Mining cryptocurrency can provide free money, but only if you’re smart. You can earn money by contributing to the software technology that runs cryptocurrency blockchains!
While you binge-watch your favorite shows on Netflix, your computer can earn you a few dollars. The purpose of this article is to share a variety of cryptocurrency mining platforms for you to make passive income.
Miners are the backbone of the crypto industry. They mint new coins and validate incoming transactions. Basically, miners solve complex Math problems to verify transactions.
In the process a miner trades his computing power and electricity for the block reward. Bitcoin miners are rewarded with block rewards to support the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies.
In a nutshell, blockchain is the foundation of cryptocurrency and the NFT universe. It’s a digital distributed ledger that holds a tamper-proof record of every entry.
Benefits of Crypto Mining
- The crypto-mining gig can be a fairly lucrative side gig. In just a few minutes, you can generate passive income based on your computing power without doing anything. Get–Set–Forget.
- You can also be a critical contributor to the crypto movement, as miners are the key to decentralized finance becoming a reality.
- Lastly, you have veto power over any changes made to the network protocols.
Mined vs. Non-Mined Cryptocurrency
In a decentralized system such as the blockchain, the consensus mechanism is a way of approving transactions. Furthermore, it keeps the system safe from possible vulnerabilities, such as those caused by 51% attacks.
A 51% attack occurs when a bad actor controls more than 51% of the blockchain. Fraudsters can mold the protocol as they wish using this majority. A consensus mechanism keeps power decentralized. Decentralization of this degree would require immense computing power and work to perform a 51% attack. Ultimately, a scammer is likely to lose more than he or she would gain.
A number of consensus methods are available, such as proof-of-work, proof-of-stake, proof-of-activity, and proof-of-capacity. Depending on the type of consensus mechanism, crypto coins may be mining-based or otherwise.
Mining-Based Cryptocurrency
Mining is required in blockchains that use the proof-of-work consensus mechanism.
Miners are required for approving transactions (entries). Whenever a transaction goes up for verification, miners compete to find a 64-digit hexadecimal number.
When the solution is found, the first one to find it broadcasts it to the entire network as proof-of-work. With this victory, the winner receives a block reward, while the others wait for the next challenge.
Every time a block of transactions is processed, this process is repeated. One block is nothing more than a group of transactions totaling 1 megabyte of data.
Bitcoin and Ethereum are among the two biggest cryptocurrencies based on the proof-of-work consensus mechanism. As a result, they need mining in order to check double-spending.
The only disadvantage to proof-of-work is the energy and time consumed for each transaction, as everyone except the winner ends up wasting their computing power for nothing.
Non-Mining Based Cryptocurrency
Ripple, Cardano, etc., are all non-mineable cryptos since they do not use a proof-of-work mechanism.
Validating transactions is done in a more energy-efficient manner. Proof-of-stake is one of such consensus protocols that is an alternative to proof-of-work.
The proof-of-stake process eliminates competition. The blocks are not mined. Rather, stakeholders validate them. The validators are chosen randomly. For each block approved, they stake their share of crypto. Depending on the degree of misconduct, they lose their stake (partial or full).
Even though proof-of-stake is eco-friendly, it has its own set of drawbacks, such as it encourages accumulating rather than spending cryptocurrency.
As such, proof-of-work (mining) is unlikely to have strong alternatives for the foreseeable future.
Who can Mine Cryptocurrency?
In general, anyone with a supported wallet, internet connection, and powerful hardware can start mining cryptocurrency. It also depends on the type of cryptocurrency you choose to mine.
You can either go with solo mining or pool mining.
In solo, you alone solve for the hash, while it’s more of a group effort in the pool. Similarly, it’s also based on the type of hardware you’ve deployed, CPU, GPU, or the professional ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) miners.
Crypto Mining Platforms
The following sections will discuss some of the major mining platforms and utilities that make the mining procedure easy–cutting much of the technical setup.
Before initiating, make sure you have a cryptocurrency wallet and mining software that supports your choice of cryptocurrency.
Without further ado, let’s start with some of the best mining platforms.
1. Ecos
Ecos calls itself a full-fledged crypto investment platform. And when you see their breadth in the crypto domain, you might think the same.
It has a cryptocurrency wallet, exchange, cloud mining contracts, and crypto portfolios for investors. Besides ECOS has a convenient mobile app. It is available at App Store and Google Play.
However, their cloud mining contracts are only for Bitcoin mining. You can create a contract ranging from USD 75 to USD 50000 valid for 15 months to 50 months.
They accept payments from cards and in a few cryptos: BTC, ETH, XRP, and LTC.
