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How to Mine Monero in 3 Easy Steps

How to mine Monero (XMR) is a query one encounters in more stable communities of this established cryptocurrency. This anonymity-focused coin exudes unmatched security. If it is anonymity you are looking for, look no further. Even in the world of cryptocurrencies, Monero stands out due to superior anonymity and security characteristics.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this guide:

  1. Is mining Monero profitable?
  2. How can I do Monero mining?
  3. Can I do Monero mining on my laptop?
  4. How much Monero can you mine in a day?

Is mining Monero profitable?

Mining Monero is a profitable endeavor since the cryptographic algorithm of Monero resists ASIC mining which means even a simple home GPU (Graphics Processing Unit)/CPU (Central Processing Unit) can be employed. The process is akin to Ethereum and Zcash.

We’ve prepared a detailed guide for you explaining everything you need to know about how to mine in just a matter of minutes. You’ll know all the software, hardware, processes, and troubleshooting tips to start mining Monero instantly at your home.

So what makes Monero the ‘de facto’ choice for many cryptocurrency miners? With its increasing demand, Monero is finding its way to many crypto wallets. Here are the pros and cons of explaining the unique properties of Monero. Let’s check it out.

Pros of Monero

  • Trusted team with high-quality research
  • Monero mining algorithm is ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) resistant
  • I2P Layer – Protective layer for every Monero transaction
  • Block limit flexibility – Light size, quick-forming blocks
  • No block size limit in Monero
  • Multiple keys – Private view and public view keys
  • Highly fungible with dynamic scalability

Cons of Monero

  • No standard voting system
  • Non-active official forum
  • Limited merchant tools and difficult development
  • Relatively less adoption rate

How can I mine Monero?

A perfect GPU to mine Monero can be found at Whattomine.com where you can enter the relevant details and calculate the hash rate according to the different hardware. The ideal match will deliver a good price to performance and performance to power consumption number that will suit you.

AMD cards fare better than Nvidia GPUs in most mining algorithms, especially CryptoNight algorithm. CyrptoNight works great with CPUs. So, even an old i5 processor will make you decent profits to justify mining! For more GPU options you can also check out Monerobenchmarks.info where you will get more GPU model-wise information for each card.

Can I mine Monero on my laptop?

With a choice of mining software, users can mine for Monero on laptops. However, mining directly on Bitcoin’s network with a laptop will almost certainly produce unprofitable mining results. The Minergate platform can be used on Windows or Mac, and you can mine with a CPU, GPU, or both (dual-mining), so it has a very low barrier to entry for a wide audience

Besides basic hardware requirements, you need other crucial things. These include:

  • Hardware – Basic desktop or laptop, custom assembled GPU rigs with Nvidia/AMD cards.
  • Official Monero wallet – A digital ledger of your Monero transactions and track your earnings.
  • Internet connection – An internet connection with approximately 15GB daily usage.
  • Power line capacity – Know the power consumption figure of the line.

To achieve the best results, invest in a good GPU mining rig. 

Steps to mining Monero

How it works

  • Step 1 – Install Monero software
  • Step 2 – Join Monero mining pool
  • Step 3 – Monero Wallet Address

Step 1 – Install Monero software

You will find multiple softwares to mine Monero. Here are some software and the matching GPU configuration that works best.

 AMD GPUs

  • XMR Stak (2% developer’s fee with self compilation)
  • Wolf’s Miner (Zero developer fee – less optimized)

nVidia GPUs

  • XMR Stak (2% developer fee with self compilation)
  • CC Miner

CPU’s (Intel/AMD)

XMR Stak has launched a simpler install package for most general miners. So, we recommend XMR stak since it provides a hassle free approach and good outcome.

You can download XMR Stak from official website using this link. 

Kindly note that certain anti-virus programs classify mining software zip files as harmful viruses. So, we recommend that you choose official links only. It is very easy to install on Windows, MacOS and Linux as well. Simply download, unzip, and install.

