About Latest Posts Latest posts by Dean (see all) My Long Awaited Altcoin Trading Article: STOP BUYING ALTCOINS THEY ARE IN A MASSIVE BUBBLE Orocrypt ICO: Own a share of a gold backed cryptocurrency network Wagerr Decentralized Sportsbook: ICO Crowdsale; ‘Be The House’ Oracle Opportunities The launch of the Ethereum network and its explosive growth has been one of the most exciting new developments in blockchain technology over the last couple of years.It has also produced some great opportunities for ordinary users and even complete beginners to get involved in ‘mining’ – the process of helping to secure the blockchain and earning rewards for your work – in a way which has not been possible with Bitcoin for some years now.The Ethereum mining process uses an ‘ASIC-resistant’ algorithm, which means that its not so easy to create specialist hardware to get a big advantage over everyone else.That doesn’t mean that you can’t increase your mining rewards if you have high quality equipment of course, because everybody should earn a fair amount according to their contribution, but it does mean that big mining farms aren’t getting access to microchips that aren’t available to the public and which give them a huge advantage over everyone else.

You can mine Ether using an ordinary CPU processor which every computer has, or using a graphical processing unit or GPU.You will get much better returns using a GPU, so you should use one of these if possible and anyone choosing to stick with a CPU should probably consider their involvement to be an interesting way to get a few coins rather than a way to make a profit.Many higher-end computers and laptops, especially those marketing to video game players, will have a GPU already installed.If you have some money to invest then you can also buy a new GPU from any electronics shop which sells computer equipment.So setting up a good quality ‘mining rig’ for Ethereum is within the reach of ordinary users.Thanks to strong value growth and the relatively small size of the professional mining industry compared to Bitcoin, Ethereum mining has offered very strong returns since the network launched in 2015.Once you have a computer ready to use, all you need to do is to install some software and choose a ‘pool’.

Mining pools are essential for most ordinary miners.They work by grouping together lots of people, who all put their rewards into a big pot and then divide them up according to the contribution each person has made.bitcoin blockchain forkThis means that instead of, for example, getting a large reward every year or two (or perhaps never if you are unlucky), you get constant smaller rewards every day or week depending on the size of the pool.litecoin buy australiaThe most beginner-friendly method to get started is probably using something like MinerGate.litecoin pool without registrationThese guys are a pool operator, but they also provide their own mining software with a super easy one-click start – just download the software, start it up, and the rewards will start to trickle in!litecoin mining mac

The MinerGate software can be used for both CPU and GPU mining, and allows you to easily select how many cores should be used to mine with.This is really handy if you just want to do a little bit of ether mining in the background on a computer which you also use for other stuff, as it means you can lower the number of cores used so that your machine doesn’t grind to a halt when you try to use it as it might if it was trying to mine on full power.bitcoin mining iranMore advanced users who want to tinker with their set up can also use the official EthMiner client or the popular Genoil miner which includes native CUDA support and other additions to the standard mining software.ireland bitcoin regulationThese users will still be able to join the MinerGate pool and make use of other features they offer, such as the integrated Changelly service which allows for instant conversion into other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.bitcoin fog twitter

For more information about supported hardware and other technical details check out this Ethereum mining guide from the MinerGate blog.Looking to put a bit of time and money into increasing the amount of ether coins that you can mine?bitcoin por boletoHere are some other great resources I’ve found which may help you to mine more ether.bitcoin litecoin usbEthereum Mining Calculator:  get an estimate on how much you can expect to earn from a particular set up.Choosing a GPU: This is a great guide from Crypto Compare that is ideal for a beginner looking to buy their first GPU for Ethereum mining.To get started head on over to the MinerGate download page to get the software you need to start mining right away.The thought of using ethereum might sound intimidating, but it could be rewarding.If the 'unstoppable world computer' develops according to plan, it could provide alternatives to the Facebooks and Googles that many people use everyday (as explained in "What is Ethereum?").

