Ever wondered what mining is? And how do miners make money? We recently met with Josh from Easy Crypto Hunter, the UK’s premier GPU mining rig provider. They claim to be the one-stop shop for all your mining needs. So let’s dive right in.

 

What is mining?

Mining is the process of adding transaction records to a public ledger, called a blockchain without the need for a central authority (think decentralisation). It allows every transaction to be confirmed and allows every single user of the network access to this ledger. It is used to distinguish legitimate transactions from false transactions using a consensus process which in the case of Bitcoin prevents re-spending money that has already been spent somewhere else. Many coins can be mined ranging from Bitcoin to ALT coins such as ZCash, Monero, Ethereum Classic and more.

In the case of the Bitcoin blockchain, a block (containing transactions) is mined every 10 minutes. Miners compete to solve a difficult mathematical problem based on a cryptographic hash algorithm. This process is referred to as Proof-Of-Work or Proof-Of-Consensus. This validates that a particular miner solved the cryptographic problem by spending time and resources. When a block is solved, the transactions contained in the block are considered confirmed, and the bitcoin concerned in the transactions can be spent.

There are different rewards on offer depending on the type of coin you are mining. In many cases, you will be either issued Bitcoin, some transaction fees or a fraction of an ALT coin that you have mined.

How do I get started?

You can build your mining rig which will require time, effort and skill. Alternatively, you can purchase a ready-made rig from a specialist service provider such as Easy Crypto Hunter. Easy Crypto Hunter specialises in ALT coin mining and not Bitcoin mining. Whether you build your own or buy a ready-made rig, each option has its pros and cons. Most will argue the least cost involved is in building your rig. Although this may be true many other factors must be considered. For example, if you decide to build your rig you need to research, identify and source all of your components. It is increasingly becoming difficult to source quantities of GPUs from online suppliers and it is very common for certain suppliers to limit 1 GPU per order due to the increasing demand for GPU hardware.

Making money on the go! Live mining on display during MJAC Blockchain Summit

GPU-based rigs are extremely powerful gaming computers. The most powerful card on the market currently is the NVIDIA 1080ti (see above pic). Because of their popularity with gamers and miners, the demand and value remain high. There are alternative GPUs available but at the end of the day the more powerful your GPUs the more profitable your mining will be. GPU mining rigs can mine hundreds of different coins. Easy Crypto Hunter uses intelligent mining software that allows the automatic and dynamic scanning of the market for the most profitable coin, mining that and automatically converting this to pay you in Bitcoin. This is the most secure, most profitable way to mine due to the retained asset value and flexibility of the equipment.

If you don’t fancy building your rig or even forking out to buy your own, you could consider using a third-party cloud mining service platform like Genesis Mining or Hashflare. Both specialise in a very limited number of coins when compared to Easy Crypto Hunter.

With Cloud Mining, you simply buy a contract with a mining company that owns large mining farms globally. Typically, you are paid in Ethereum or Bitcoin using these services. The company takes the larger portion of the profits from the mining and awards you depending on the type and size of your contract. They are effectively providing the service and the hardware so get the biggest chunk of the profits.

Why should I become a miner?

Well, mining can provide a decent passive income. Easy Crypto Hunter suggests that on average you can be earning between £300 – upwards of £1500 per month. Check out the FAQ section on their website for more information concerning ROI. Considering we are in a pretty bear market £300 is reasonable for some passive income. In a decent bull market, a rig should pay off the initial investment within a reasonable time frame i.e. 12 – 18 months. The initial outlay may seem excessive to some but considering the life of a GPU rig could be several years it is worth considering becoming a miner. No doubt, due to the competition and huge resources of larger mining services mining is not as profitable as it used to be for regular folk.

 

What type of coins should I mine?