Step 2 – Join Monero mining pool

Once the installation is finished, it will ask you to choose between Aeon or Monero cryptocurrencies. Here, select Monero and click next. Further, it’s time to join a pool (by entering an address) or go for solo mining. Entering a pool is recommended since most people have general hardware which will not yield significant results unless the hardware has high hashrate.

By paying a little fee, you can join a community and experience regular income. Some popular high rewarding pools include MineXMR, Monero Pool, Nanopool and Dwarfpool. Today, we will go ahead with Mine XMR since it has low fees and good server locations offering minimum latency. The image below displays the Mine XMR connection details as per what we enter into the application.

Here, we will input port number as per the server of our choice. Let’s say we enter ‘ca.minexmr.com:1234’ 

Step 3 – Monero Wallet Address

The next step involves you entering your Monero wallet address. Please see these instructions to set up a Monero wallet if not already set up. It requires you to furnish your wallet ID and set a password. SSL/TSL is not supported by the MineXMR and hence there’s nothing needed here. Also, multiple pool parameters too can be configured in the same file.

It automatically identifies and operates on the available GPUs. Subsequently, miner status is visible using the commands located at the bottom. Remember, ‘h’ will display the hash rate, ‘c’ will verify pool connections and ‘r’ will make hash rates visible.

Config File

Prior to CPU mining, it is vital that the relevant CPU config file is set up appropriately. In the install setup location, there is a CPU text file located in the XMR Stak installation folder. Now suppose you have an 8-core chip, then you will have to enter the following:

It represents that the CPU’s 1,2,4,5,6,7 cores are being utilized for mining. In case you are using the same CPU for other purposes, you can use fewer cores. Users can optimize all the cores for mining which means all the available resources will be dedicated to mine Monero. After entering your relevant choice in terms of cores, restart the application. You will experience that hash rate has increased accordingly. 

Monero Cloud mining

By participating in a Monero cloud mining, you can start mining immediately without investing in any requisite hardware. Basically, there are no hardware, cooling, power line and ventilation issues to worry about.

Advantages of cloud mining

  • No investment in expensive hardware
  • No excess noise, heat or repairs
  • Lower electricity costs

Disadvantages of cloud mining

  • Chances of fraud or scam
  • Low income and slow progress
  • Unpredictable mining contracts
  • No ownership of mining hardware

If you want to join cloud mining, simply choose a reputable provider and start the operation. Pay attention to the provider’s reputation, algorithm, contract length, and hash power. GenesisMining and Nicehash.com are well known Monero cloud mining providers.

How to create a Monero wallet?

Monero wallets come by the dozen. The official Monero wallet works great on Mac OS, ARM, Windows, Blockchain and more. Crowdfunding efforts are currently to develop an official ‘Monero Hardware Wallet’ which will debut later. Another notable alternative is the Lite Wallet. Both the private keys and wallet addresses can easily be generated on the website.

MyMonero

It is super easy to make a wallet at MyMonero. Simply visit the official link and click on ‘Create an Account’ button. A web-page will open that prompts the user to select the seed words from a populated list. Fill these columns and ensure you store them safely in order to make recoveries during an emergency. Next, a text box appears where you just copy-paste it and then hit the ‘Login’ button.

And voila, it’s done! Now, you have access to your Monero wallet with all the details, including address and previous transactions as well. Using an official wallet is a personal choice. If you are a veteran in cryptocurrency mining, you will surely have better options, including ultra-secure hardware wallets.

 

How much Monero can be mined in a day?

Mining Monero is all about profitability. Isn’t that the case with every cryptocurrency? It’s crucial to be aware of the economic factors related to the process. Profitability ofMonero mining depends on a lot of factors, the most important of them being the hash rate or power of your hardware; power consumption or electricity your hardware uses, and cost per kwh or electricity costs per unit.

Simply visit Whattomine.com to get vital information such as block time, live price and network hash rate (in Kilo Hash/second). Here you just identify and enter the relevant GPU of your PC. Fill in all the relevant details including GPU model number and select CryptoNight.

