Common mistakes in mining for beginners

Mistakes in mining

In the fall of 2022, the most mined coin, Ethereum, switched to the Proof-of-Stake algorithm. Ether mining ended, but the business of mining cryptocurrencies did not lose relevance. Users transferred capacity to other assets. With the development of technology, crypto mining has become easier and more accessible. Therefore, there are many beginners in the business, who often make mistakes in mining. In the article, we will analyze the most common blunders and tell you how to avoid them. Beginning crypto miners should thoroughly study the issue – understand the basics of the blockchain, learn how to choose and customize the technique.

The most common mistakes beginners make when mining

In 2017, the popularity of the business of mining cryptocurrencies began to grow. People far from the blockchain began to engage in it. The enthusiasm of participants was fueled by the multiple growth of coins. Bitcoin rose in price 3 times, Efirium – 30 times.

The mistakes of the first miners were not so painful to their pockets because of the low complexity of cryptocurrency networks and the exponential growth of coins.

However, every year it becomes more difficult to make money in this business. Mistakes in mining can cost beginners millions of rubles in losses or lost profits. Professionals have come to mining, and they have to compete with them. Most often beginners make mistakes in such areas:

  • Choosing equipment
  • Use of software
  • Safety.

Hardware selection

It may seem that mining is easy. But it is a complex technical process with many nuances. Beginners often start working without really understanding the issue. They buy equipment almost at random (for example, on the advice of friends) or just take the asics that are available. By the same principle, they look for a pool. This is a big mistake. It is necessary to select a server not only for cryptocurrency, but also for the equipment (take into account the ping time, method of remuneration, commissions). In the table you can see the data on the largest pools for bitcoin.

PoolHash rate (EH/s)Fee calculation methodCommission (%)
Foundry
87,44
FPPS
0
Antpool
54,8
FPPS
4
Binance Pool
42,4
FPPS
2,5

Not every beginner will allow himself to spend a large sum (from 2 million rubles) to buy equipment for mining. The equipment can be taken gradually on the profit made, but greed often pushes to immediate action. Therefore, users buy video cards and asics on the secondary market. However, good equipment will not be sold at a big discount. Most likely, such graphics cards will not be able to “repay” the investment at all.

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Using software

Among beginners, there is a widespread opinion that to earn money on mining coins, it is enough to connect video cards (asics) and download a program-miner. The algorithm is indeed such, but there are many nuances. Beginners, however, install the first hit miner and Windows OS, not optimized for mining, on the PC for the farm. As a result, you can get constant bugs and frequent reboots.

Also, beginners often save on remote access programs to the farm with the function of notifications in case of failures. This error in mining leads to downtime of the equipment.

Safety technique

Almost all users start with home mining. One asic (or a rig of video cards) consumes 1-1.5 kW. This is not a problem if there is not much other equipment in the house. But to increase income, miners buy more powerful equipment. It gets very hot and noisy.

A home farm of 5-10 asics or 25-40 video cards consumes 10-20 kW. The electrical wiring of a typical apartment is not designed for such energy consumption, so there is a high risk of fire.

You cannot rent offices higher than the second floor for mining. Vibrations can spread to neighboring rooms. Also basements are not suitable (due to the risk of flooding).

Solution of frequent technical errors in mining

To make money from cryptocurrency mining, you need to treat it as a business. In most cases, the first farm brings much less income due to inflated expectations, lack of experience and not accounting for all costs.

For example, users only put the cost of components and electricity into the business plan. It is also necessary to take into account the prices for installation work for the conversion of the room, service, delivery of equipment. It is worth studying the blogs of experienced miners to avoid common mistakes.

How to choose equipment

Before launching mining, you need to prepare. You can start with video blogs of experienced users, as well as forums and informational articles explaining the process.These sources will help you understand what problems you will have to face and how to circumvent them.

It is also necessary to draw up a business plan for the future farm. You need to calculate the potential income and the expected payback period of the equipment. Mining calculators show the profit taking into account current prices and the complexity of the network. But the cryptocurrency market is unstable, so you need to lay the worst-case scenario in the project.

Proper work with software

For crypto mining, you should use an optimized operating system (HiveOS, Linux or builds). Windows is more susceptible to hacker attacks and less stable. When using it, there are often problems with mining clients.

Common mistakes in mining for beginners
HiveOS developers offer, among other things, firmware to increase the performance of asics

You also need to download an application to monitor crypto mining. The program will notify you of failures by email or phone. If you buy a subscription for remote access to the TeamViewer farm ($2-3 per month), you can save a lot of money and time. Downtime will cost more (from $10 per day).

Beginners will also need to study information about pools for mining cryptocurrency and choose a resource – with a minimum commission, high ping, a favorable method of profit distribution. Users with powerful equipment, set up for long-term work, prefer PPLNS (payment for each ball after finding a block). If the hash rate is not high yet – PPS (reward proportional to the hash rate, regardless of the definition of a valid hash).

Solo mining requires performance in the tens of TH/s.

Security in mining

For crypto mining you need to allocate a room. It can be a room in a house, a garage, an outbuilding, a warehouse building. The room needs to be equipped:

  • Install air conditioners or leave room for water cooling.
  • Conduct quality wiring and provide a power reserve (minimum 20-30%).
  • Create heat and noise insulation.

To re-equip a warehouse or garage for crypto-mining is expensive. It will require 1-2 million rubles. It is easier to find a ready-made room with the set parameters for a server room. It is good that it has large windows. If it is not possible to rent such a place, it is better to place miners in data centers. But you need to carefully check the counterparty. There are many scammers in this business. Careless users can lose equipment.

Common mistakes in mining for beginners
Data center

Conclusions

Mining cryptocurrencies is a risky business. Before buying equipment, you need to study the issue well and make a business plan. It should include not only components, but also the costs of the premises (cooling, power distribution) or hosting services.

Many factors influence the success of a venture, including the phase of the market. Analysts claim that cryptocurrencies will start to grow in 2024-2025. To take advantage of opportunities and not lose money, it is worth preparing – study the experience of other miners, the principles of equipment operation, functional features. It is not worth investing a large amount of money in crypto mining. It is safer to buy first one farm and in practice get experience in setting up and running the equipment.

Frequent questions from users

🔥 What is the minimum investment needed for cryptocurrency mining?

In 2023, the prices of tech have dropped. A farm of 6 video cards costs on average 100-200 thousand rubles, 1 ASIC – 100-300 thousand rubles. The minimum threshold for renting capacity in cloud mining services is $100.

📌 Can I buy equipment for cryptocurrency mining on the secondary market?

It is difficult for beginners to identify hidden defects in equipment. You need to understand how the farm works and be able to identify hidden faults. Only users with technical skills and experience with computer components should buy used asics and video cards.

📢 Is it legal to engage in mining?

There is no ban on crypto mining in 2023. The government is preparing a draft law on mining. Users can already formalize self-employment or open an IE and pay taxes on profits.

✨ How to choose a data center to accommodate miners?

The main requirement is the reliability of the organization and the experience of the staff. It is necessary to collect information about services and choose the best one. The size of the fee can not be taken into account – the difference in offers is small and insignificant, compared to the value of the equipment.

🛒 Can I buy asics and video cards without warranty?

It is better to choose equipment with service. But according to users’ experience, you have to go to the service only in 5-10% of cases. Therefore, this parameter should not be a determining factor.

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Author: Saifedean Ammous, an expert in cryptocurrency economics.

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