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We have previously touched on different ways to make money with crypto which includes mining, but in this article, we’ll be taking a look at a particular cryptocurrency, Dogecoin and a beginner’s guide to Dogecoin mining. But firstly, let’s look at the basics.
What is Dogecoin?
Founded in 2013 by Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus, Dogecoin is an open-source digital currency. It is a memecoin which first started as a joke by Palmer on Twitter. It was made as a parody of the moon-chasing crypto communities. However, it has since risen to be more than that as the Dogecoin community consists of over 489,000 subscribers on Reddit and has received attention and admiration from people such as Elon Musk who is now regarded as the “DOGE Father”
It is regarded as both the first “memecoin”, and, more specifically, the first “dog coin”
The project pays homage to the Japanese Shiba Inu dog.
Unlike Bitcoin which only has a total supply limit of 21 million BTC, Dogecoin has a total supply limit of 100 million DOGE.
Dogecoin works just like any other crypto coin, it can be bought sold and traded on crypto exchange platforms, and it can also be mined.
What is Dogecoin Mining and How Does It Work?
Dogecoin mining is the process of computers solving mathematical puzzles and adding blocks to the Dogecoin blockchain. This brings about new Dogecoins released into circulation.
Because there is only a 100 million total supply count, once the last 100 millionth DOGE has been mined, no more can be mined.
Dogecoin is a distant Bitcoin fork and its source code has several major differences. Nevertheless, the process of Dogecoin mining is similar to Bitcoin mining. Dogecoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency whose digital ledger is maintained by a decentralized network of nodes rather than one single party. Subsequently, there is no central entity to distribute the cryptocurrency out into the world, so, the distribution of coins has been made in a decentralized manner.
Types of Mining
Below are three approaches to mining dogecoin
1. Solo Mine:
In this type of mining, you provide the hashing power yourself and you are the only benefactor when confirming blocks. Solo mining is usually quite difficult to make profits at a small scale and is best suited for larger operations.
2. Pooled Mining:
If you are a newbie miner looking for a better return on investment, this is better suited for you. This type of mining is a collaborative effort between members who contribute their hashing power. Block rewards are split proportionately among the miners when a block is confirmed.
It is advisable to join a Dogecoin mining pool when you’re first getting started. Even against larger mining operations, pooling moderate amounts of hashing power can give you an advantage.
3. Cloud Mining:
Cloud mining is the easiest approach to dogecoin mining. In this approach, you are not necessarily doing the mining work, instead, you rent the hardware from a larger data center. They do the mining for you and take their share, as well as typically charge you for the electricity.
What You’ll Need To Mine Dogecoin
1. Dogecoin Mining Hardware:
As a beginner, you can use any Windows, macOS, or Linux system. Basic machines are great to test the waters with but scaling will need more advanced hardware like GPU, ASIC and GPU.
2. Dogecoin Mining Software:
A few examples of software are;
CPU – CPU miner by Pooler.
GPU – EasyMiner is great for newbies, CudaMiner works best with Nvidia GPUs, while CGminer does well with all types of GPUs.
ASIC – CGminer and EasyMiner can be used with ASICs as well, but most ASIC miners use MultiMiner.
3. Wallet:
You will need a dogecoin wallet to store your DOGE as it administers a safe place to receive any dogecoin rewards gotten from mining. A crypto wallet consists of a public key address for sending and receiving DOGE and a private key to access it. There are several types of wallets, such as Online wallet, software wallet and hardware wallet.
4. Mining Pools:
You’ll need a pool that supports Scrypt mining, Some examples are;
Prohashing: X11, Equihash, SHA-256, and Scrypt mining pools.
Multipool: This supports merged mining of Litecoin(LTC) and Dogecoin (DOGE).
How Long Does It Take To Mine Dogecoin?
The Dogecoin network pays a block reward of 10,000 DOGE for each block that is added to the blockchain. The block time is one minute, so, on averagely every minute one new block, or every day 1,440 blocks are added to the blockchain.
10,000 DOGE (block reward) x 1,440 (blocks per day) = 14,400,000 DOGE are mined every day.
How long it effectively takes to mine 1 Dogecoin depends on how much hashpower a miner provides to the network. With the newest ASIC mining machines, on average, about 7 DOGE can be mined every hour per ASIC.
Conclusion
Despite being worth millions, Dogecoin has not been about money or profits. It’s an open and welcoming community of crypto enthusiasts who are eager to learn and share as it is an accessible way to get into the crypto space. USB Scrypt ASIC miners are making mining more affordable than ever, lowering the barriers to entry.
