How to Mine Etherum

Mining cryptocurrency for profit might be harder than it was several years ago, but plenty of people are still interested. Ethereum offers one of the better mining opportunities for new miners. This Bitcoin rival has plenty of upside in terms of price and potential. When learning how to mine Ethereum you need to become familiar with GPUs, mining software, and mining pools.

This is a basic guide on how to mine Ethereum. It should help you get started and also serve as a starting point for further research. We think that you will find the process to be somewhat easier than mining other digital coins.

Ethereum Mining Basics

If you have mined Bitcoin in the past you will have a general idea of how Ethereum mining works. The blockchains of the two cryptocurrencies have a lot in common, but there are also some significant differences.

For starters, blocks on the Ethereum blockchain are added much more quickly than those on the Bitcoin blockchain. A new block of Ethereum is mined about every 15 seconds on average. The average time with Bitcoin can be 10 minutes. This is a problem of scalability that Bitcoin has worked hard to overcome.

Ether is the digital token associated with Ethereum. Just like with Bitcoin, miners are rewarded with tokens for mining Ethereum. The reward is 3 ETH in addition to any transaction and code-processing fees. There is also the possibility to earn bonuses called “uncles” when mining Ethereum.

The most significant difference is that Ethereum uses a different algorithm for mining than Bitcoin. This makes the process incompatible with ASICs that have been designed to mine Bitcoin. GPU mining is that standard for Ethereum.

Why You Should Mine Ethereum

There are a few different reasons why one should consider mining Ethereum. At the core of all mining aspirations is a desire for profit. Ethereum may offer more profit potential than some other tokens including Bitcoin.

Some individuals want to mine Ethereum so that they can subsidize the cost of better mining hardware. Others want to mine the token so that they can exchange it for Bitcoin in the hopes that the price of Bitcoin will increase. Still others feel as though a stash of Ether is a good addition to their cryptocurrency portfolio.

Another thing to consider is that having stake in Ethereum gives you a small amount of input into the development of the Ethereum network. You may be one of those people who is committed to getting behind the Ethereum platform and its world of smart contracts, DAPPS , and DAOs.

Whatever your reasons for mining Ethereum, there is no reason you should not give yourself the opportunity to earn tokens from a mining enterprise. It is only important that you go into the process informed about all of the particulars.

Consider and Ethereum Mining Pool

Mining pools are very popular at the moment given the high costs of mining equipment and resources that are required. You can opt to connect your own miner to a pool, or you can also join a mining collective where you partner with other miners in buying hashpower to share the rewards.

A good example of a mining pool is Genesis Mining. This company allows individuals to purchase contracts that allocate a certain amount of hashpower. The hashpower that you receive is proportional to the size of the contract that you have purchased. More hashpower means that you will likely receive a larger share of the mining reward.

An advantage of mining pools like the ones offered by Genesis Mining is that your costs are fixed. You pay one fee for your contract. The company is tasked with maintaining the equipment, paying for resources, and all other related costs.

Why would a company do this, you ask? Wouldn’t it be more profitable for them to just use their equipment to mine their own Ethereum? Not always. Mining is a tricky proposition where rewards are not guaranteed for those involved. It may be better to risk a small sum in the hopes of earning a reward than it is to invest in your own mining equipment.

Hardware for Mining Ethereum and Other Considerations

If you decide to go it on your own with Ethereum mining, be prepared that you will have some initial expenses. Most of these will involve purchasing a GPU and mining rig. You’ll also have electricity costs to consider.

Your GPU card should have at least 3 GB of RAM in order to function properly. You should also know that AMD cards are more suitable and profitable to Ethereum mining than NVidia cards. If you are using a standard computer as a mining rig then you will need a 64-bit system that runs some distributions of Linux or Windows 10. There is no application available for the Mac at this time.

As long as you meet these general basic requirements and have a GPU that has at least 3 GB of RAM, you will be able to mine Ethereum. Just know that the subject of mining is very vast. This is in no way meant to be a comprehensive guide. You should do your research on the various types of mining rigs that can be set up and decide what you can afford.

Ethereum Mining Software

Once you have the mining rig set up you will need to download mining software for your computer. This software is what allows the mining process to take place. All of these applications are connected to an built around the Ethereum blockchain. You will need to download a copy of the blockchain to your computer where it will be maintained.

The Claymore Ethereum Miner seems to be one of the most popular applications on the market at the moment. It is preferred by many miners because it is easy to install and use. There are also other options that you can explore.

Once you have the software installed on your computer there is only the matter of following the prompts to get the software up and running. You may be required to tweak some of the Windows settings in order for the software to function properly.

A GPU, mining software, and mining pools are the beginner considerations for mining. As you become more familiar with the process you will learn how to customize and improve your mining setup. Always remember that mining carries a certain amount of risk just like any investment. The returns that you see others receiving should not be considered typical in any case.

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