Interestingly, you can purchase a Bitmain Antminer from their website. And it will mine Bitcoins at their mining facility. Finally, you have the choice to get it shipped to your address at your convenience. They pay daily for cloud mining and miner hosting contracts. All detailed statistics you can see into your account.
The main feature of the ECOS platform is that they provide a free cloud mining contract for 1 month to test their platform!
2. Shamining
Shamining is also a cloud mining platform. And the process is also similar: registration, contract, and mining.
They pay daily, no matter the amount mined with your hash rate. There is a minimum deposit of $150, and the platform mainly supports BTC mining.
3. StormGain
StormGain is one of the simplest mining platforms. It has a one-click mining process that doesn’t eat from your local resources, and it’s free. But there’s a catch!
As advertised, this is an all-in-one crypto platform. You can buy, sell, trade, exchange, and mine. Mining is limited to Bitcoin and is done on StormGain servers.
Now the catch is, first, mining is done in 4 hours shift. So, you have to click to activate the miner every four hours. In addition, if you aren’t trading on StormGain, then mining speed is slow to the extent that you would be mining a minuscule 0.5 USDT (~USD) per mining session.
And second, you have to increase your trading level to boost your mining speed. Notably, there are six more levels in addition to the starter. The highest level is VIP 3 for traders having 75,000,000 USDT trading volume per calendar month. With this peak level, you can have a free mining income of close to 16,000 USDT per month.
Trading, exchange, and withdrawals fees are specific to coin type. But, the deposit is free of any commission.
StormGain has native applications for Android and iOS. You can also use it as a web application.
Conclusively, StormGain is suitable only if you do-it-all with crypto. Keep reading to know about the crypto platforms if you’re interested in mining alone.
4. Slushpool
Slushpool is an excellent place to step in for anyone aiming for pool mining.
It’s one of the veterans in bitcoin mining presently mining about 3.5% of all bitcoins.
SlushPool charges a 2% pool fee for using its platform. It also has a 0% pool fee option for some supported ASIC miners.
It also has an official mobile app for iOS and Android. The app can be used as an account monitoring tool. SlushPool clearly states that you can’t mine with its mobile app.
Its platform has two-factor authentication (2FA) for added security. In addition to the regular one-time passwords, you can use FIDO2 compatible physical authentication devices like the TREZOR or Yubikey.
While the minimum payout is 0.001 BTC, you pay a payout fee of 0.0001 BTC for transactions lower than 0.01 BTC. The same goes for payouts of Zcash.
SlushPool has Bitcoin mining servers across the continents: USA, Europe, Canada, Japan, and Singapore. Zcash mining servers are located in the USA and Europe.
5. CryptoTab Browser
This is a unique concept to mine cryptocurrency while browsing. It has mining features built-in.
CrytoTab Browser promises automatic algorithm switching to boost profits. Similarly, it also assures of no overheating or battery drain while browsing with its in-house browser.
It converts all the rewards in Bitcoin. The minimum payout listed is 0.00001 BTC. You can earn by your mining hardware as well as receive commission for referrals.
This browser is available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
This is recommended for non-tech users who wish to have a minimum taste of cryptocurrency mining.
6. Awesome Miner
Next on the crypto mining platforms list comes Awesome Miner, which is similar to Cudo Miner. It is a mining management utility for Windows and Linux users.
It can be used free of cost for 2 miners. Afterward, its paid plan kicks in, starting with USD 4 per month billing annually.
It also has a cloud subscription that offers mining management from anywhere with just an internet connection. This service starts with USD 4 per month, billing annually for 10 miners. This service has a 30-days trial period if you’ve less than 400 mining rigs.
There are also monthly plans which are a tad more expensive than their yearly counterparts.
Awesome miner seems an excellent solution for huge mining farms. It has rich documentation and help sections to assist users in every possible way.
7. Bitfly (Ethermine.org)
Bitfly is where you can mine six crypto coins: ETH, ETC, ZEC, BEAM, RVN, and ERG. Each one has a different domain name and set up instructions matching the specific coin.
It charges a standard 1% pool fee irrespective of the coin you mine. It has 3rd-party apps for monitoring supported on Android and iOS.
Bitfly has specific configuration guides depending on the operating system, graphic card, and coin.
Once you click Start Mining, it takes you to the server details and mining software options. After that, you just download the preferred mining utility and set up the mining software to start mining.
It has mining servers in Europe, Asia, and the USA.
Bitfly boasts of instant payouts. It also has a Discord channel, a place to share knowledge with fellow miners. This can be useful if you’re new to the mining space.
8. Cruxpool
A very modern-looking website that says: “Stable and Predictive revenue from crypto mining.”
