While it is no longer possible to mine bitcoin on a personal computer, it is still possible to mine other cryptocurrencies at home if you are prepared to put in the effort.
Setting up a modest cryptocurrency mining business at home can be the best option for you if the volatility of cryptocurrency investment is too much for you but you still want to gain from the new economy.
The cryptocurrency that doesn’t need you to construct a large mining setup is the easiest to mine. Although it was initially possible to mine Bitcoin using desktops and laptops, the rising mining difficulty and the introduction of hardware called Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) designed specifically for bitcoin mining have made it all but impossible to mine bitcoin for profit at home using a PC or laptop.
However, home cryptocurrency mining will still be possible with other well-known cryptocurrencies in 2022. This article will provide you a number of widely-liked substitutes as well as some how-to instructions to get you going.
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Market Cap: $11B | Daily Volume: 200M–600M+ on average |
Despite the fact that Dogecoin (DOGE) was initially based on a meme, Elon Musk promoted it and it has now developed into an altcoin with a sizable user base. In contrast to the limited amount of bitcoin, DOGE is meant to create new coins every year. For anybody mining it, this provides another motivation. Make sure you have a wallet to keep your profits before starting to mine DOGE. You may check on the internet for more compatible online wallets or download the Dogecoin core wallet.
CPU miner is the program that performs the best while mining with your CPU. It is feasible to mine in this way, but slowly. You may utilize graphic cards to accelerate mining. Cards from AMD and Nvidia are your best options. If you choose to mine using a GPU, you should use the cgminer or cudaminer program.
You can find detailed instructions on mining Doge here. While mining alone is possible, it is best to join a mining pool so you can benefit from more processing power and speeds and, as a result, produce bigger mining returns. MultiPool is an illustration of a mining pool that accepts Dogecoin. Dogecoin is traded on Binance once it has been mined.
Ethereum Classic
Market cap: $3.3 billion; daily volume: 200 million to 500 million;
The primary objectives of the Ethereum Classic project were to safeguard the existence of the original Ethereum blockchain and to offer an alternative to those who vehemently opposed the DAO rescue of Ethereum and the course that the Ethereum Foundation had chosen. ETC can still be mined on desktop computers even though it can also be done using ASIC equipment. Here is a comprehensive list of Ethereum Classic mining options.
Following mining, Ethereum Classic may be traded on HitBTC, Binance, and Huobi Global.
ZCash (ZEC)
Market cap: 1.4 billion | daily volume: 150-200 million |
Launched in 2016, Zcash (ZEC) is a well-known cryptocurrency that prioritizes anonymity. The main benefit of Zcash for home miners is that it uses the Equihash algorithm, which is resistant to ASICs. As a result, the GPU-equipped home miner may take part.
You must download the software that will enable you to manage your gear before you can begin mining Zcash. Create your wallet and download the Zcash blockchain. There will be some delay involved since your node has to download and sync the full blockchain. Downloading the drivers for your graphics cards is also required. You can find detailed instructions for mining Zcash here. Zcash is traded on Binance, Huobi Global, and Bitfinex once it has been mined.
How much money can you make GPU crypto mining at home?
With currencies like Monero, Zcash, and Byte, it is feasible to mine cryptocurrency at home using a CPU, but the process will be laborious and the cost of energy may exceed the worth of the coins you can mine. GPU mining is a viable route for people who want to take things more seriously. Popular choices include GPUs like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 and GeForce RTX 3080.
GPUs may be purchased for as little as $600 or as much as $2000. Performance is the key factor for the pricing difference. This has to do with the maximum hashrate of GPUs. Hashrate, put simply, is the capacity of the GPU unit to do calculations quickly and efficiently in order to mine cryptocurrencies. Million hashes per second is how the hashrate is represented. One million hashes per second correspond to 1MH/s. Lower hashrates are common of cheaper GPUs. The hashrates of desktop and laptop CPUs are even lower and are measured in thousand hashes per second (TH/S) rather than millions.
The hashrate and revenue calculation
An useful tool for estimating future revenues is hashrates.com. It shows hashrates for CPUs and GPUs along with an estimation of how much money may be made per month by mining cryptocurrencies using those hashrates.
A GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, for instance, can mine Ethereum at 48MH/s and may generate $217 per month, according to Hashrates.com. An Intel i9-10900, on the other hand, operates at 4KH/s and would generate $9 worth of Monero in the same time frame.
Two other elements that affect profitability are:
the value of the currency you are mining on the market. Due to the extreme volatility of cryptocurrency values, mining an asset that is rising in value will be more profitable than one that is flat or declining.
how much power costs. For a GPU, the general rule of thumb is that the higher the hashrate it can generate, the more energy it will use. Kilowatt-hours are the unit of measurement for the cost of energy globally.
The average cost per kilowatt-hour in the United States is presently 10.42 cents, however prices vary greatly between states, according to EnergyBot. Nevada now has the lowest cost per kWh at 7.99 cents, while Hawaii has the highest cost at 31.92 cents. Burma has the cheapest power prices in the world, while several Arab countries also have very affordable prices.
How to scale up GPU mining – case study
The case study that follows was created by a skilled GPU miner. They describe their practical, more commercial GPU mining experience there.
Technology was set
13 low-cost Intel computers running Windows 10 are available. Finding motherboards that handle 8 or more GPUs is crucial in this situation. Since motherboards are easily accessible on Amazon, the majority use Z390 chipsets, which are compatible with 8th and 9th generation Intel CPUs.
Speed is meaningless because different systems use Intel i9 and Celeron processors, but mining is entirely GPU dependant, therefore there is no difference in speed. You may economize here by taking shortcuts to reduce costs. When more than 8 GPUs are active, Windows becomes unstable. We use Google Chrome on our phones to remotely connect to each rig using Windows. We do not advise operating anything larger due to stability issues and the requirement for Linux. To distribute heat, all rigs have open frames and 120mm cooling fans. If the GPUs are not cooled or contained in a case, they will thermally throttle down.
The profitability equation
The most lucrative cryptocurrency to mine per wattage has turned out to be Ethereum. Eight AMD RX580 graphics cards produce $20 a day before electricity on a cheap setup. I suggested 8 AMD 5700 XTs since they produce 30% more revenue while using the same amount of power as the RX580s.
Your biggest obstacle to profitability in a down market is electricity. It doesn’t really matter in a bull market. For instance, the rigs up above use $4 worth of power every day. With all 13 computers running during a bear market, we were able to make about $500 each month. The same 13 machines have produced up to $17,000 a month throughout the present bull market, so the cost of electricity is not a concern. The issues with electricity include heat and scale. The setups are effectively 1000 watt space heaters since they consume that much power. Depending on your area and objectives, you will need to chill your home more the more setups you use.
At-home cryptocurrency mining is difficult since industrial-sized mining operations dominate the market. However, it is still feasible to make money from crypto mining in 2022 if you use the most lucrative currencies and the newest (and most effective) mining equipment.
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