Is it worth it to start mining. Is it worth it to mine cryptocurrency now So will it be profitable to mine bitcoins
Mining is the extraction of cryptocurrency with the help of special equipment. And recently, many are interested in: is mining relevant? This is true, but answering the question of whether it is profitable to mine, a lot depends on what and on what you are mining. For example, if earlier it was possible to mine even on ordinary computer video cards, today it is almost impossible for the leading coins in the cryptocurrency world. But it is quite affordable for coins that have only recently appeared and have not received wide popularity.
So, if you are just starting to mine coins, decide whether it is worth choosing expensive options or it is better to focus on cheap ones first. Accumulate them with the help of mining and wait for the investment to pay off. Or exchange mined coins for Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies that are in demand, but the mining of which has gone beyond the boundaries of convenient earnings.
Today, making or even buying a ready-made mining farm is not a problem. It significantly increases the chances of earning more, even the notorious Bitcoins. But given the current prices, the question is already interesting: how much will mining cost? Equipment becomes more expensive every day, and the benefits from it become less and less. So the relevance of mining is reduced. But all these are average indicators, since there are a huge number of coins that may not be as well known as Bitcoin, Ethereum and not only, but it is still possible to mine them.
Is mining on video cards alive?
At one time, mining crypto on video cards was the first thing that a user who wanted to get some digital money mastered. But today, many are wondering whether it is worth starting mining on a video card? Here you need to deviate from the general, if we talk about what currency to mine. For example, if you have only a few video cards, even quite powerful ones, you should not count on a successful result when mining Bitcoins. But there are other cryptocurrencies as well.
So, we are back to the same question we started with – is it profitable to mine cryptocurrency on video cards now? With a successful choice of cryptocurrency and a huge share of success, there are prospects, but you should not count on full-fledged success. Nobody can guarantee it.
It works in such a way that after installing several powerful video adapters, a person increases the performance level of his computer. As a result, the technician will be able to count much faster. In general, thanks to the video card, the processing power necessary for mining is increased.
Many experts say that everyone can do mining on video cards in 2018. It's simple and effective. But keep in mind that the final earnings depend on the capabilities of the installed equipment. So if you are still thinking about whether to mine cryptocurrency, keep in mind that profits can only be made from the latest models of cards with high characteristics.
But such equipment is not cheap. So there is no escape from large initial contributions. But if you buy cheap video cards, and even not the first freshness, then there will be no benefit from such equipment. It might not even pay for itself.
Although, keep in mind that mining directly through the video card is no longer so popular. Instead, pools or cloud mining are used. Create your account and take advantage of the opportunities that the services can offer. And for every bitcoin mined, you get a commensurate reward.
This option is much easier to implement and more profitable, it remains only to attach a wallet and periodically withdraw the mined coins of one or another cryptocurrency to it. Today, the profitability of mining on video cards will help to calculate a special calculator. For example, use two popular services:
- WhatToMine.
- NiceHash.
These are relatively accurate calculators that show how profitable it is to mine cryptocurrency on a specific video card, and how much you can earn. The accuracy of their calculations is from 90 to 110%. And to get the result, set the model of the video card and the price for electricity in your region.
So yes, mining on video cards is more alive than all the living. And finally, a table with video cards that can be used to mine crypto in 2018:
| GPU | Memory | Memory type | GPU frequency | Memory frequency | TP | TDP | Nutrition | Payback |
| Radeon RX 470 | 4-8 GB | GDDR5 | 926MHz | 1650 Mhz | 14 nm | 120W | 1x6Pin | 183 days. (16% per month) |
| Radeon RX 480 | 4-8 GB | GDDR5 | 1120 Mhz | 2000 Mhz | 14 nm | 150W | 1x6Pin | 193 days (15.5% per month) |
| Geforce GTX 1060 | 3-6 GB | GDDR5 | 1506 Mhz | 2002 Mhz | 16 nm | 120W | 1x6Pin | 193 days (15.5% per month) |
| Geforce GTX 1070 | 8 GB | GDDR5 | 1506 Mhz | 2002 Mhz | 16 nm | 150W | 1x8Pin | 185 days (16.2% per month) |
| Geforce GTX 1080 | 4 GB | HBM | 1050 Mhz | 500 Mhz | 28 nm | 275W | 2x8Pin | 278 days (10.7% per month) |
