In the cryptosphere, earning passive income on assets has been a thing among traders and investors for many years, especially with airdrops, liquidity pools, staking, and mining making the rounds. Cryptocurrency mining is particularly popular as it emerged with the first crypto, Bitcoin.
If you are not hardware savvy but want to participate in the mining world, Vertcoin cloud mining is the alternative for you. but determining how to mine Vertcoin (VTC) comes only after knowing more about VTC and its network.
Like Bitcoin, Vertcoin (VTC) is a Proof-of-Work (PoW) token; thus, its network employs mining to verify new transactions and create new blocks. Vertcoin is designed to be ASIC miner-resistant and is one of the most accessible coins to mine. For interested readers, this piece provides a detailed guide on how to mine Vertcoin. Let’s dive in!
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What is Vertcoin?
Vertcoin (VTC) is an open-source cryptocurrency designed to restore the complete decentralization of cryptocurrency operations and also enable easy crypto mining access. To this end, the network utilizes a specialized Proof-of-Work mining model named Verthash, an ASIC-resistant algorithm that allows mining using only graphical processing units (GPU).
Vertcoin was launched in 2014, and there is little information on its development team. The blockchain project was majorly run by volunteers and funded entirely by donations. In addition, Vertcoin had no initial coin offering (ICO) or airdrop to prevent anyone from getting initial access to the coin before the general public.
VTC is a reasonably popular coin listed on several exchanges, including Bittrex, CoinEx, and Bitvavo. In the last 24 hours, Vertcoin has gained by 4.01%, leading to a current Vertcoin price of $0.15. It also has a live market cap of $9,758,072 and a 24-hour trading volume of $27,835. The total supply of Vertcoin is 64,757,810, with a circulating supply of 64,757,260.
Vertcoin Decentralized Proof-of-Work Protocol
As earlier stated, Vertcoin employs Verthash, a customized Proof-of-Work algorithm designed to hinder the operations of ASIC miners, thus allowing VTC to be mined by only GPU mining rigs. For regular PoW coins like Bitcoin and Litecoin, their mining algorithms are designed to benefit systems with higher computing power. To be active in such systems, miners must purchase expensive ASIC hardware with high processing power.
The high cost of mining on these networks favors wealthy individuals and prevents regular folks from participating in the mining process. Additionally, these rich entities and corporations set up mining farms which consist of thousands of mining rigs, thereby hoarding mining/hash power for themselves. As a result, few individuals have majority control of these networks, thus endangering the concept of decentralization – a vital pillar of the crypto industry.
This growing centralization of hashing power prompted the creation of Vertcoin. Initially, Vertcoin utilized the Scrypt-N algorithm to attain a PoW consensus. Since then, Vertcoin’s mining algorithm has been upgraded a couple of times to keep the network ASIC-resistant. Following the release of ASICs uniquely designed for the Scrypt N-algorithm, VTC’s development team created the Lyra2RE algorithm, which was later upgraded to Lyra2RE(v2), and then Lyra2RE(v3).
In January 2021, Vertcoin introduced Verthash, its current mining algorithm, to enhance its network security against ASIC miners. With Verthash, Vertcoin mining remains ASIC-resistant, and miners can only operate using a GPU rig, which is relatively cheap hardware compared to ASIC.
Unlike previous Vertcoin algorithms, mining power is not based on GPU performance but on video memory and bus width. With this mining algorithm, it is easier for anyone with a regular computer to kickstart a mining rig, thus maintaining the total decentralization of the mining functions on the Vertcoin network.
Wallet to Use for Vertcoin Mining
You can only use the Vertcoin Wallet to mine Vertcoin. Asides from storing mined VTC, the Vertcoin wallet generates the Verthash.dat file on its first run. Without the file, a Vertcoin mining operation cannot commence. You should install the latest version of the Vertcoin wallet, designed for the Verthash mining algorithm. The wallet is also compatible with only major operating systems such as Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.
How to Install Vertcoin Wallet
Step 1: Visit the network’s official website – vertcoin.org, and click on Download Wallet.
Step 2: Select your computer’s operating system to initiate the download.
Step 3: Install the Vertcoin Wallet and run it to create the Verthash.dat file.
Note: Before downloading the wallet, turn off your anti-virus protection because mining programs are usually flagged as malicious software.