Choose ‘CryptoNight’ so as to calculate the right matching algorithm. In the end, hit ‘Calculate’ button, after which the profitability and hashing information will be displayed. The profitability analysis will differ according to the time, GPU and other factors. So, make sure you choose Monero as per your available resources.

Monero has an average block time of 2 minutes, meaning that there are approximately 720 blocks per day. Your expected reward is proportional to your share of the network hash rate. The current hash rate is ~23.3 MH/s (http://moneroblocks.info/), or 23300000 H/s

Monero mining is easier than most and you have a low cost of entry. Monero, in my opinion depending on your machine and mining equipment you can make more money in the long run that produces tokens faster. Some stopped mining and started participating in High Yield Interest Programs, You can get way more mining profitability instead of the startup cost of buying all the mining equipment. The profit is 1% to 3% a day.

Believe it or not, mining Monero is definitely worth it! There’s no other crypto like this unique digital asset because of its presence on CryptoNight algorithm. Some people estimate that you can make one for under $600 and other people say around $800 per rig is a better estimate. 1 GPU rigs should be able to mine around 430 h/s, and 12 GPU rigs (cost of around $4000+) should be able to reach around 5160 h/s (calculated in September 2017).

How to compute profit: https://www.cryptocompare.com/mining/calculator/xmr?HashingPower=100&HashingUnit=KH%2Fs&PowerConsumption=1200&CostPerkWh=0.12&MiningPoolFee=

What are the current Monero developments?

Some mixed reactions on mining Monero:

Mining Monero is easier than most and you have a low cost of entry. Monero, in my opinion depending on your machine and mining equipment you can make more money in the long run that produces tokens faster.

Source: https://www.quora.com/Is-mining-Monero-worth-it

I stopped mining and started participating in High Yield Interest Programs, I get way more daily instead of the startup cost of buying all the mining equipment! I can get 1% to 3% a day.

Believe it or not, mining Monero is definitely worth it! There’s no other crypto like this unique digital asset because of its presence of CryptoNight algorithm.

How to compute profit: https://www.cryptocompare.com/mining/calculator/xmr?HashingPower=100&HashingUnit=KH%2Fs&PowerConsumption=1200&CostPerkWh=0.12&MiningPoolFee=1

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the minimum hardware requirements for Monero wallet?

Ans. A 64-bit operating system with 4 GB RAM is the minimum hardware you should have to mine Monero.

How can I get multiple addresses of Monero in local node?

Ans. You can do this by using multiple wallets. Each wallet has a unique address and thus will give more addresses in your local node. However, multiple wallets cannot run simultaneously.

What is Openalias?

Ans. Monero has an aliasing system called Openalia. It applies a label to an address, thereby making it easier to send Monero to any address. It can be used with MyMonero and simplewallet both.

What is Monero’s algorithm?

Ans. Monero’s algorithm is called CryptoNight which is classified as memory-hard algorithm.

Is ASIC compatible with Monero?

Ans. No, you cannot mine Monero using ASIC. CryptoNight algorithm was developed with the intent to resist the ASICs efforts to mine Monero. So, it’s basically anti-ASIC.

Disclaimer. The information provided is not trading advice. Cryptopolitan.com holds no liability for any investments made based on the information provided on this page. We strongly recommend independent research and/or consultation with a qualified professional before making any investment decisions.

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Alden Baldwin

Journalist, Writer, Editor, Researcher, and Strategic Media Manager:With over 10 years of experience in the digital, print and public relations industries, he has been working with the mantra, Creativity, Quality and Punctuality. In his waning years promises to build a a self sustaining institute that provides free education. He is working towards funding his own startup.As a technical and language editor, he has worked with multiple top cryptocurrency publications such as DailyCoin, Inside Bitcoins, Urbanlink Magazine, Crypto Unit News and several others.He has edited over 50,000+ articles, journals, scripts, copies, sales campaign headlines, biographies, newsletters, cover letters, product descriptions, landing pages, business plans, SOPs, e-books, and several other kinds of content.

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