Dual mining appeared in 2017 as a response to the falling profitability of farms due to the growing hash rate. Thanks to it, it is possible to utilize the full potential of GPUs, working in two blockchains simultaneously. Dual mining is becoming popular again in 2024. However, the old coin pairs and settings are no longer relevant.
What is dual mining
It is the parallel mining of 2 cryptocurrencies. The solution of 2 tasks simultaneously occurs according to the algorithm with Auxiliary Proof-of-Work. It allows you to divide the assets into the main and additional. The first will consume a significant part of resources, and more expensive coins are chosen for this role.
Farm owners increase the efficiency of mining in 2 ways – by using the CPU and distributing the power of video cards. However, on GPU-rigs usually put weak CPUs, which are needed only to run the operating system. Therefore, it is difficult to mine cryptocurrency.
In addition, there are ASICs that can work with several blockchains in parallel, for example, Gridseed GC3355. This model can mine Litecoin and Dogecoin.
Dual-mining was first used when the profitability of Ethereum mining began to fall. In 2017, the income decreased, so people started redirecting free resources of video cards and processors to Siacoin, Decred, LBRY, Pascal.
Thanks to this they were able to return to the usual income, but the load on the equipment increased. Wear and tear of video cards accelerated, as GPU after dual-mining setup works at 100%. Also, crypto miners faced a rise in temperature up to 90-95 degrees. Therefore, those who plan to use this method need to improve their cooling system.
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To set up pair mining, no special programs are required. Common software for miners has a function for parallel support of 2 networks. The main thing is that the equipment must be powerful enough. Weak GPUs can hang in this mode.
How to choose cryptocurrencies
Dual mining (dual mining) is not suitable for all coins. It is necessary to analyze the characteristics of blockchains in a pair, the cost of cryptocurrencies, as well as to calculate the income from parallel mining. The Whattomine service, which has a convenient online calculator, is suitable for this purpose.
In 2023, Ethereum Classic, Ethereum PoW, Callisto, Expanse are most often chosen as the main asset. As an additional asset – Alephium, Dogecoin, Siacoin, Zilliqa.
The second blockchain should have a relatively low hash rate, so that the equipment operating at 10-20% of capacity will bring income. Promising but still unpopular blockchains will do.
However, you should not choose “nooneyms” created a couple days ago. It is risky to mine them. Most projects do not reach the hash rate required for listing on exchanges. Due to low demand, it is difficult to exchange coins.
Variants of combinations
For dual-mining it is necessary to select bundles with maximum profitability. They are found with the help of a calculator (Whattomine) or experts. Below we will analyze 3 popular variants. For a fair assessment of profitability, all calculations will use a farm that allocates 1 Gh/s to the main asset and 0.2 Gh/s to an additional one.
ETH + TON.
Dual-mining used to be simpler. Both coins worked well together and allowed to reach an income of $1.68 per day after deducting electricity ($0.09/kW). However, on June 28, 2022, the Toncoin developer announced the last payment and the end of mining.
On September 15, Ethereum switched to a different consensus algorithm. As a result, miners lost 3 more popular pairs:
- Ethereum/Decred.
- Ethereum/Siacoin.
- Ethereum/Pascal/LBRY.
Thanks to the bull cycle, miners were able to make good money even on minor coins. However, in the current environment, former ETH partners bring too low profits due to high hash rate. Therefore, other pairs are used for dual-mining.
ETC + ALPH
This is a popular pair that brings profits of more than $20 per day on powerful GPU farms. To work with it, it is worth using the T-REX miner. The program is easy to set up for mining.
ERG + KAS
For Ergo and Kaspa, the daily net profit is $0.78 after deducting expenses of $0.84. In the current environment, this is not the most profitable pair for parallel mining on small farms. Due to the low profitability, it is difficult to pay off the equipment. It makes sense to mine KAS to earn on the growth of rates, because the coin has grown 3 times since January.
Even mono-mining of NEXA has become a more profitable option. Using GeForce RTX 4090, a miner will receive $0.91 after deducting expenses.
Programs for dual mining
Before installing the software, it is important to familiarize yourself with its features. The program should support parallel connection to 2-3 blockchains.
PhoenixMiner
This is a popular program for mining coins on the Ethash algorithm. PhoenixMiner is considered the fastest miner that supports AMD, NVIDIA cards. Its advantage is considered to be the ability to build a rig from graphics devices of 2 manufacturers. The software can be put on Windows, Linux and all builds, customized for cryptocurrency mining – RaveOS, HiveOS.
The developer’s commission is only 0.65%. Every 1.5 hours the farm switches to the creators’ wallet and mines for them for 35 seconds.
PhoenixMiner is suitable if a person has previously used Claymore. The program has similar configuration files and command line parameters. In terms of dual-mining, the software is great because it is easily customizable for Ethash/Ubqhash pairs.
