Requirements – What do you need to start mining Dogecoin today?
To start mining DOGE right away, you need to have your Dogecoin wallet set up, have the correct hardware and software, or get a cloud mining contract. Below are simple steps to help you mine one of the phenomenal 2021 coins that became popular after Elon Musk tweeted about it.
Popular hardware and mining rigs for Dogecoin
The mining of most popular digital currencies has turned away from the use of CPUs, and so does Dogecoin. You can mine DOGE using a GPU mining rig. However, the most popular hardware that Dogecoin is mined with today is an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) device.
The underlying dynamic in mining, whether it’s Dogecoin’s Scrypt or some other algorithm, is that hardware devices or rigs that offer the most processing power have the greatest chance of mining the next block and getting the reward .
As this becomes more and more apparent as DOGE grows in popularity, the first step is to get an ASIC with a good enough hash rate. Of course, your profitability still largely depends on other factors, including power consumption, efficiency, and the Dogecoin price.
You can buy a Dogecoin miner from the manufacturer or from any of the various outlets in the market. Make sure to do a due diligence before purchasing the drill rig, including how long it can take to see a return on investment (ROI).
Here are three top ASIC miners for Dogecoin.
1. Bitmain Antminer L3 +
Bitmain antimimer L3 +. Image source: ASICMiner value
The Antiminer L3 + is an ASIC miner from global mining hardware giant Bitmain. The miner comes with a decent hash rate of 504 MHz / s with a power consumption of 800 W and an efficiency of 1.6 J / MH on the wall. You can mine DOGE with this miner as well as several other Scrypt-based cryptocurrencies including Litecoin.
2. BW L21 Scrypt Miner
BW L21 Scrypt Miner. Image source: ASICMiner value
The BW L21 is a release from BW.com in January 2018. This Scrypt ASIC miner offers 550 MH / s with a power consumption of 950 W and an output efficiency of 1,727 j / Mh. This is one of the most powerful ASIC miners for Dogecoin.
3. FusionSilicon X6 miner
X6 miner. Image source: ASICMiner value
The X6 miner is an ASIC miner from FusionSilicon that was released in August 2018. It supports the Scrypt algorithm and is therefore ideal for Dogecoin among other Scrypt-based coins. X6 Miner has a hash rate of 860Mh / s, a power consumption of 1079W and an efficiency of 1.255j / Mh.
software
Before you start mining crypto, you need to integrate the software with your hardware. If you choose an ASIC, it may come pre-installed with mining software. However, if you are assembling or purchasing a GPU mining rig, you will need to download and install the software.
You should make sure that you are using the software that best fits your mining hardware. Also note that there are desktop and mobile versions. With the former, you have it on your desktop device and can only be accessed on that device, while a mobile version lets you access mine on the go.
What software is used to mine Dogecoin?
The most popular mining software to try is CGMiner. The CGMiner v3.7.2 is a CLI software product (Command Line Interface) that you can easily install and adapt to your settings. You can also try MultiMiner and EasyMiner for ASIC hardware and CudaMiner for GPU mining hardware.
Can I mine Dogecoin with my PC?
Technically, this is something you could try, as Dogecoin mining used relatively less processing power before the price explosion put it on the map and attracted more hash rate, and therefore more difficulty.
These days, mining Dogecoin with your PC is not an endeavor that you probably will be doing if you are serious about making money from it. The simple reason is, as mentioned above, you need a lot more processing power than your CPU can handle.
If you try again, your computer will quickly overheat and possibly damage it. As such, you can only use GPUs or ASICs, and even with the former, you may need a rig with 4 or more top graphics cards from top brands.
Technical knowledge required to mine Dogecoin
As you prepare to mine Dogecoin, you may need to understand some technical terms that apply to the industry. The know-how will help you understand the whole idea of mining.
- Algorithm: A set of rules that enable mining and include the security of transactions and the blockchain. The mining algorithms vary and it is good to know which one applies to the coin you are trying to mine.
- Blockchain: In simple terms, a blockchain refers to the series of blocks of data that are added one at a time in a distributed ledger. The blocks must be valid and contain hashes of all transaction data. Miners will not receive their reward until a block has been reviewed and added to the ledger.
- Hash rate: This is the amount of processing power it takes to mine new coins. The higher the hash rate, the higher the chances of getting a block. The hash rate is also the total computing power of all the miners securing the network. The higher the hash rate, the more difficult it is to carry out a 51% attack.
- Block time: This refers to the time it takes for a miner to find a new block, review transactions, and add it to the blockchain. It is also called the block generation time. Dogecoin has a 1 minute block time, while Litecoin is 2.5 minutes and Bitcoin is 10 minutes.
- Mining Difficulties: This is a measure of how difficult it is for miners to get a new block. It often increases or decreases depending on the number of miners in the network. The difficulty adjustment ensures that the average blocking time remains around the coded duration.
- Mining Fees: This is a small fee that a user pays to process their transactions on the network. It’s part of a miner’s block reward.
- Block reward: This is the price that every miner or pool receives for every block they mine and add to the blockchain. It includes the new coins (10,000 DOGE) and transaction / mining fees.
- Mining Profitability: This is the calculation of the potential returns when all the costs of mining have been taken into account. Miners become profitable when the price of coins mined exceeds the total cost of mining.
Joining a Dogecoin mining pool
Aside from solo or self-mining, you have the option of joining a Dogecoin mining pool. Mining basins combine or bring together many miners and “pool” the hashing power to mine them as a unit. This allows miners to compete against large farms for the block reward.
A mining pool cuts the time it takes to mine a single block. This means that having a pool will likely make you profitable faster than a private miner on a budget.
The mining pool you join must support Dogecoin’s Scrypt algorithm. While you are reviewing these, here are two of the most popular ones for this cryptocurrency:
- Prohashing: It supports Scrypt, X11, Equihash and SHA-256 and pays in DOGE, not USD, so you have the coin and can “hodl”.
- Multipool: Here you can merge DOGE and Litecoin.
Mining Dogecoin in the cloud is another option that you can consider. With cloud mining, you can easily start mining by renting hashing power from one of the data centers.
It’s hands-free mining and doesn’t require any hardware or commit time to monitor the devices. You just buy a mining contract, usually monthly or yearly, and pay the fees. The data center uses its hash rate to mine Dogecoin and pay you part of the reward.
To start Cloud Mining Dogecoin, set up a wallet and find a reputable mining pool that offers cloud contracts. Nice Hash and Genesis Mining are the top two options for Scrypt-based coins.
Advantages and disadvantages of cloud mining
advantages
- Cheaper than hardware setups.
- Passive mining.
- No need to master technical aspects and terms.
- You can mine any coin.
- Constant share of the reward.
disadvantage
- Risk of shady contracts.
- The contract has a fixed fee, even if the price falls during the contract.
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