GeForce GTX 1070 (8 GB), price: 54 990 rubles.
• Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 (8 GB), price: from 56,280 rubles.
• MSI GeForce GTX 1080 (8 GB), price: 67,190 rubles.
• GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (8GB to 11GB)- not available for sale.

Outcome

In conclusion of this article, I will answer as clearly as possible to main question, which is probably of interest to all miners - which is better: to mine or buy bitcoins?

If you look at mining as a long-term investment, then in the future you can actually earn a certain amount of bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies. However, this has its share of risk. First of all, miners can simply break down - accidents happen. Also, you cannot know for sure how much virtual money you will earn - regardless of mining activity. The numbers can change significantly. A more profitable and promising choice in this case would be the purchase of bitcoins. Especially considering that now its price is at the level of $3 thousand and, with minor changes, basically continues to grow.

You can find out how profitable it is to mine a particular cryptocurrency at the moment on the What to Mine website. This service analyzes the dynamics of exchange rates and, based on the data obtained, predicts the profitability of mining.

Write in the comments which pool you want to use and which iron you prefer to take for mining. Of course, if you still decide for yourself that you will definitely do it.

Bitcoin mining in 2018 is a process with which there is a lot of discussion in the cryptocurrency community. With the rise in the price of BTC, network users have become confident that mining virtual currency cost-effective, and the purchased equipment pays off in a short time. But is it?

Mining efficiency is a multifaceted parameter that takes into account not only the cost of the instrument, but also other factors - trends in the field, the attitude of government agencies towards cryptocurrency, and so on. Only with a comprehensive assessment can one say whether BTC mining will be a profitable undertaking, or it is better to refuse it. Below we will consider how cryptocurrency is mined, what are the features of this process, and what equipment is better to use.

Bitcoin mining prospects in 2018 - a brief analysis

In 2017, the value of Bitcoin increased by more than 20 times, which prompted many investors to buy cryptocurrency, and miners to find and buy suitable equipment. This is not surprising, because in December 2017, the BTC exchange rate reached $20,000, which significantly exceeded the expectations of the crypto community. Despite the recession that occurred at the beginning of 2018, interest in cryptocurrency is not declining.

Until the beginning of April 2018, the Bitcoin exchange rate was falling and even reached the mark of 6.5 thousand dollars, but after that a bullish trend began, and the price steadily went up. As of April 24, 2018, the price of Bitcoin is already $9226 per coin. This means that in just 20 days the price has increased by 50%. This growth has caused another wave of excitement among investors and people aimed at personally extracting virtual money.

Bitcoin exchange rate online chart:

Bitcoin mining in 2018 has the following features:

1. The block reward is 12.5 coins. Another reduction in the premium occurred in 2016. Network members have two more years until the next halving of the premium to 6.25 Bitcoins.
2. The complexity of mining is growing all the time. If at the beginning of 2017 it was 317 GigaHash per second, at the beginning of 2018 this figure reached 1.88 Terahash per second. Despite the depreciation, the difficulty continues to rise. As of April 24, 2018, this parameter is 3.84 Terahashes per second. In just 4 months of 2018, the difficulty doubled. This means that the requirements for cryptocurrency mining equipment have also increased. The result is obvious - the equipment relevant in 2017 today does not give the expected result and payback. For example, farms on video cards (even modern ones) do not provide the proper profit. The only way out is the use of ASIC miners, which we will discuss below.
3. The cost of mining equipment against the backdrop of growing demand has increased significantly. New video cards and ASICs are sold out immediately after release or ordered in advance. For example, to create, you will need at least 10 video cards, each of which costs from 300 to 1000 dollars. As for ASIC miners, one device costs 2-5 thousand dollars. One can imagine the costs incurred by a member of the network in order to assemble a profitable farm.
4. Electricity costs. Electricity prices are rising every year. At the same time, the payback of mining depends on the region where the equipment is installed and operates. For example, in the Kamchatka Territory, 1 kWh will cost 8.174 rubles. While in the Rostov region the tariff is much lower - 3.6 rubles. Each region has individual electricity prices, which is worth considering when starting Bitcoin mining.
5. Additional expenses. When buying equipment, the miner makes calculations for the current time (taking into account the current price, complexity and other parameters). For example, on April 24, 2018, the average ASIC miner shows a payback period of 6–10 months. Already in 1-2 months this parameter will be adjusted in the direction of decrease or increase, because the complexity of production will change, as well as the price. The miner will have two options - to put up with a new payback period or buy additional equipment, and these are new expenses. Therefore, the cost recovery point may move away or approach (depending on the situation in the cryptocurrency market). Experienced network members assure that the received return on investment must be multiplied by at least 1.5 times.

Bitcoin mining - what is it in simple words

In other words, Bitcoin is a chain of blocks, each of which contains a cryptographic signature created on the basis of the previous blockchain element. During the mining process, the chain is divided into several branches, but the branch on which more miners work is recognized as valid.

To summarize - what is the essence of Bitcoin mining, and what is it in simple terms. We noted above that each block of the chain contains a cryptographic signature - this is what miners need to find. The network member who solves the problem is rewarded. In 2018 and the next two years, the premium will be equal to 12.5 coins. In 2020, this figure will be halved.

The calculation of the next block depends on the complexity of the network, which changes every 2016 blocks. On average, it takes about 10 minutes to create one element, and the difficulty increases every 2 weeks. The difficulty parameter depends on the speed with which blocks were mined in the past period of time. What does it mean? If a powerful ASIC miner with a higher hash rate appears in the hands of users, the complexity of the system increases. This is a defensive reaction of the network, thanks to which the average block time remains unchanged.

