How to mine Ethereum ?
Ethereum is the second-major cryptocurrency by market cap, following Bitcoin. It has also been one of the most money-making cryptocurrencies in the altcoin market. The good thing is, you don't need to invest in ethereum directly to own it; you can also mine it. Moreover, it takes as less as 12 seconds to mine Ethereum whereas a block of Bitcoin requires 10 minutes for the same.
Mining ethereum is not a difficult task; it doesn't require hammers and shovels, thankfully. In this guide, I'll be covering why Ethereum Mining is important, how to mine Ethereum, how to calculate profits, and tips for Ethereum mining.
What is Ethereum Mining, and How Does It Work?
Ethereum mining is the medium used by miners to acquire Ethereum by solving complex math equations using computers.
ETH mining is the same as bitcoin mining. The process uses ‘PoW,’ in which miners undertake to add transactions to a new block that will be added to the public record known as the blockchain. By using a hashing script, the miner mines a new block while competing with other miners.
Is Ethereum Mining Profitable?
Ethereum mining is one of the most profitable cryptocurrencies in the altcoin market until now. Mining Ethereum has enabled users a second way to own ETH along with directly buying it. By mining Ehereum you can make profits by trading. You can also trade it for Bitcoin if you want to.
As Ethereum is a highly liquid asset, you can sell or trade it anywhere, anytime, and get instantly paid. You can also hold it for an extended period to earn big profits. Ethereum also has a lower inflation risk as compared to centralized currencies. It can also be directly sold for cash on major exchanges like Kraken, Gemini, and coin base.
How to Mine Ethereum in easy Steps :
Here is a brief step to step guide for mining Ethereum.
1.Create An Ethereum Wallet
Creating your Ethereum wallet is the first step you need to do while starting Ethereum mining because this is where you will receive your rewards. The two options available for creating this wallet are hardware wallet or software wallet. A hardware wallet keeps your transactions more secure.2.Select A Graphic Card (GPU)
A GPU is also known as a Graphics Card. It is the hardware that you’ll need to buy for mining Ethereum. As the GPU has the potential to perform calculations faster and repetitively, rather than a CPU, you should prefer using it for mining purposes. If you’re a gamer, you probably know all this stuff better than I do. While selecting a GPU, You should consider the GPU cost you’re getting along with its hash rate and power consumption.
You might ask, but what is a hash rate?
The speed at which the mining system solves the mathematical equation is called Hash Rate.
How fast does your device solve the equations is vital in the mining process, as other miners are also trying to solve that equation first. The GPU, which has a higher hash rate, gives a better chance for finding the next block and receiving the reward.
Ethereum mining can also be performed on a gaming computer. But, you can also build your specific mining hardware, also known as Mining Rig. It consists of multiple GPUs connected, providing a very high hash rate and boosting your chance of getting more ETH. A mining rig will increase your hash rate and improve the possibility of successful mining.
3.Install Your Graphic Card’s drivers and Other Softwares
The second step is to install the required software for mining after you’ve set up your mining hardware. First, start by installing the drivers of your Graphic card. You can download them from your Graphic card’s manufacturer's website if they are not supplied with your graphic card.
After you’ve installed the drivers, you’ll need to download the Ethereum blockchain. Then, connect your node to the network. Or, you can simply use services like Geth for this task.
4.Run A Quick Test on Ethereum Private Network
You can also test ether mining on your private network. Doing this will allow you to write smart contracts, create transactions, and find more and more nodes to join your private network.
For doing this, you're not required to buy ETH with real money or any special hardware. Also, it takes very little local disk storage. You can do this by installing Ubuntu, Geth, or any similar software on your computer.
5. Join A Mining Pool
Pool Mining for Ethereum is the most money-making and the fastest method. Mining alone seems a cool idea, but it isn’t as you are alone competing with other miners. In this case, the chances of you solving the equation first is meager. By joining an ETH mining pool, you can team up with other miners. Doing this will give you a better chance of solving the crypto problems and earning more Ether faster. The reward or profits are divided between the miners in the pool according to the use of computational power.
6.Install The Ethereum Mining Software & Start Earning
Now it’s time to install a mining software known as Ethminer. It is a common line program specifically designed for mining Ethereum. It supports Linux, Mac, and windows, and you can launch it from a Windows command prompt or Linux console. Mining software is a mediator between the mining pool and your mining hardware.
Using Ethminer, you can mine any coin based upon the Ethash(POW)such as Ethereum, Musicoin, Ellaism, Ethereum Classic, Pirl, and Expanse.
You’ll get rewarded with ETH along with the transactional fees associate after you’ve mined a block successfully. An Ethereum wallet that is linked with a miner or miner pool will receive the mining reward instantly. Start earning and let the $$$ come in!
How to Calculate Your Mining Profit:
You can also calculate your approximate income by using an Ethereum profitability calculator. To calculate, open up your miner and find out how many mega-hashes per second your hardware is giving (example:32.2Mh/s). Then put it on an Ethereum Profitability Calculator along with the power consumption and your setup costs.
Tips For Mining Ethereum :
The first tip for Ethereum mining is to turn off the default Sleep Mode on your computer as it goes into sleep mode automatically when it is ‘on’ and not being used. For mining Ethereum you’ll need to keep your computer turned on for long periods, so turn off the sleep mode by following these easy steps:
- Click on the start button in the left corner of your desktop screen.
- Click on Settings and then ‘System.’
- Now click on the ‘power & Sleep’ Option.
- Click on the drop-down menu under ‘Sleep’ and set the time-frame to ‘Never.’
The second tip for mining ethereum is kind of simple, but it is to simply clean and maintains your ‘mining rig or hardware’ frequently to avoid getting the dust into it. It is necessary if you want to keep your expensive ‘money-tree’ hardware in good condition.
Conclusion:
Cryptocurrencies like Ethereum are going to the top in no time. Investing in them is a good financial step as Ethereum is a valuable asset. After getting Ethereum, you can hold or trade it for bigger profits. Also, you can mine as much ethereum as you want as there isn’t any limit. Miners should see better and bigger results as Ethereum has got a lot of traction in the market. Everything related to how you can mine Ethereum has been covered in this post.