Ethereum might not be as intuitive as the web as we know it today, but still, anyone with a computer or a smartphone can try the platform out as long as they own 'ether' – unique pieces of code that allow updates to the blockchain's ledger.First, you need a place to securely store your ether (or at least a place to store your private keys).This brings us to ethereum 'wallets'.One caveat is that losing your private key is a much bigger deal than misplacing a password: it means losing your ether, forever.Removing trusted parties is a two-edged sword.While intermediaries are no longer needed to verify transactions, there's no help desk to turn to for help recovering your secret key.With that in mind, there are plenty of options for wallets to store cryptocurrency: desktop wallets, web wallets, hardware wallets and paper wallets.Choosing one depends on your preferences for convenience and security.Usually these two concepts are at odds with one another: the more convenient, the worse the security (and vice versa).

Desktop wallets run on your PC or laptop.One option is to download an ethereum client (a copy of the entire ethereum blockchain).There are a few ethereum clients written in different programming languages and with different performance tradeoffs.This process can take up to a couple days, and will only increase as ethereum grows.The wallet then needs to stay in sync with the latest transactions on the blockchain.Mobile clients, or 'light' clients, require less data to be downloaded to connect to the network and make transactions, so they are more suitable for download to a smart phone.The light client option is more convenient, but not quite as safe.Full ethereum clients offer a more secure way of receiving transactions because they do not need to trust miners or nodes to send them accurate information – they validate transactions themselves.Storing private keys on a device that is detached from the internet (a method known as 'cold storage') is harder to hack and is best used for storing large ether holdings.

However, the method is not as easy to use as when ether is stored on a smartphone or internet-connected computer.Hardware wallets, which are often as small as a finger or two, arguably offer the best of both worlds.These secure devices that can often be detached from the internet, and can sign transactions without being online.But again, this deposit-box-like system is not a good option if you want to use ether frequently or on the move.Another cold storage option is to print or carefully handwrite a private key on a slip of paper, a 'paper wallet', and lock it somewhere secure like a deposit box.Online tools can generate key pairs directly on your computer – not on a website's servers, which could leave keys vulnerable if the site is hacked.It's also possible to generate keys using the command line, provided you have the necessary cryptographic packages installed for your preferred language.All that said, again, if you lose your private key, it’s gone for good.So, best practice is to spend some extra time creating multiple copies of the private key and stashing them in different secure locations, in case one is lost or destroyed.

Obtaining ether varies by country, or at least by currency.You need to find someone either online or in-person who has ether and wants to trade.There’s always the option of meeting in-person to buy or sell ether, especially if living in a city with frequent ethereum meetups, such as New York or Toronto.That’s not always an option in less populated areas.Exchanges allow users to buy ether directly with dollars or bitcoin.Typically there is a sign-up process.Buying ether with another currency might take an extra step.Bitcoin is the most commonly used cryptocurrency, and people around the world are more likely to want to trade for it in their currency.So, if you want to buy ether for rubles, for instance, the easiest way might be to purchase bitcoin at an exchange and then trade that for ether.Once you have ether, you can send it directly to another person ('peer-to-peer').It will likely cost a small transaction fee paid to miners.What can users do once they have ether?You may have noticed that the wallet and exchange lingo up to this point has been quite similar to bitcoin.

But ethereum applications are quite different.Users with ether can join or create smart contracts (code that automatically executes the terms of an agreement so that you don’t have to rely on a third party).Bundles of smart contracts can be used to create decentralized applications ('dapps'), which you can use or join.But before we go any further, it's worth explaining a little bit about how it works.Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies have an admittedly confusing storage system.Perhaps it's useful to compare it to what we already know.Notice the string of numbers on the front of your credit card?It's necessary for banks to determine where they should send money when the card is swiped.Cryptocurrencies allow you to generate similar identification numbers that identify where to debit funds.In this system, there are two main components that users need for identification: the public key and the private key.Usually represented as a scrambled string of numbers and letters, the two keys are linked together by cryptography.