Mining Ethereum or any particular crypto may seem quite tricky and difficult at first, and some guides might even convince you to stay away from it. TechQuila brings you the ultimate guide on how to mine Ethereum the easy way.
What is Ethereum?
Created by Vitalik Buterin in 2013, Ethereum is an open-source blockchain that operates under the DeFi (Decentralised Finance) system. Not only is Ethereum the 2nd largest cryptocurrency by market cap. right after Bitcoin, it is only of the fastest growing currencies worldwide.
Because of its token system, Ethereum allows users to create non-fungible tokens or NFT’s which are used to store digital art pieces or game cards and similar things on auction websites. A small gas fee is charged every time a NFT is minted which allows an individual to publish their creation on a global platform in the form of a digital signature.
What Do You Need to Start Mining?
If you’re new to mining, there’s nothing much to worry about. At first, mining might seem a lot more complicated than it is but we’re going to go with the easy way here i.e. using an Ethereum mining tool.
To get started, first, you need to check how efficient your setup would be once you get up and running and the profitability it may return. Visit this tool on Nicehash to know your profitability count.
If you know your hardware is capable enough to return a good profit then go ahead with the following guide, if not then stay tuned for TechQuila’s upcoming mining PC build to make sure you have the correct hardware to run a successful mining rig.
Step 1: Look for an Ethereum miner
We are going to start by first looking for a miner of your desired choice. There are various options to choose from that offer both command-line interface as well as graphical, however, we’ll stick to graphical for this guide.
Some popular Ethereum mining tools are :
After you’re done selecting the mining tool of your choice it’s time to move on to the next step.
Step 2: Create a wallet
A cryptocurrency wallet is necessary just like in the real world how we keep tangible currency in our wallets. A crypto wallet offers the same solution, in this case for Ethereum. There are literally tons of wallets to choose from but you can opt for some of the major ones like Portis or Fortmatic which are dedicated to Ethereum. Make sure to check out our list of best crypto wallets to pick your preferred choice.
Step 3: Wallet address and integration
After you have registered for your crypto wallet and downloaded your mining software, you will be prompted to enter your wallet address into the software where you’re going to mine from. This way the mining software will know where to release the currency after a particular amount is set by the vendor.
Before entering the wallet address, make sure to fill out all the necessary details that will be required for the software to connect to your wallet. Also, make sure to install all necessary drivers to ensure the mining tool works correctly. When the software is installed, all the drivers come with the package itself, however, in some cases, you might have to install a few runtime scripts as well.
Step 4: Avoid thermal throttling/damage to parts
Mining for cryptocurrency means running your PC for longer periods, this may not only cause wear and tear to parts but also cause heat to generate and as a result affect the performance of the hardware. To avoid this from happening, set a time schedule for your mining rig and maintain an ambient room temperature to avoid thermal throttling.
Most of the mining power comes from the GPU itself, so monitor the temperatures and clock speeds of your GPU from time to time and don’t let it overheat. If a rig runs for more than its capacity, it may even lead to consuming more electricity than it normally would. Hence, scheduled monitoring and precaution is necessary.
Crypto mining can be fairly easy if done the right way and with the right hardware. Ethereum is not far behind Bitcoin in terms of its growth and may soon even see an abnormal upward growth just like we saw with Bitcoin as more and more institutions start accepting crypto as payments. Recent news even suggests that Xbox might even start accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment soon. If you want to know more about how to earn money from trading crypto, then do check out our guide on the same.