[su_dropcap style=”simple” size=”5″]M[/su_dropcap]ining cryptocoins is an arms race that rewards early adopters. You might have heard of Bitcoin, the first decentralized cryptocurrency that was released in early 2009. Similar digital currencies have crept into the worldwide market since then, including a spin-off from Bitcoin called Bitcoin Cash. You can get in on the cryptocurrency rush if you take the time to learn the basics properly.

Hover Shortcodes

You can use great shortcodes for comparison between: [currencyhover_text coins=”BTC” compare=”USD” text=”Bitcoins and Dollars” ]. Or [currencyhover_text coin=”LTC” compare=”USD” text=”Litecoins and Dollars”]. All can be used in posts and pages in numerous ways. You can use many other cryptocurrencies and normal currencies for [currencyhover_text coin=”ETH” compare=”USD” text=”comparison”]. You absolutely need a strong appetite for reading and constant learning, as there are ongoing technology changes and new techniques for optimizing coin mining results.

Which Alt-Coins Should Be Mined?

If you had started mining Bitcoins back in 2009, you could have earned thousands of dollars by now. At the same time, there are plenty of ways you could have lost money, too. Bitcoins are not a good choice for beginning miners who work on a small scale. The current up-front investment and maintenance costs, not to mention the sheer mathematical difficulty of the process, just doesn’t make it profitable for consumer-level hardware. Now, Bitcoin mining is reserved for large-scale operations only.

[su_quote cite=”As a second income, no, cryptocoin mining is not a reliable way to make substantial money for most. The profit from mining cryptocoins only becomes significant when someone is willing to invest $3000-$5000 in up-front, at which time you could potentially earn $50 per day or more. “][/su_quote]

How Cryptocoin Mining Works

Let’s focus on mining ‘scrypt’ coins, namely Litecoins, Dogecoins, or Feathercoins. The whole focus of mining is to accomplish three things:

• Provide bookkeeping services to the coin network. Mining is essentially 24/7 computer accounting called ‘verifying transactions’.
• Get paid a small reward for your accounting services by receiving fractions of coins every couple of days.
• Keep your personal costs down, including electricity and hardware.

As a hobby venture, yes, cryptocoin mining can generate a small income of perhaps a dollar or two per day. In particular, the digital currencies mentioned above are very accessible for regular people to mine, and a person can recoup $1000 in hardware costs in about 18-24 months.