LolMiner
The software is used for mining on all common algorithms – Ethash, Etchash, Beam, Cuckoo Cycle and Equihash. The miner was created for AMD graphics cards, but later the developers added support for NVIDIA, as well as mixed configurations.
The commission of the program depends on the selected blockchain and is 0.7-2.5%. It is most profitable to mine Ethereum PoW and Calisto Network.
The software is worth using because of its wide compatibility with hardware, accurate hash rate display and clear interface. LolMiner runs on Windows and Linux.
RaveOS
This is an operating system designed for cryptocurrency mining. To run pair mining, you need to install programs to control the regs. LolMiner and PhoenixMiner will do, in which you can mine several cryptocurrencies at the same time.
Special OS differs from the standard Windows in that it does not require additional customization, has advanced tools for monitoring. In them you can find out the hash rate, power consumption of equipment, find errors.
In addition, the developers released a mobile application. It also displays information about mining. It is worth downloading for those who can not often be near the farm. Through the program you can reboot, turn off video cards, asics, change the address to receive payments.
The software is available for free if you connect no more than one rig. If you expand your farm, you will have to pay $2.
HiveOS
A conditionally free OS based on Linux, optimized for working with ASICs and GPUs. It works together with Hiveon’s own pool, which allows you to mine ETC/KASPA, ETHW/KASPA, UBQ/KASPA pairs in parallel. The platform has several handy features including temperature control, smart notifications.
Dual-mining settings
Mining cryptocurrency in standard mode is a high load on the graphics card. Dual Mining requires even more power to efficiently mine both the main coin and the additional coin. Before mining 2 coins at the same time, you need to prepare your equipment for the increased load.
In order for the farm to cope with the tasks, you need to take care of improving cooling and overclocking video cards. You can raise the GPU hash rate in the BIOS, but this carries a number of risks up to damage to the microkernels of the equipment. A safer option is MSI Afterburner.
Graphics adapters rarely work at 100%, because they are not configured for cryptocurrency mining. If you change the basic parameters, you can increase the hash rate by 10-30%.
Most overclocking programs, including Afterburner, are available for free. Adjusting the work of the video card, you need to act smoothly. Miners raise the parameters gradually, while checking the hash rate, temperature. This will take a lot of time, but will allow you to find the right values that reveal the potential of the technique 100%. What can be customized:
- Memory frequency. First raise by 200-300, and then by 50 MHz.
- Power Limit. It is reduced down to 60%.
- Fan Speed. Usually they leave the automatic adjustment.
- Core Clock. Raise it by 20-30 MHz.
AMD GPU owners should enable the computation mode in the Adrenalin driver settings. Then the video card will transfer resources to solving tasks and will stop allocating them for rendering graphics. In some cases this mode allows you to improve hash rate even by 30% without BIOS editing. The function is included in all versions of the Adrenalin package.
Bat-file
“Batnik” is a text file with a .bat extension. Thanks to it, the miner understands which pool to work in, which coins to mine, where to send payments. It also stores equipment configurations. Ready-made settings can be found on the Internet, but they are mostly created for one cryptocurrency. For dual-mining, you will have to prescribe the configuration yourself.
To create a Bat-file, no special software is required. An ordinary notepad will do. The main thing is to name all the items without error, because a typo will cause a failure. Instructions:
- Extract the archive with the miner and open the folder.
- Right-click on it and select “Text Document”.
- In notepad write commands for double mining, specify the name of the rig and wallet data.
- Reformat the file from .txt to .bat.
It is not necessary to restart the computer after saving the configuration. If the miner was active, it must be turned off and restarted so that it updates the information.
Creating a “bootnik”, it is important to observe the order of parameters. This will prevent minor failures, failures of the miner due to poor quality instructions. In total, you need to write 9 lines to configure WoolyPooly:
- Path to the executable file. If the .bat is located in the same folder with the cryptoasset mining program, it is enough to specify only the name of the executable file.
- Algorithm of mining the first currency. As shown in the screenshot, you do not need to put numbers in front of the letter.
- The address of the cryptocurrency wallet. It will receive the reward for opening a new block.
- The address and port of the pool of the first coin.
- The algorithm of the second blockchain.
- The address of the wallet for additional currency.
- Data of the pool where the second coin is mined.
- Maximum hashrate loss ratio for automatic configuration.
- Service command of the EXE-file configuration.
It is worth noting that the content of the document, the order of parameters in different miners differs. It is recommended to look at examples of “batnik” of other users or a sample from the developers. This will allow you to properly configure dual-mining. Those who do not want to spend a lot of time editing the parameters of the launch, it is worth using the same cards in the rig.
Choice of pools
Such platforms pool resources and allow miners with a small farm capacity to receive a share of the total reward. Not all pools have the possibility of parallel mining of 2 cryptocurrencies. You can find out about the presence of this function from the developers.
In addition, when choosing a pool, it is worth checking it by 3 criteria. Among them:
- Reliability – the time of uninterrupted operation and the number of errors over the last year.