You can mine ETH, ETC, BEAM, and Ravencoin on Cruxpool. And they are adding new coins as we speak of this.
But when you go to their mining page, they show only two mining pools, ETH and ETC.
These two are the biggest of their pools. However, their help section shows the other two mining pools, Beam and Ravencoin.
Cruxpool charges a 1% pool fee.
Their quick start guide is detailed and helpful in setting up mining Ethereum and Ethereum Classic. It aids in starting with various operating systems (Windows and Linux).
Minimum payouts are:
Ethereum – 0.01 ETH
Ethereum Classic – 0.1 ETC
Ravencoin – 50 RVN
Beam – 1 BEAM
9. HashCity
You can mine 14 cryptocurrencies with HashCity.
The good thing about this platform is that you don’t have any payout fee like with SlushPool.
The pool mining fee is 1%.
You can find start-up guides by clicking the ‘How to start’ button against each cryptocurrency.
For instance, when you click ‘How to start’ for Litecoin, this will pop up:
You can directly find the appropriate miner and other files from this section.
Similarly, you can download detailed instructions for every crypto coin to set up mining with HashCity.
They have a HashCity app for Android and a Telegram channel for the pool members.
10. CoinFly
Coinfly is different from others in that they offer a crypto operating system (COS). No mining setup is required. They do not have a mining pool of their own. Instead, they provide connections to other pools.
For starting with Coinfly, you need to make a bootable USB device and boot from it on your mining rig. It has the miner utilities preinstalled and configured.
You have the option to use COS as the primary OS for your mining rig as well.
As of now, Coinfly doesn’t charge anything for its services. So, you can try their unique service free of charge.
Since CoinFly only connects you to other pools, payout terms will be specific to the pool you join.
11. NiceHash
Nicehash is the most complete of the pools/services we have reviewed so far. But its website can easily overwhelm a new miner.
It’s a hash rate marketplace, crypto mining utility, and crypto exchange portal–blended in one.
Mining can’t be easier if you’ve got Windows 10. Check this video for details:
With Nicehash, you have two options, either use their in-house mining application: NiceHash Quickminer, or you can use any 3rd party miner application with NiceHash Miner.
Depending on the hardware–CPU/GPU or ASIC–you can find detailed tutorials to start mining with them.
NiceHash OS (NHOS) is similar to what we have COS with CoinFly. You can connect unlimited mining rigs for free with NHOS. It’s an added benefit compared to COS, which will start charging beyond 4 rigs.
NiceHash is compatible with a number of pools: F2Pool, SlushPool, 2Miners, etc.
Nicehash also has a Mobile app for Android and iOS.
12. Easy BTC Mining
Easy BTC Mining offers a hassle-free mining experience with a cloud mining contract. Cloud mining allows you to buy a certain amount of hash power for the contract period.
The process is to register with an email and then sign a contract to start Bitcoin mining.
The minimum payout is 0.0001 BTC, and their platform ensures immediate and automatic payments.
This platform supports the mining of BTC, ETH, and LTH.
13. ZHash.pro
ZHash.pro offers pool mining at a 0% pool fee.
You can mine 4 coins with them: ZEC, ZEN, BTG, and TENT.
The process to mine is easy and doesn’t need any registration. One only needs a supported wallet and can choose the server of choice. Afterward, configure your miner software, and you’re set.
They have mining servers in Europe, the USA, and Asia.
Detailed instructions are available with all four pools according to the mining hardware.
They also have a Discord channel for getting assistance from fellow pool members.
But the pool size, at least on discord, seems small with just 89 online members compared to Ethermine, which has 7,371 online members on the same platform.
Small pools are not necessarily a bad thing, and the payouts are bigger compared to large pools. However, the probability of finding a block can be less with smaller pools because of the lesser pool hashrate.
To sideline any apprehensions with ZHash.pro, you can check out their recent payout list for every pool.
Minimum payouts are 0.01 ZEC, 0.1 ZEN, 0.05 BTG, and 0.5 TENT.
14. K1Pool
K1Pool has the option to go for a solo mining experience. You can individually find the blocks and keep the entire reward to yourself.
But solo mining is recommended only if you have powerful hardware or are mining cryptocurrencies with the least network difficulty.
You can mine 16 cryptocurrencies with K1Pool. It has servers in China, Europe, and the USA.
You have to create an account to get started. Afterward, you can configure as per your hardware and server location.
One can also mine with the hashrate purchased at NiceHash. They have a separate NiceHash control panel for that.
They have a download section for almost all major mining software. Their download portal helps in choosing the best mining software according to the mining algorithm.
Every pool page consists of vital information about that particular pool, such as minimum payouts, pool hashrate, payout frequency.