There are a variety of coins you can mine. From Bitcoin to many ALT Coins. Easy Crypto Hunter claims that their software can automatically scan the market, identify the most profitable ALT coin to mine at any given point in time and will automatically, immediately switch to mine this coin. This sounds pretty impressive especially if you have a day job and are looking for some passive income. Comparing this to other software that only mines one specific coin or token your profitability doesn’t fluctuate depending solely on the value of one coin. It will then pay you in Bitcoin so you don’t need 20 different wallets. One-click, one coin, one wallet. If you wanted to, you could then convert your Bitcoin to fiat currency e.g. GBP. If you do decide that you have more time on your hands and want to be more hands-on, Easy Crypto Hunter uses third-party software that lets you opt for a more advanced mode where you can manually select which coins you want to mine. You can track which coins are more profitable on a particular day by checking sites such as Whattomine.

Why Easy Crypto Hunter?

Easy Crypto Hunter is based in Manchester, United Kingdom. They claim to be the one-stop shop for mining rigs and offer full training, technical support and hosting services. Other ready-made rig sellers out there are generally building rigs from their bedrooms or garden sheds. Easy Crypto Hunter has built hundreds of rigs for retail individuals and businesses and has a proven track record. They even offer crypto mining farm solutions and crypto containers. Yes, real physical containers!!! Check out the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/K7Ub729SFD4?autoplay=0&mute=0&controls=1&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fblockchainology.co.uk&playsinline=1&showinfo=0&rel=0&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&enablejsapi=1&widgetid=5

They supply 1080ti GPU rigs, offering a 2-card, 4-card or 6-card setup. But they can also cater for a more customised build. Want to use a different type of GPU? Although they do specialise in 1080tis due to their superior power output, they can facilitate rig building with other cards. For more information please give them a call to discuss this further on 0161 7638 728.

Their rigs come with a minimum of 1 year’s manufacturer’s warranty on parts, so any faulty parts you can simply return to them and they will arrange for a replacement with the manufacturer.

For a monthly fee, you can host your rig at their facility for a reasonable monthly fee. The benefits of this are they have an experienced technical team on hand should anything go wrong with your hardware and will be able to diagnose and repair your rig far quicker than you would in your home.

If you are looking to home your rig then all you need is a suitable space to place the rig. Sizes will vary depending on the configuration. Furthermore, the rig needs to be close enough to a power socket to connect to electricity and in a suitable space. The rig would be perfectly happy in any location you’d deem appropriate for a computer. For example, avoid damp, dirty places or rooms that are especially warm.

 

A quick chat with Josh at MJAC

We met up with Josh the MD of Easy Crypto Hunter at the MJAC Blockchain Summit on the 13th of June 2018 and asked him a few questions. Please see the video below.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=QV9Giz2qHls%3Fautoplay%3D0%26mute%3D0%26controls%3D1%26origin%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fblockchainology.co.uk%26playsinline%3D1%26showinfo%3D0%26rel%3D0%26iv_load_policy%3D3%26modestbranding%3D1%26enablejsapi%3D1%26widgetid%3D7

Building your rig – what to consider?

You may decide that you want to build your rig to save yourself some money. There are several challenges you may face depending on your level of competency in hardware and software configuration. Like for like we have listed most of the major components required to build a competitive rig like the one supplied by Easy Crypto Hunter.

Hardware

There are many costs to think about if you will be building out a rig yourself. This does not take into account the time and effort required. Here is a list of the major components required:

1. NVIDIA 1080TI GPU
2. Motherboard
3. CPU
4. Memory
5. SSD Hard Disk
6. Metal framing or housing (old shoe rack will do)
7. Corsair RM850x Power Supply Unit

Recurring costs

Your main running costs are electricity. Dependent on your electricity provider your average monthly cost will be in the region of £120/month. We would advise caution because this is just an estimate.

In the case of Easy Crypto Hunters, they claim on average, UK customers pay around 13p per kw/h (11p for business customers). If you leave the machine running 24 hours a day, the smaller rigs only consume 500w which is just £1.56 a day, whilst their largest single rig consumes 1300w which works out at around £4 per day. These fees may vary depending on the number of transactions being mined on the blockchain so will need some further research.

See pics below of the 6 x 1080TI model on display @ MJAC Blockchain Summit

We cannot guarantee the accuracy of this material so please do your research. We are merely providing our own opinion on the limited research we have carried out. Please consult your financial advisor.