- Security – the pool developers should not have access to the participants’ funds. Ideally, mining is controlled by a file that cannot be changed.
- Commission – it can be in the range of 0.5-3%. It depends on how long the equipment will work in favor of the administration.
Through the MiningPoolStats monitoring, you can find all pools and cryptocurrencies for simultaneous mining. Among them it is worth highlighting:
- Ezil.me
- Shardpool.io
- K1pool.com
- Flexpool.io
- Rustpool.xyz.
Calculating profitability
To determine the profitability of a farm for dual-mining, you need a clear example: a device with 6 GeForce RTX 4080. The total cost of the equipment is $6 thousand. At the same time, the rig produces a hash rate of 732 Mh/s. The user will divide the power in the ratio of 9 to 1.
If he chooses to mine the ETC/ALPH pair, the daily income without electricity will be $24.16. And mining ETC/KAS will bring 1.03 dollars, this option will be unprofitable after paying for electricity. ERGO/KAS is also unprofitable – the daily profit is only $0.12.
Triple mining
The mechanism allows you to mine 3 cryptocurrencies on the rig at once. However, not every coin is suitable for the role of the third. It must create a minimum load on the equipment. Otherwise, the mining of the main coin will suffer.
Triple Mining is mainly built on combinations with ZIL. Its mining practically does not affect the solution of tasks of other blockchains.
To work in this mode, only powerful graphics cards RTX 3080 and 3090, which have enough resources to operate in multitasking mode, are suitable. Weak GPUs are more often used for ETC/ZIL pairs, as failures appear when the load increases.
Advantages and disadvantages of dual mining
Parallel mining of cryptocurrency on 2 blockchains is a profitable strategy in cryptozyme conditions. However, it has disadvantages that need to be considered.
Pros | Minuses |
---|---|
100% hardware utilization. GPU when working with 2 cryptocurrencies allocates more resources, which reduces the payback period of the farm. | Increased wear and tear of equipment. Video cards and ASICs heat up more, which negatively affects the state of the equipment. |
Simple setup. To run dual mining, you only need to customize the Bat-file and overclock the equipment. | High power consumption. Cards use more electricity due to the appearance of additional load. |
The ability to mine promising currencies without stopping the mining of the main coin | It is difficult to find a good pair. Most combinations due to the fall in exchange rates in March 2023 brings losses. |
Recommendations for beginners
For double and triple mining, it is sometimes advised to take new coins. While ETC is mined, you can simultaneously get a promising token, which is likely to rise in value in the future. In order not to waste the resources of the farm in vain, the position of the second-third coin takes assets that:
- Are traded on exchanges.
- Have a stable rate.
- Are gaining popularity.
It is not worth it to mine completely new currencies, because some of them “die” even before listing. For those who do not want to take big risks, it is recommended to work in well-known blockchains with a low hash rate. Then the equipment, working not at 100%, will steadily earn.
If the user plans to mine 3 cryptocurrencies at the same time, then you need to choose ZIL. In the Zilliqa blockchain, video cards work only 1 minute out of 100. At the same time, the commission is only 1%.
After launching the rig, you need to monitor the temperature for the first time. It can exceed the 80°C threshold, which creates a risk of parts damage. To prevent breakage, you need to put additional fans, and in the configuration of the miner – the maximum temperature. If the software detects strong heating, it will stop mining.
Development perspective
Dual-mining remains a promising method, which, if the right pair is chosen, will increase profitability by 10-30%. The main thing is to constantly monitor changes in hashrate, exchange rates and news about new blockchains to achieve maximum profitability. With the emergence of new altcoins sharpened for Dual Mining, this method can become an effective option for mining cryptocurrencies on farms without asics.
Summary
Dual Mining allows you to unlock the potential of the equipment at 100%. The farm becomes more profitable without buying new graphics cards and asics. However, this strategy requires overclocking equipment, a good coin pair and low electricity price. To ensure that cryptocurrency mining does not lead to trottling, hashrate drop and breakage, it is recommended to use only powerful AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards.
Frequently Asked Questions
✨ What is the best OS for dual-mining?
It is worth putting HiveOS on your farm. The operating system has an advanced monitoring mechanism and several built-in miners with support for parallel mining.
🔥 How to increase GPU hash rate?
To do this, you should give up downvoting and raise the limit of electricity consumption. In this case, the farm maintenance costs will increase, but the devices will reach the maximum hash rate.
📌 How much memory should a video card have?
For dual mining, it is recommended to use new 4 GB GPUs. This will prevent lags, hashrate spikes due to increased load.
⚡ Can I mine Chia on CPU at the same time as mining on GPU?
Yes, but not desirable. The CPU is used for other tasks. It is under high load on large farms with dual mining.
📢 Why doesn’t Dual Mining work with Zcash?
The blockchain uses the Equihash algorithm, which blocks parallel mining across multiple networks.
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Author: Saifedean Ammous, an expert in cryptocurrency economics.