How to connect and start pool mining in 2024

MinerGate

One of the most popular mining pools is beginner-friendly. MinerGate offers a large number of settings to optimize performance. Detailed instructions for connecting options can be found in the help section. There you can also find answers to frequently asked questions.

The service offers to mine more than 10 cryptocurrencies:

• Bitcoin.
• Ethereum.
• Monero.
• Bytecoin.
• Fantomcoin and others.

You can also activate the Smart Mining function – automatic selection of the most profitable coin for the last hour. The pool uses 2 systems of reward accrual:

• PPS – payment for each accepted orb, regardless of finding a valid hash.
• PPLNS – only shares accepted during the block search are taken into account.

Depending on the chosen algorithm, the size of the mining commission changes (1-1.5%). Cryptocurrency can be withdrawn to a wallet or exchange account to exchange it for fiat.

It is not necessary to install software to work on MinerGate. You can mine digital assets through the site, but the efficiency of this method is lower.

Ethermine

This pool for mining etherium concentrates 26% of the network capacity. For mining on Ethermine, you do not need to register an account. The platform operates completely anonymously. Ethermine servers are located in the US, Europe, and Asia.

Rewards can be transferred to the wallet through the Polygon network. This alternative will save on commissions ($0.06 instead of $5.5 in the Etherium network). To set up the transfer, you need to connect MetaMask wallet launched in the Polygon network to the service.

The minimum payout amount is 0.005 ETH. The worshipper can increase it to reduce commissions. The less frequent the transactions, the less fees you will have to pay.

Binance Pool

The pool belongs to the largest cryptocurrency exchange. The peculiarity of Binance Pool is that there is no minimum amount for withdrawal. Cryptocurrency is received on the exchange balance. Coins can be used for trading or withdrawn to the wallet.

The minimum amount to exchange for stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies is $10. If the assets are less, they can be converted into a native token of the BNB platform.

To work in the service, you need registration on Binance and account verification. The pool commission is 2.5%. Customers with a high hash rate can pay less – from 0.5%.

Criteria for choosing a pool for mining

In 2023, the complexity of mining top coins is such that even large farms are forced to connect to pools. Mining alone is cost-effective with large capacities. Worshippers with 1-2 regs or a couple of asics can mine solo only new cryptocurrencies or unpopular coins.

Miners choose platforms according to their tasks. First, you need to decide which cryptocurrency to mine. Some miners focus on bitcoin as the most profitable and promising coin. Others believe that it is more profitable to mine altcoins.

When choosing a pool, you need to take into account such characteristics:

• Power. Participants are rewarded only when the service confirms the block. If the platform is not in the top 10 by hashrate for the selected coin, the probability of finding a solution once a day is low.
• Ping. The delay in information exchange between the service and the user’s equipment should not exceed 100 ms. If the former are located far away and the ping is high, the balls (parts of the solutions) will arrive in the system with a delay. This will reduce the income of the miner.
• Minimum withdrawal amount. It is better to choose pools that give earn cryptocurrency to pay out in 1-2 days. You can test the mining and withdrawal of different coins to pick a suitable option. Otherwise, you will have to save up cryptocurrency for payment for a long time. Individual platforms write off unclaimed coins in their favor.
• Profit distribution system. The platform transfers rewards to participants according to algorithms. The most popular in 2023 are PPS and FPPS. The former pays for each valid balloon (even if the platform does not confirm new blocks). Under the FPPS system, the reward is transferred after finding a valid hash in proportion to the power of the miners’ equipment.
• Methods of receiving the award. It is better to choose services that pay in cryptocurrency. Individual platforms convert coins into fiat at the current exchange rate. In this case, the user is deprived of the opportunity to invest income.
• The size of the commission. Usually services take for services 0,5-7% of the profit.

How to start mining on the pool

Mining cryptocurrency can be done on a home PC with one video card. To do this, you need to connect to a pool. Platforms distribute profits between participants in proportion to the number of confirmed orbs. The more solution parts a miner sent, the bigger share of the reward he will get. It is impossible to earn a lot on one video card. To increase income, it is necessary to increase capacity.

The main stages of connecting to a pool for mining

To mine digital currencies, you need to choose a platform and configure the equipment. You will also need to install a mining program. To connect to a mining pool, you need to enter the equipment data and wallet address in a .bat file. It is available for download on the service’s website.

