Mark Tencaten | Learn more about Cryptocurrency Mining and its Classifications

by Mark Tencaten Mark Tencaten - Co-Founder and owner at NGS Group

The majority of people consider crypto mining to be nothing more than a method of manufacturing new coins. On the other hand, as explained by Mark Tencaten, Crypto mining entails validating bitcoin transactions and adding them to a shared ledger on a blockchain network. Cryptocurrency mining prevents digital currency from being spent twice on a distributed network. When a user spends cryptocurrency, the electronic ledger is updated by debiting from one account and crediting to the other account, just like with physical currencies.

Only verified miners are allowed to update transactions on Bitcoin's distributed ledger. This puts an additional responsibility on miners to protect the network from double-spending. New currencies are created to reward miners for their efforts in safeguarding the network. As shared ledgers lack a centralized authority, transaction validation is dependent on the mining process. Miners are thus motivated to protect the network by participating in the transaction validation process, which increases their chances of winning newly generated coins.

A proof-of-work (PoW) consensus system has been implemented to ensure that only confirmed cryptocurrency miners can mine and validate transactions.

How to Start Mining Cryptocurrencies

Before getting into crypto mining, there are a few things to keep in mind, as highlighted by Mark Tencaten.

Mining cryptocurrency necessitates computers equipped with specialized software designed to solve complex cryptographic mathematical equations. Currencies like Bitcoin could be mined with a basic CPU chip on a personal computer in the initial days of the technology. On the other hand, CPU chips have now become impracticable for mining most cryptocurrencies as the difficulty levels have risen over time.

Today, mining cryptocurrency necessitates using a specialized GPU or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Furthermore, the mining rig's GPUs must always be connected to a stable internet connection. Each cryptocurrency miner must also participate in an online cryptocurrency mining pool.

Types of Bitcoin Mining

Bitcoin mining hardware is the most significant component in the mining process. Over time, users have employed a variety of bitcoin mining devices. Bitcoin is generally mined using CPU mining, GPU mining, FPGA mining, and ASIC mining, either individually or as part of cloud mining.

1. CPU Mining: Early versions of the Bitcoin software allowed users to mine using their computers' CPUs. The number of bitcoins generated by CPU mining became less than the cost of electricity to run a CPU as the network hash rate increased. After the introduction of GPU mining, CPU mining became unprofitable. Hence, this option was removed from the main Bitcoin client's user interface.

2. GPU Mining: GPU mining is the greatest bitcoin mining hardware in this era since it is more efficient and faster than CPU mining. Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is a feature found in high-end graphics cards. These can calculate all complicated polygons required in high-end video games, making them especially useful for hashing the mathematics required for solving transaction blocks.

3. FPGA Mining: FPGA mining hardware was more powerful than GPU, but this phase, did not persist for a long time.

4. ASIC Mining: An ASIC miner is a device that is solely intended for mining, making all previous mining tools unprofitable. ASIC miners are typically intended to mine a single cryptocurrency at a time; therefore, they can only mine bitcoins or coins that use the same mining algorithms. It is faster than all prior technologies and also uses a lot less energy.

5. Cloud Mining: This type of mining is shared mining, where resources are pooled, or rental mining, where computers are rented and utilized for mining in convenient locations. The hardware for rental cloud mining does not need to be installed; instead, it runs directly on the host's premises. Currently, in countries like India, Bitcoin cloud mining is primarily carried out using rented cloud computing capacity in areas with free electricity or colder climates.

Cloud Mining Vs. Personal Mining in Australia

There are several methods to mine Bitcoin in Australia. There are two popular Bitcoin mining options:

Personal mining: If the miner is mining on their computer using a GPU or ASIC hardware, they'll have to keep the cost of mining and the reward ratio in mind. Because of the higher electricity prices for crypto mining in Australia, receiving a reward is more difficult.

As a result, Mark Tencaten decided to expand and relocate the mining center offshore to a tax-free trading zone where the cost of electricity is significantly lower than in Australia. As a result, 21 million Australians can now take part in this unique and interesting sector.

Cloud mining: The most popular method of cloud mining is leased hash power. A user can buy computer power from a mining farm. The user can then take a part of the overall revenues while also contributing to the mining farm's maintenance and operating costs. In Australia, cloud mining contracts are profitable, being the cheaper alternative.