In other words, Bitcoin mining is the creation of blocks (chain elements) or new coins. Such work is necessary for the cryptocurrency network, because thanks to it, transaction confirmation is ensured, the Bitcoin chain is protected from attacks, and decentralization is also supported. A transaction carried out between two participants is reflected in the block after confirmation of validity. If the miner accepted the transaction and added it to the next element of the chain, the coins become available. As a rule, full validity is recognized after six received blocks (sometimes two).

It is impossible to hack the system, because for this you will have to make a change in the entire blockchain chain, which has been formed since 2009 and is in the form of copies on tens of millions of computers in the world. This is a huge job that requires an infusion of large funds and does not make economic sense.

How to mine Bitcoin - step by step instructions and methods

Deciding on the mining option

1. Solo mining- mining of coins outside the pool, using their own capacities. Even 3-4 years ago, this way of earning gave results, but today there is practically no point in it. The reason is the growing difficulty of mining virtual coins and high competition from large pools. The probability that one miner will find the required hash is extremely small. Even with the purchase of powerful equipment, the payback reaches 2-3 years (at best).
2. Pool work. A wiser solution is to connect to one of the servers, where thousands or even tens of thousands of participants unite. For the cryptocurrency network, the pool is perceived as one miner, which increases the chances of creating the next block and making a profit. Earned coins are divided among the participants, taking into account the payment scheme used in . We will talk in more detail about choosing a service for BTC mining below.
3. cloud mining. This is an alternative option for people who do not have 3-5 thousand dollars to buy equipment, but dream of making a profit on the extraction of virtual coins. cloud services- sites representing companies for the production of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Employees of such organizations buy equipment, set it up, pay money for electricity and solve other related tasks. Clients simply buy power and use it to mine virtual coins.
   The cost of services depends on the company. For example, more than a million people participate in genesis-mining.ru. The cost of services is from $179 per 1 Terahash per second. You can consider other options, for example, hashflare.io. Here, the cost of 10 gigahashes per second will cost 60 cents. If you take 1 Terahash per second, the cost will be $600. The advantages of such a solution are the possibility of remote mining (without spending money on equipment), low requirements for initial capital and the ability to earn without special knowledge. The danger is that when working through cloud mining, you can get scammed. If you choose proven services, they are almost always sold out. Another disadvantage is the commissions that are charged by the company to cover expenses.

Choosing equipment

1. HDD. In 2009-2011, network members mined Bitcoins on computer HDD. The use of this method made it possible to save costs and speed up equipment setup. With the growth of complexity, HDD mining has lost its relevance, and the costs have ceased to pay off.
2. Processors. In the same period (until 2011), many miners used the CPU to mine cryptocurrency. As in the case of the HDD, this way of earning quickly became useless and has not been used for 6-7 years.
3. Video cards. Until 2012-2013, a powerful graphics processor installed in a PC was enough to mine BTC. With the advent of ASICs in 2014, this approach ceased to be profitable. The miners chose a different path - they began to collect farms on the GPU. At first, up to 4–6 video cards were used, and in 2016–2017 their number increased to 10–16 units. This mining method suffered the same fate as the previous methods. In 2018, it is still possible to mine BTC using GPU farms, but the amount of profit received is not commensurate with the costs of buying and configuring equipment. Even with modern graphics cards such as GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1080 Ti or mining efficiency will be low. In addition, the situation is not limited to the purchase of video cards - you will need a full-fledged PC, the purchase and arrangement of racks, organization of cooling and other expenses. The total costs reach 5-7 thousand dollars (sometimes more), which forces network participants to look for other options.
4. ASIC miners. The best way earn Bitcoins in 2018 - give preference to asics, which are distinguished by high performance, lower energy consumption and reliable operation. This is a compact device designed specifically for mining virtual coins. With the growth in demand for such equipment, the number of offers on the market is also growing. For example, on April 24, 2018, it costs $1,288. Its power reaches 14 TX / sec. If you calculate the profit on the specified date, it will be $ 210 per month. This means that the ASIC payback will come in 7 months. Even with increasing complexity, an ASIC miner will pay for itself within a year. In addition to the mentioned ASIC miner, you can consider other options - Canaan AvalonMiner 821 (12.1 TH/sec) or Ebang Ebit E 10.1 Miner (18 TH/sec).

Starting a wallet

Choose a pool

Pool interface pool.viabtc.com

• pool.btc.com
• antpool.com;
• pool.viabtc.com.

Registration in the pool

Fields to fill in when registering at pool.viabtc.com

Entering payment information

Bitcoin wallet address example

We provide security

Choosing a program for mining Bitcoin

CGMiner program in working mode

Last steps

1. We set up the pool, specify the username and password, and then select the equipment used (if required).
2. We keep the mining process under control, evaluate the hashrate, look for connection problems.
3. We optimize the process. Some asics and video cards have the ability to overclock. In the presence of necessary knowledge make this work.
4. Evaluate mining efficiency. The first conclusions can be made approximately in 20-30 days. If necessary, you can change the pool or increase the capacity of the equipment used.
5. Monitor the heating of the equipment. The mining process involves round-the-clock operation of ASICs or video cards. To avoid overheating and failure of expensive equipment, it is necessary to control the temperature and provide additional cooling if required.