Introduction to Monero Mining
Monero is a privacy-focused coin which employs a hashing algorithm known as CryptoNight, which is
a memory-hard algorithm. This proof-of-work algorithm was designed to be immune to Monero-
mining ASICs.
Because of this, Monero is purposely best suited for CPU and GPU mining. Monero also implements a
privacy protocol called ring signatures which are designed to make ensure transaction privacy.
Blocks on the Monero blockchain are generated at two-minute intervals (Bitcoin requires 10 minutes
to generate a blockchain).
Should you mine Monero?
There are numerous advantaged to mining Monero:
- You can mine using GPU cards or your CPU instead of expensive ASICs
- Monero can be exchanged easily for bitcoins (BTC), making it a cheap way to slowly build
Bitcoin. XMR can also be exchanged directly for fiat currency on some exchanges. - Because it uses the CryptoNote algorithm, this requires less power in solving the block. This
can lead to lower temperatures when heat output is an issue and should also lead to a longer
lifecycle for your GPU card. - Having larger amount of XMR now through mining will let you take advantage of price
increases in future.
Purchasing hardware and mining cryptocurrency with it allows you to have an asset that produces
income, with the possibility of selling the device afterwards and making a profit. GPUs bought for
mining in 2015 and 2016 were often sold at a profit in 2017 because of high market demand.
So, should you one day decide that you are through with mining, you can sell your GPUs and make
additional profits.
Choosing Your Hardware
Testing various GPU selections in profitability calculators will how which card has the best price-to-
performance-to-power consumption ratio (expressed as MH/s per currency unit).
It should be noted that AMD cards outperform Nvidia cards in mining Ethereum with the Ethash algo,
but Nvidia is best when it comes to the Equihash algo using the EWBF miner. However, AMD
performs much better than Nvidia with regards to mining Monero and the CryptoNight algo.
An advantage for those of you that cannot afford new GPUs is that the CryptoNight algorithm still
allows you to mine with CPUs. A decent i5 or i7 CPU can be used to mine and make a decent profit.
Monero Mining Pool
Before starting with your mining operation, you should consider if you will be mining alone (solo) or
on a pool. Usually mining on a pool requires a fee, and the rewards are lower. Miner that do not have
enough computational power join with other miners in their situation and together they mine the
block. By combining their mutual resources, they reduce variance and generate a steady profit flow.
Below is a list of mining pools from which you can choose:
- supportxmr.com
- minexmr.com
- monero.hashvault.pro
- monerohash.com
- xmrpool.eu
- monero.crypto-pool.fr
- xmrpool.net
- pool.xmr.pt
- moneropool.com
- minergate.com
CPU Mining
Mining Software
- xmr-stak-cpu: for newer Intel processors
- monerospelunker: for Windows
- cpuminer-multi: Linux CPU mining, alternative to xmr-stak-cpu
Step 1: Download the software for your operating system.(In this example we will be using cpuminer-
multi);
Step 2: Extract the .zip file;
Step 3: Hit ctrl + right button of your mouse and an extra option such as " open command window
here" will appear. When you click it, you will get a command line window;
Step 4: Type in the command line: " minerd -a cryptonight -o stratum+tcp://monerohash.com:3333 -u
YOUR_WALLET_ADDRESS -p x". Do not forget to change "YOUR_WALLET_ADDRESS" for your actual XMR wallet address.
And now you should be mining XMR successfully. You can view all available commands by entering
""minerd –help"". The -a command is for algorithm, the -o – for server, the -u – for your wallet address and -p – for your password. -x can be used when the Mining pool does not require any login.
GPU Mining
Mining Software
- Xmrminer, xmr-stak-nvidia: NVIDIA GPUs
- xmr-stak-amd: AMD GPUs
Step 1: Install Your Video Card Drivers
AMD GPUs: Access amd.com and download your GPU drivers. Go to Support & Drivers and enter
your GPU information and click Display Results to find the drivers for your specific card.
Click the Download button for the current driver or select Download Previous Drivers & Software on
the right-hand side. This will allow you to choose older and newer version for the series of your card.
Nvidia GPUs: Go to https://www.geforce.com/drivers, enter your card info, click Start Search, and
download the current version.
Install the drivers and then reboot.
Step 2: Register at Minergate
Click the Sign Up button and then provide a valid email address and secure password.
Step 3: Download the Minergate Software
- Download the Minergate software;
- Click on Downloads and this should detect the version which is compatible with your
operating system; - Run the downloaded file to install Minergate;
- After it has been installed, run the program, enter the email you registered with, and click on
Start Mining.
GUIs such as these do not require you to configure any .bat files or other complicated setup
processes. Just click a button and you are done.
Is it profitable?
In order to determine if mining XMR will be profitable for you, you have to take into consideration
the unique factors of your situation. There are plenty of mining calculators that can help you
estimate how much you can make. Some feature more input fields than others, but the main factors
that are used to calculate profitability are:
- Mining difficulty
- Hash rate
- Block reward
- Hardware cost
- Pool fees
- Power cost
- XMR/USD exchange rate
Final Words
With this, we conclude our mining guide for Monero. We hope that the information provided above
has been of use to you and will help you in your mining endeavors.
Featured image: BiteMyCoin