Which cryptocurrencies are best to mine
Today, new cryptocurrencies appear almost daily. But is it worth it to start mining them if they start to disappear as quickly as they appear? Naturally, no. That is why it is so important to choose the right coins to mine. And in this case, you need to focus on several indicators:
Given all these indicators, you can compile a table of the most profitable cryptocurrencies for mining, according to the CoinMarketCap.com service:
| Name | Market Cap | price | Volume (24h) | Change (24h) | |
| 1 | bitcoin | $147 979 419 212 | $8 778,99 | $8 469 730 000 | 7,47% |
| 2 | Ethereum | $85 810 003 737 | $879,88 | $3 252 070 000 | 7,38% |
| 3 | bitcoin cash | $21 740 776 979 | $1 281,91 | $977 847 000 | -1,80% |
| 4 | Litecoin | $8 876 689 906 | $160,95 | $711 045 000 | 10,48% |
| 5 | NEM | $5 248 790 999 | $0,583199 | $87 156 500 | 8,62% |
| 6 | Dash | $5 079 028 045 | $644,91 | $110 393 000 | 8,09% |
| 7 | Monero | $4 105 558 789 | $261,42 | $91 916 100 | 8,23% |
| 8 | Lisk | $3 324 352 546 | $28,19 | $129 707 000 | 13,45% |
| 9 | TRON | $3 268 612 216 | $0,049714 | $533 635 000 | 37,42% |
| 10 | Ethereum Classic | $2 471 736 348 | $24,78 | $343 397 000 | 5,37% |
Given the data in this table, at least we can say which cryptocurrency is at the peak of popularity, which means that it can be mined. At the expense of Bitcoins, everything is clear. This coin is the main cryptocurrency in the world. But it is best to mine this cryptocurrency with the help of. In addition, this mining method has a number of advantages over video cards, as it allows you not to buy equipment, but to rent only their power.
Let's look at the most popular coins in more detail:
Profitability of ASIC devices
Translated from English, ASIC or application-specific integrated circuit is an integrated circuit for a special purpose. Simply put, these are the devices on which the Bitcoin cryptocurrency is currently being mined. Of course, whether it is profitable at the moment is a rather moot point, since Bitcoin mining is becoming more difficult every day.
A typical ASIC used to mine bitcoins and other coins looks like a chip. It cannot be flashed, but the performance is much higher than that of any other equipment with a similar purpose. If we consider a quality model, it should be equipped with a pair of processors based on chips, coolers and power supplies.
The choice must be made based on the following factors:
Advantages of mining on ASICs and what are the benefits from them:
- It is enough to put the equipment into operation and provide adequate maintenance;
- Asics are able to provide large profits;
- The equipment under consideration has a short payback period. Rarely is it longer than six months.
Despite the fact that it is possible to talk endlessly about the profitability of ASICs, specific facts will tell you much more convincingly whether mining on them is now profitable. Check the efficiency of your equipment on a special calculator. In particular, AsicTrade can provide such information.
Data on calculating the profitability of ASICs for Bitcoin mining:
- ASIC miner Antminer S9:
|
Income |
|||
| per day | during the week | per month | |
| BTC | 0.000962 | 0.006734 | 0.02886 |
| USD | 215,35 | 1507,46 | 6460,56 |
| USD | 8.42 | 58.91 | 252.47 |
| EUR | 6.91 | 48.34 | 207.16 |
| RUB | 491.51 | 3440.6 | 14745.45 |
|
Electricity consumption, kW |
|||
| per day | during the week | per month | |
| kW | 28.128 | 196.896 | 843.84 |
| USD | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- ASIC miner Antminer R4:
|
Income |
|||
| per day | during the week | per month | |
| BTC | 0.000752 | 0.005264 | 0.02256 |
| USD | 168,34 | 1178,39 | 5050,25 |
| USD | 6.62 | 46.31 | 198.47 |
| EUR | 5.42 | 37.92 | 162.5 |
| RUB | 385.56 | 2698.95 | 11566.93 |
| Electricity consumption, kW | |||
| per day | during the week | per month | |
| kW | 20.28 | 141.96 | 608.4 |
| USD | 0 | 0 | 0 |
All data does not take into account the cost of electricity in the region of the miner, because this is an individual indicator. So when you do the calculations, fill in this field. Otherwise, it will not be possible to find out the exact profit.
Critical look at mining
Today, everyone is wondering if mining is profitable. And most experts say that today it is really too late to get involved in the classic Bitcoin mining. There is a similar opinion on the forums, people are sure that only those miners who started this activity in 2011 can earn serious money.
Let's look at a few reasons why regular mining is unprofitable now.
Given all this, mining Bitcoins has become unprofitable. But there are other cryptocurrencies, and quite a few. But you need to take into account that while cryptocurrencies are in limbo in many countries. They do not have the status of money or any other official asset. But Russia is already preparing a base of laws that will control the mining of coins.
