iStock; Insider
- Crypto mining is one way to acquire more digital currencies when the market is down.
- Miners are essential to crypto because they help maintain blockchains and record transactions.
- Insider regularly interviews miners of various cryptos to detail their setups, earnings, and costs. You can read all about it by subscribing to Insider.
The cryptocurrency boom of 2021 attracted interest from people looking for how to profit from the nascent asset class.
Apart from buying tokens directly, crypto mining remains one of the most viable ways to amass digital currencies and participate in their upside. In practice, miners' computers compete by solving complex mathematical equations that help verify digital currency transactions and update the shared ledger called the blockchain. Their reward for solving these problems is a share of the cryptocurrency that's associated with the blockchain they are part of.
Since crypto was designed to be decentralized, meaning that no single intermediary owns the transaction data, miners are essential to keeping the crypto ecosystem alive.
But mining is not without roadblocks. The environmental impact of its electricity usage is a persistent concern. In 2021, miners fled China after the government banned mining in some provinces. And, the infrastructure bill that proposed more stringent tax-reporting requirements for miners showed that more regulatory firestorms could come.
Additionally, mining is not a golden ticket to crypto riches. Payouts vary and are subject to the volatility that's synonymous with this budding asset class. Equipment and electricity costs can also bite off any earnings.
Despite these hurdles, crypto mining could continue to grow as digital currencies stretch further into the mainstream. The global market-research firm Technavio estimated that the market for ASIC hardware and graphic processing units (GPUs) will grow by $2.80 billion at a compounded annual rate of over 7% from 2020-2024.
Insider has interviewed several miners who explained their processes from start to finish. We learned how they initially got smart on cryptocurrencies, the specific equipment they got started with, how they manage electricity costs, the amount of crypto they earn as rewards for maintaining the blockchain, and much more.
Bitcoin
Mining the world's most popular cryptocurrency is one way to earn it at a potentially lower cost while participating in its upside.
The practice may conjure up images of long LED-lit rows of computers, similar to the high-frequency trading systems that are out of the financial reach of most retail investors. But these facilities do not represent the full spectrum of bitcoin mining.
Insider has interviewed mining experts who run the gamut, from the founder of a company with facilities in three states to a TikToker who went viral for his $875 mini rig.
Read more:
- Mining $140 worth of bitcoin a month: A miner explains how he started by using his work computer and then scaling to a GPU rig. He also shares the software he used to increase hash rates.
- A 19-year-old receives about $887 worth of bitcoin a month by mining in his tiny studio apartment. He explains how he uses a GPU mining rig — and shares 2 additional miners with lower barriers to entry.
- How to mine bitcoin: The founder of a mining farm breaks down the costs of electricity and equipment, how to pool, and the profits he earns in the process
- A key bitcoin lightning network developer shares how he makes $4,500 a month just in fees from running a node. He and 3 other crypto experts lay out how to run profitable nodes.
- An $875 mini bitcoin-mining rig is viral on TikTok. The video's creator told us 3 reasons why it's an appealing alternative for crypto traders, and explained its limitations.
Ether
The second-largest crypto by market cap recently underwent a software upgrade called the London hard fork that contained five Ethereum Improvement Proposals, or code changes. The most important one for miners was arguably EIP-1559, which mandated a minimum base fee that all users must pay to execute their transactions. Under the new system, these fees will be burned from the network instead of being rewarded to miners.
In short, the upgrade means that ether miners, whose revenues had surpassed that of bitcoin miners, will be paid less. We're tracking the unfolding impact of this new development, as well as how ether miners continue to earn passive income.
Read more:
- A 25-year-old receives about $1,118 a month mining ethereum out of his house. He breaks down the graphics cards he bought, how much he paid, and key lessons learned.
- How to mine ethereum: A 25-year-old who pays $42 a month in exchange for half an ether monthly explains how he does it — and an expert breaks down the effect of the blockchain's recent upgrade on miners
- How to mine ether for maximum profits: The CEO of a company that operates 7 mining farms breaks down how to pick the right equipment and manage electricity costs for optimal gains
Other altcoins: Doge and helium
Altcoin mining has become a hobby for people like Dason Thomas, who became interested after seeing TikTok videos of others and recognizing mining as an avenue to build wealth.
Thomas' equipment includes 12 Antminer l3+'s that mine scrypt algorithms, a type of cryptography used in hashing various altcoins including dogecoin and litecoin. He also has a mini dogecoin miner that he bought for $699. This relatively cheap entry point illustrates how easy it can be to get started earning cryptos without buying them directly.
Read more:
- How to mine shiba inu for free: A college student used his old laptop to download software that rakes in the crypto daily
- How to mine doge: An 18-year-old TikTok influencer shares his process for earning crypto without directly buying via a $700 rig — and explains how it works for other altcoins including litecoin
- Helium mining is surging in popularity as people clamor to get into crypto. A software engineer who bought 100 miners at $350 apiece explains how he set up his system, how much he's earning, and how to maximize gains.