Monero (XMR) is the 10th largest cryptocurrency
Initiated by 2014
Market capitalisation $1.5 billion
Price $10 per coin on 2017
$494 on 2018
$235 is current price (2021 March)
So, if you are thinking about Monero mining, then you’re not alone. The growth that Monero experienced last year has brought a lot of attention to XMR mining.
Monero mining might seem confusing, and you may have many questions such as: how does it work? What kind of software and hardware do I need? How do I start? How long does it take to mine one XMR? Follow me…
How Monero is Different from Bitcoin?
If you want your transaction remains untraceable and private, then Monero may be your best option.
Even though Bitcoin is decentralized, it is not private. Monero, however, is both decentralized and private. Monero’s technology allows all transactions to remain 100% private and untraceable.
There is no one else on the Monero network that could find out that your transaction ever took place. Privacy is Monero mantra.
Monero Mining Does Not Require an ASIC
An ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) is a special type of hardware used for Bitcoin mining.
An ASIC can cost anywhere between $1000 to $10000, which has made Bitcoin mining unattractive for anyone except professionals.
Fortunately, Monero mining doesn’t require you to purchase an ASIC. Instead, Monero mining can be carried out using your computer’s CPU/GPU. This has made Monero a good option for beginners and other people who don’t want to invest lots of money to start mining.
So, now that you know a bit more about Monero and how it differs from Bitcoin, it’s time to find answer your next question - what is Monero mining?
What is Monero Mining?
There is a total of 1.5 crore XMR in circulation. This number will continue to increase until there are 18.4 million Monero coins in circulation.
So, how are new Monero coins created?
The answer is simple — Monero mining!
Monero miners perform two important tasks:
Validation of transactions, which consists complex mathematical equations. Mining server needs lot of resources. So, miners are sharing their CPU for complex processes.
Block making and get rewarded
Monero Mining Rewards
The current reward for verifying (mining) 1 transaction block is around 4.99 XMR
So, what happens to the miner’s reward after all 18.4 million Monero coins are mined?
After reaching 18.4 million XMR coins, new coins get added to the system at a flat rate of 0.3 XMR/minute. These new coins will be used to reward the miner’s and keep them incentivized for mining.
Do you know how long it takes to mine one Monero coin?
A Monero block is mined every 2 minutes, and we know that the current reward for mining transaction block is 4.99 XMR. So, by doing the simple math, we know that 1 XMR is mined every 24 seconds.
Now that you know what Monero mining is and why it is required, it will be easier for you to understand how to mine Monero.
How to Mine Monero?
As mentioned earlier, you don’t need to purchase special hardware for XMR mining. Anyone with a computer can mine Monero. With that said, the more powerful the hardware, the better.
Ways to Mine Monero
The most important part of mining is to have the correct Monero mining hardware. Along with the hardware, you also need Monero mining software to help you connect with a Monero mining pool.
As mentioned earlier, you don’t need specialized ASICs for mining Monero. It can be done using a CPU or a GPU. But before proceeding, you need to know the two most important factors when selecting your hardware.
You should look for:
High hash rate - You can think of hash rate as the processing power of the hardware.
Low electricity consumption - Electricity is the biggest cost of mining.
Central Processing Unit (CPU) Mining
You can choose to use your current CPU, or you could purchase a new one. If you are planning to buy a new CPU, then AMD Opteron and Intel Xeon CPUs are two preferred processors, for Monero mining.
Once you have your desired CPU, you will then need to download Monero mining software. You could consider using XMR-STAK-CPU as it is one of the most popular Monero mining software — you can download it here. Minergate also offers free mining software - you can download it here. Calculate fees and charges, and XMR output per day.
If you already have a CPU, then it only takes a few minutes to start mining! Just install the software, join a mining pool, and you’re ready to go.
Mining With an AMD Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
If you are serious about Monero mining, then using a GPU is a better option. Even though it requires a larger investment, it offers a significantly higher hash rate. AMD graphics cards are a great option to consider for GPU Monero mining. Consider purchasing an AMD R9 280x or go for the more recent AMD Radeon Rx 580.
Once you have installed the graphics card into your PC or laptop, follow the same steps as you would if you were CPU mining.
After you have installed the software onto your computer, you will need to change the pool settings so that you can join the pool of your choice.
Mining With an Nvidia GPU
Using an Nvidia graphics card is another popular way to mine Monero. There are several models that you can choose from, it all depends on your budget.
As far as software is concerned, XMR-STAK-NVIDIA can be used, but CCMiner is considered a better option. You can download the latest CCMiner release here. Make sure you choose the ccminer-x64-2.2.4-cuda9.7z, if you’re using a Windows operating system.
These are some of the best methods for mining Monero using a combination of Monero mining hardware and Monero mining software. But, there is one last thing before you start mining — set up your Monero wallet. Trezor and Keepkey hardware wallets are supported by Monero coins.
Should You Mine Monero? Consider following.
Hash Rate: How powerful your hardware is.
Power Consumption: How much electricity your hardware uses.
Cost per KWh: How much your electricity costs per unit.
Pool Fee: The fee for the mining pool you are joining.
Initial cost of setting up the hardware.
Happy Mining…!!!
Refer my article "Monero VPS Mining" on Publish0x