Who benefits from this, because mining is not such a common activity? Control of the cryptocurrency market is necessary to prevent criminals from taking advantage of these coins. And mining was affected so that only professionals could mine the crypt.
conclusions
Drawing conclusions whether it is worth starting to mine coins now, it is difficult to give an unambiguous answer. If it is too difficult to invest in mining some coins, then speaking about others, answering the question “is it worth it?” You can give an unequivocal answer - of course, it is worth it. It remains only to choose which coins to invest in and at least approximately calculate how much you can earn on this mining and how long the equipment will last.
First of all, when you think about investing in the mining of cryptocoins, understand this topic well:
- Explore the market and choose the most progressive and promising coins. And it doesn’t matter if they cost hundreds of dollars or their price does not even reach a dollar. If they are easy to mine and the resource has good prospects, then the choice is obvious;
- Analyze the information on how long mining will be relevant for the coin you have chosen;
- Buy only high-quality and modern equipment, use the services of pools or cloud mining.
Only by comparing all these factors, we can say whether it makes sense to mine something now or not.
This question is asked by literally everyone who has just learned about the world of cryptocurrencies. It just so happened that this year, mining 2018 indulged in more mass publicity. Therefore, in this article we will analyze all the advantages and disadvantages of this venture for the near future, analyzing the already existing past.
Let me remind you that earlier I already wrote about how at the beginning of my acquaintance with Bitcoin and other delights of this direction, but that article was most likely raw and the opinion of a layman living in a different environment. More precisely, the opinion remained almost the same, but the meaning of the article will be conveyed here. I agree that the material was ardent, and at the moment everything will be regarded rationally and more objectively, i.e. in the big picture by analyzing the facts.
Is mining worth it?
The answer depends on what your goals are and the year has absolutely nothing to do with it. Let it be 2017, or mining in 2018, or even 2019. If you want to make quick money, then this option is not for you.. Here, in any case, the payback will take at least 3-6 months, and these are the best cases in history when the cryptocurrency rate went up rapidly. You must be aware of the realities and understand that your fate in this is at least for the next year. It is also worth considering that you will need a lot of knowledge, especially if you are a layman in the computer world. First you need to find the right equipment, then assemble it and not make a mistake in compatibility, find cheap parts, and now oh, how difficult it is.
Expensive equipment
It just so happens that at the time of the growth of the exchange rate, the demand for video cards increases. The crypt takes its new heights and immediately becomes public. Hence, it attracts a lot of attention. Thus, stimulating on the shelves of online stores, and raising their prices accordingly.
Based on this, you need to buy on the downturns of the course. While others have realized that this is not their element, they start selling their video cards on free message boards, reducing demand and lowering prices in stores, you have a great opportunity to stock up at affordable prices and reduce the payback period.
Spent time
Those who say that this is passive income are a little mistaken. Yes, this is almost a one-time setup, but it still requires time and attention. You have to constantly monitor coin rates in order to choose the best option for profit. It is necessary to set up and purchase equipment, as noted above. Constant monitoring of price collapses, thinking about where to place barricades of farms, in the absence of a separate room, constant fan noise, ventilated room at high temperatures, thinking about when it is profitable to sell coins, possible problems with replacement under warranty, etc. All this is your passive income, but it puts you in front of the question - do you need it? The answer to this is all in your head.
Is mining profitable?
Here the answer is obvious - Yes. If you take into account the time frame, the right approach and the actual result, then you will still pay for your equipment and go plus. This idea simply cannot be called unprofitable, because it will begin to bear fruit, the only question is "when", not "if". It is also worth considering other possibilities and ingenuity of any miner. You can easily upgrade your equipment to a more profitable one in just a few months. In the event of a fiasco, you always have the opportunity to get out of this business dry by selling the equipment at a price, if not 30% less than the cost, then at least minus the earned from mining from the cost of the video card. Thus, you give more attractive prices to buyers, leaving competitors aside, and do not lose anything on an idea that once seemed profitable to you.
When not to enter mining
Based on the foregoing, it is not difficult to guess that you should not do this at the time of the peak of the rate growth. Thus, you burden yourself for a longer period. The simplest example is a summer boom, after which the entire cryptocurrency collapsed to the very bottom, and set new records by autumn. In September, you could safely make purchases of equipment after the hype with Segwit and reap the benefits today. And after that there was another drawdown from $5,000 to $3,000. This, too, was a moment of doubt, which gave all the optimists the opportunity to act expediently.
