Everything you Need to Know About Mining Cryptocurrency

As cryptocurrencies are now becoming part of the mainstream, more and more people are developing an interest in the new and interesting world of blockchain. A lot of people are interested in this space because they have discovered that it is possible to make money through these digital currencies. Cryptocurrency mining is an important part of the process, in which certain tasks are performed by a machine for obtaining a little bit of cryptocurrency that can be bought and sold for profit. Sure, you can directly purchase cryptocurrencies from someone else who has already mined them, or you can do it on your own.

If you are interested in mining cryptocurrency, then you should know that you will need a machine for this purpose, which can also be your personal computer. Specific tasks would have to be performed by your PC for obtaining even the slightest amount of cryptocurrency, which are referred to as ‘Proof of Work’ and the purpose of these is to create a fair playing field for all miners. These tasks are basically math equations. The more you want to mine, the tougher these equations become. This means you need bigger and stronger machines for mining. 

There are different ways to go about cryptocurrency mining and you need to have a basic understanding of these before you decide which one to use. Let’s take a look at the various methods:

Cloud Mining 

If you are searching for ways to mine cryptocurrencies, the most popular method you will come across is cloud mining. This is a process in which you have to pay someone a specific amount of money to someone, which is usually a big corporation, for renting their mining machine known as a ‘rig’. This lasts for an agreed-upon time period during which all the earnings made by the rigs are transferred to your crypto wallet, after deducting maintenance and electricity costs. 

Those companies offering cloud mining services have huge mining facilities with various farms, where tens of thousands of rigs are stacked together, and these are used for mining cryptocurrency. This kind of mining has gained a great deal of popularity mostly because it provides people the chance of participating in the world of crypto when they don’t have enough money to buy their own rigs or are just not committed enough to invest in one. 

There are two options that you can explore when it comes to cloud mining; free and paid. Obviously, the free option would be appealing to those who want to mine cryptocurrency, but it comes with some downsides, such as extra conditions and slow mining speeds. Paid cloud mining could be a much better option and you have to find an online cloud mining host in order to take advantage of it. These hosts will offer you different plans, which range from the cheapest to the most costly one. As a matter of fact, some hosts even offer people the ability to create and customizing their own cloud mining plan. 

Once you have decided what plan you want, you can pay the host, register your crypto wallet and start mining cryptocurrencies. The cost of these plans will vary and can be anywhere between $500 and $5,000 and their duration can also vary. 

CPU Mining

The next method that can be used for mining crypto is known as CPU mining, which uses processors for doing this job. Back in the day, it was regarded as a viable option, but fewer people choose this option for mining cryptocurrencies. This is because of several reasons. First off, CPU mining is incredibly slow and it can take months before you will notice the smallest amount of revenue. Secondly, it is just not worth it because you will not make enough money and will spend more on cooling and electricity. Then, why do people use CPU mining? 

Basically, anyone who owns a desktop computer can mine cryptocurrencies if they decide to go with this option. You just have to have a computer and a few programs. You can also lose your laptop, but it is not advised because it will overheat in a matter of hours and can be damaged. 

GPU Mining

Perhaps, the most well-known and popular method of mining crypto is none other than GPU mining. GPU rigs are quite renowned in the world of mining and the first thing you will come across if you google ‘crypto mining’. For instance, even cloud miners use GPU rigs for their mining activities. This method of mining is popular because it is relatively cheap and quite efficient as well. Sure, the rig’s construction can be a tad costly, but when it comes to the general workforce and hash speed, the GPU mining rig can be quite useful. 

These rigs basically use graphic cards for mining cryptocurrencies. One standard GPU rig is made out of a motherboard, processor, rig frame, cooling, and a few graphic cards. The typical cost of a well-performing and properly built GPU mining rig is usually near the $3,000 price range. This is undoubtedly a hefty investment, but it tends to pay off a lot faster than any other option. 

ASIC Mining 

Application-Specific Integrated Circuits or ASICs are special devices that are explicitly designed for performing a single task, which is crypto mining in this case. ASICs are quite renowned and also treasured because they are capable of producing a huge amount of cryptocurrency, as compared to their competitors’ CPU and GPU. The problem is that there is a lot of controversy surrounding these. When a new version of the machine was announced by the ASIC company, it resulted in an uproar in the crypto community and people even called for an outright ban. 

This is because these ASICs are quite powerful and they prevent other crypto miners, who are using GPU or CPU rigs of the possibility of keeping up in earnings as well as hash speeds. Furthermore, the ASICs have also managed to twist the economy of some specific cryptocurrencies. 

Best Method for Mining Cryptocurrency 

Now that you are familiar with the various methods that can be used for mining cryptocurrencies, it is natural for you to wonder which one is the best. There is no perfect method for everyone and it can vary from person to person. It depends on a couple of key factors, like whether you are willing to spend some money, how much do you want to spend, whether you want to own a rig, and more. You have to consider these details in order to choose a specific method for mining cryptocurrencies. 

Generally speaking, the two big options that are being explored by most people are cloud mining and GPU mining. CPU mining is not that preferable because it is tedious and slow, whereas ASIC mining can turn out to be quite unpredictable. If you are interested in building your own rig, then the ideal option is GPU mining. If you don’t want to spend any money and want to get started right away, then you can explore the option of CPU mining. If you don’t mind a bit of controversy and are ready to take risks, then even ASIC mining can be considered. Cloud mining is the best when you don’t want to have to anything with rigs or any other kind of machinery.