They also have a discord and telegram channel for getting any help from the pool members. Based on the discord channel headcount, K1Pool also seems new to the mining sphere.
Yet, the user interface is clean and has a lot of information to help newbies—worth a try.
15. MinerGate
Minergate has 7 active mining pools to get you started. You can mine ETH, XMR, LTC, ZEC, among others. It promises a single-click mining process.
They have an in-house miner application: MinerGate XFast, which they crown as the fastest in the mining industry. This application supports the mining of 5 coins. For the rest, the mining servers are to be configured manually.
The process is pretty straightforward, to begin with. You can browse their pool section and select the preferred pool, which links to the application download or server details.
MinerGate charges up to a 1.5% pool fee depending on the crypto coin and the reward system. They also have a MinerGate control app for Android.
16. IceMining
IceMining is a crypto mining pool website intended for advanced miners.
It doesn’t need any registration. You can click on the pool to join and configure your mining software accordingly.
They are supported with a few mining utilities: Awesome miner, MinerStat, and RainBow Miner. IceMining also has an android app for monitoring.
Conclusively, the user interface can be complex for newcomers and seems a bit dated.
17. ZSolo
ZSolo is a cryptocurrency mining platform specially focused on solo mining.
The interface is quite simple, but the options are indeed limited.
You can click on any pool template for specific details like pool fee, pool hashrate, server details.
ZSolo lacks any mobile app for monitoring or minimum payout information as of this writing. It presents a bare-bones mining experience for medium to advanced users.
18. SimpleMining
SimpleMining is similar to Coinfly in that it has a mining OS.
You can use their services for free with one mining rig for 30 days.
The user interface is simple enough with helpful information to get started.
One can register with them and deposit the amount to continue using their services after the trial period.
Check this for a great video tutorial to use SimpleMining OS:
19. CudoMiner
Cudo Mining provides cryptocurrency mining software solutions.
Its Cudo mining platform helps in automated mining with minimum manual configuration. It boasts of managing 100,000s of mining rigs and ASIC miners with a single platform.
It has an auto coin switching feature that sticks to the most profitable algorithm to mine for the best possible profit.
They also have a CudoOS for dedicated mining rigs. The setup is similar to the mining OSes we’ve seen in this article.
You can mine 9 coins with their automated mining as of this writing and over 100 cryptocurrencies with manual configuration.
It has a telegram channel with over 6.5k members. The user interface is excellent, and there are tons of articles to help you get around crypto mining.
They have a commission-based pricing model, so no upfront charges. Their mining software is available for major desktop OSes, including Windows, Linux, and Mac.
20. BetterHash
BetterHash is an automated mining tool exclusively available for Windows OS as of now. It detects your hardware and chooses the best algorithm for maximum gains.
Check out this video to have an introduction to automated mining with BetterHash:
You can mine 9 cryptocurrencies with BetterHash, including the famous BTC, ETH, XMR, ZEC.
There are two mining modes: manual and profit-switching (automatic).
While there is no mining fee for any crypto coin, there is a withdrawal fee for Bitcoin (for non-coinbase accounts) and FIRO.
Summing Up
Crypto mining has reached an all-time high now that cryptocurrency has become a household term. Both technical novices and professional miners can benefit from crypto mining platforms.
Though it seems logical to use idle computing power for mining, churning profits and avoiding losses requires a certain degree of technical expertise. The most important factors in determining a crypto mining platform remain the supported coins, the mining algorithms, the reward systems, the minimum payout, the withdrawal fee, and user reviews.
Alternatively, you could invest in a dedicated hardware like Antminer.
Although crypto mining is quite popular, not everyone will benefit from it. In particular, those with ineffective hardware should stay away from mining.
In spite of the simplicity of cloud crypto mining, the payouts are not guaranteed. This is similar to investing in the stock market. In addition, once a contract is signed, you are obligated to pay the amount regardless of mining income.
Therefore, the advice that goes along with cloud mining is: proceed with caution and do your research before stepping into this intriguing world of passive income.
Via this site
Author
Chris Munch is a professional cryptocurrency and blockchain writer with a background in software businesses, and has been involved in marketing within the cryptocurrency space. With a passion for innovation, Chris brings a unique and insightful perspective to the world of crypto and blockchain. Chris has a deep understanding of the economic, psychological, marketing and financial forces that drive the crypto market, and has made a number of accurate calls of major shifts in market trends. He is constantly researching and studying the latest trends and technologies, ensuring that he is always up-to-date on the latest developments in the industry. Chris’ writing is characterized by his ability to explain complex concepts in a clear and concise manner, making it accessible to a wide audience of readers.