Cryptocurrency can be mined on the pool without registration. To track statistics, you need to create an account on the platform.

Clean your computer

It is better to connect the equipment for mining to a separate PC. The operating system should be configured so that background processes do not interfere with the extraction of coins:

1. Free the hard disk from unnecessary information. Files can be copied to the cloud or to an external SDD.
2. Uninstall unused applications.
3. Remove all programs except the miner from the autoloader folder.
4. One C partition should remain on a 128GB hard disk. With memory larger than 258 GB, you can create 2 folders.
5. Disable automatic Windows updates.
6. Increase the size of virtual memory. To do this, select “Performance” in the “Advanced System Options” section. In the “Options” tab, click “Virtual Memory”. Disable automatic swap file detection and enter a value of 16,000 or more in the “Initial size” and “Maximum size” fields.

Create a cryptocurrency wallet

In 2023, users have access to hundreds of services to store digital coins. Miners choose wallets to suit their tasks. To trade cryptocurrency, you can use exchange accounts. However, you should not store assets in them. If hackers break into the platform, clients will lose capital.

For long-term placement, non-custodial wallets are suitable. In such services, private keys are stored on the users’ side. Wallets can work on PCs and mobile platforms. It is safer to download a client that will access the network directly, without the help of third-party services. To do this, you will have to download the blockchain to your computer.

In May 2022, the Bitcoin network weighs 408.6 GB. The Ethereum blockchain takes up 420 GB of free disk space.

To store the ETH coin, which is popular among miners, you can use the programs Geth, MyEtherWallet, MetaMask or Ledger Nano S. The standard algorithm for creating a wallet is as follows:

1. Download and install the application.
2. Click the Create new wallet button.
3. A mnemonic phrase of 12 or 24 words will appear on the screen. It should be recorded on a physical medium and stored in a safe place.
4. Confirm the operation.

To receive payments, you need to copy the wallet address (it can be found in the Wallet menu) and enter it into the .bat file of the pool.

Install and configure the miner program

Cryptocurrency mining is an automatic process that is monitored and controlled by a program. It is safer to use recommended applications. They can be downloaded on the service’s website or from the developers. The table shows the most popular miners in 2023.

You can also use a special operating system Hive OS to mine digital currencies. In this case, you do not need to download the program and optimize the BIOS. To use Hive OS, you need to perform the following actions:

1. Register on the developer’s website.
2. Log in to the system on your PC using the received login and password.
3. Specify the mining parameters – coin, pool, port number, wallet address.
4. Save changes.

Registration on a mining pool

To get started, you need to edit the .bat file. To do this, you should fill in the following parameters:

• UserName. Registered users enter their login, unauthorized users enter their wallet address.
• Port. In the field specify the address of the PC.

Registration on the pool for mining is optional. Creating an account allows you to view mining statistics in a convenient graphical form. To open an account, you need:

1. Go to the For buyers section. Select My pools.
2. Click For buyers. Select Add pool.
3. In the Status homepage field specify mining.hashalot.io, Port – 3401, Algorithm – the algorithm of the coin to be mined (Ethash for ethereum, SHA-256 for bitcoin).
4. Make up a login and enter it in the Custom pool name field.
5. Enter a strong password in the Password field.
6. Confirm the operation by clicking Test Ok.

If the form is filled out correctly, all items will be highlighted in green. After testing, you can log in to your account. To track equipment statistics, you need to add it in the pool settings.

Payment for using a mining pool

Platforms take a commission for services – on average 1%. This is a justified fee for supporting user accounts, collecting statistics, distributing tasks, providing hosting and internet, as well as equipment maintenance.

Some unscrupulous services underestimate the hash rate of participants, increasing their income up to 15-20%. You need to take this risk into account when choosing a platform. Before starting work, it is worth finding customer reviews on forums.

Conclusions

In 2023, solo mining of top coins (BTC, ETH) is unavailable for many miners. Solo miners cannot compete with large data centers, so they combine capacities. With group work, each participant can count on a stable small income, which will exceed monthly costs and amortization of equipment.

New and unpopular coins are also mined in solo mode, but it is necessary to assess the capacity of the farm. According to expert calculations, to make a profit, a miner should have from 0.05% of the total network hash rate.

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