How Vertcoin Mining Works
Vertcoin mining is an easy operation that anyone can execute. As a Vertcoin miner, you can decide to operate alone – solo mining – or collaborate with other miners – pool mining. Both solo and pool mining presents their unique perks and disadvantages. For example, as a solo miner, you get to keep all your mining rewards; however, there is a low probability of you mining a block compared to pool miners.
In pool mining, several miners come together to contribute their hash power and function as one single operator. Due to their high mining power, pool miners have a higher chance of mining blocks than solo miners. However, as a pool miner, you only receive a fraction of the mining rewards determined by your contributing hash power for most Vertcoin mining pools.
Moreover, to join a mining pool, you will be required to pay fees varying from one pool to the other. The significant advantage of pool mining is you are likely to receive mining rewards regularly depending on your pool’s aggregate hash power. When choosing a mining pool, consider factors such as reputation, fees, payout scheme, pool hash power, uptime, minimum payout, and location. Some credible mining pools for Vertcoin are MiningPoolHub, AHashPool, and EasyMine.
Requirements for Vertcoin mining
Before deciding to be a solo miner or a pool miner, specific requirements must be met to operate as a Vertcoin miner.
- You must have a Vertcoin wallet.
- Ensure your mining PC is connected to a stable and constant internet connection,
- You also need a high power supply to keep up with the electrical costs of mining.
- An efficient cooling system is also required to prevent your PC from overheating.
- Your mining PC must have a GPU with 2GB of Video RAM or higher. Examples of such GPUs are the Nvidia CUDA, AMD OpenCL, and Intel OpenCL GPUs.
Vertcoin Mining Software
The Vertcoin One-Click Miner
The VTC development team designs the Vertcoin One-Click Miner. It functions as the mining software for Vertcoin and can be used by miners at any level, including newbies. The Vertcoin One-Click Miner also comes with its wallet. Thus, there is no need to install a Vertcoin wallet to use this software. However, while the Vertcoin One-Click Miner is very convenient, it only functions on Microsoft Windows 10 and 11.
How to mine Vertcoin with Vertcoin One-Click Miner
Step 1: Download Vertcoin One-Click Miner
- Log into Vertcoin.org and click on the Vertcoin One-Click Miner.
- Click on the Github link.
- Pick One-Click miner vNext2.1-beta4 – the latest version of Vertcoin One-Click Miner.
- For Windows OS, click on One-Click miner vNext2.1-beta4-windows-x64.zip to download the Vertcoin One-Click miner.
Step 2: Extract the application from the zip file and run it.
Step 3: Set up your password and click on “Start Mining.”
- Following this action, the Miner will create the Verthash.dat file and start mining Vertcoin.
The VerthashMiner
The VerthashMiner is another software used for mining VTC coins, and It is compatible with Windows and Linux operating systems. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that to use the VerthashMiner, you will first need to install the Vertcoin wallet and obtain the Verthash.dat file. That said, you can install the VerthashMiner using this link. The VerthashMiner is operated using mining pools.
See this video to learn how to mine Vertcoin with the VerthashMiner via MiningPoolHub.
Vertcoin Mining Rewards
By successfully mining a block on the Vertcoin network, miners are rewarded 12.5 VTC instead of the initial 50 VTC per block. Vertcoin utilizes Kimoto’s Gravity Well difficulty adjustment algorithm, with a halving interval of four years. In other words, block rewards are halved every four years until all VTC tokens are mined. From the launch of Vertcoin in 2014 to date, the block reward has been halved twice.
How much can you earn by Mining Vertcoin?
You must consider various factors to know how you can make mining Vertcoin. However, your GPU’s hash rate is a significant determinant of your mining rewards. Hashrate is simply the number of hashes a GPU can solve/submit within a period. For example, the NVIDIA RTX 3090, one of the best GPUs for mining, has a hash rate of 121Mh/s, meaning it processes 121 million hashes per second.
Aside from hash rate, other factors that affect the value of mining rewards are power consumption rate, electricity cost, and mining fees (if you are part of a pool).
To calculate VTC mining profit, you can use whattomine.com.
Step 1: Visit whattomine.com
Step 2: Click on coins.
Step 3: Search and select Vertcoin.
Step 4: Input your hash rate, power consumption, and electricity cost. Then click calculate.
Step 5: Scroll down to check the results.
From the results, you will see the mining profitability.
Conclusion
Although the profits from Vertcoin mining are not massive, having an extra source of income is not a bad idea. Following this guide’s instructions, you can start your VTC mining journey and add some little coins to your pocket.