Why did I write that mining is not profitable
Because for me, this is too long a time when there is no extra amount for investments. And I think that they are the majority, because many even take loans for this business. As for me, this is really stupid. If you believe in this whole idea, then the easiest way is to trade on the stock exchanges. This gives a more positive increase and in a shorter time. So, let's say, if I run my 2GB video card for mining, then for a month of uninterrupted operation it will give me about 1000-1500 rubles on ZEC. And for example, the day before yesterday I bought Bitcoin at the rate of $13,500 and sold it at $14,500 after 4 hours and earned the same money. I think the difference is obvious, you just need to understand what you need and approach everything wisely. This is an actual example, but other examples can be analyzed. Those who bought equipment at the beginning of the year, for example, video cards for 15,000 rubles. for GTX1060. Let's say for equipment with 6 video cards you would spend about $2000. At this price, you could buy 2 Bitcoin coins, you can do it yourself at the beginning of the year.
By now, you would have paid back your equipment and earned approximately 50-70 thousand rubles. These are generally approximate figures, but I think they were like that, perhaps even less, but even more, let's take even 100-200 thousand rubles plus, which is unlikely and even unrealistic. And by comparison, at the moment, at the already sagging Bitcoin rate of $ 13,000 from 2 coins, you would have 1.5 million rubles. And if you accidentally wanted to get out on a faerie record of $19,000 and sold it on a collapse for at least 18, then the amount would already be more than 2 million rubles. I think that neither the first nor the second number would disappoint anyone. The question is what do you want to do?
For me, mining remains unprofitable and a waste of time. And if, I repeat once again, you approach this wisely, then you can get much more profit in trading on "shorts" and "longs". But in no case should you merge into a "haircut" if you have already bought at higher prices, but that's a completely different story.
All successful trading, profitable mining in the New 2018!
Electronic currencies have gained wide popularity relatively recently. Until recently, only Internet users and people who were interested in the financial market knew about them. Now almost everyone has heard about cryptocurrency, there are many who want to make money on it. One of the most popular methods of earning electronic currency is. Further, you will find out which cryptocurrencies can be mined now and whether it is profitable at all.
Which cryptocurrency mining is more profitable in 2018?
It is difficult to answer the question “What is the most profitable cryptocurrency for mining”. The cryptocurrency market is characterized by high volatility, and the complexity of mining is growing every day. Any user who decides to start mining must choose the currency for mining. But, at the same time, it is necessary to take into account:
- Liquidity. High demand for crypto will allow you to quickly make;
- Price. It is mainly expressed in fiat money. The higher the value of the coins, the more expedient their extraction;
- Volatility. The price of some currencies can fall by 20-30% per day, which will entail losses. It is necessary to choose a cryptocurrency with the least volatility;
- Capitalization and popularity of crypto money. The more popular the currency, the less likely it is to fall in price;
- Difficulty of extraction. The lower the value of the total computing power, the higher the profit will be;
- mining method. Mining can be carried out in several ways. In the first case, the equipment is connected to the network, mathematical calculations are performed ( proof of work). In the second, a certain amount of currency is purchased and stored on the wallet. After that, the user has a chance to receive a reward for mining ( proof of stake). And there is also more.
- Development prospects. If the currency has good potential, then we can expect its price to increase in the future. Thus, combine the extraction of crypto money with investments.
When answering the question “Which cryptocurrency is profitable to mine in 2018”, you must first of all think about the probability of making a good profit. In this case, you should not count on fabulous earnings, this will require significant investments.
Considering the above criteria in combination, each user will choose the most profitable mining, taking into account the available resources and their own preferences. It is recommended to look for detailed information on the forums, where experienced users will tell you which mining is more profitable.
Is it worth it to mine bitcoin?
- the very first digital currency, the founder of technology. After its release, many were engaged in mining for fun, not assuming possible prospects. For a long time, the most profitable cryptocurrency for mining was Bitcoin, users made money even by mining this cryptocurrency at home.
Now the capitalization of Bitcoin exceeds $116 billion, which is almost half of the total value of all electronic currencies. But is it the most profitable cryptocurrency to mine? The answer is no. Along with the high cost of the coin, the number of miners increased, and, accordingly, the complexity of the network. Given this, those users who have significant power can make a profit. Ordinary users can find a more profitable cryptocurrency for mining.
If you decide to start mining Bitcoin, then you need to do this in. By teaming up with other network members, the chance of making a profit increases markedly. All earned coins will be transferred to a personal wallet.
TOP 5 best cryptocurrencies for mining in 2018
We continue to figure out which cryptocurrencies are best to mine in 2018. Here are those altcoins that are already quite popular, but have significant growth prospects.
This cryptocurrency appeared relatively recently, but very quickly gained popularity. Now is in second place in terms of capitalization second only to Bitcoin. Analysts note that Ethereum has every chance to overtake Bitcoin in a few years. The main features of Ethereum are:
- Support for smart contracts. They have a wide range of possibilities, so in the future they will be used in almost all spheres of life;
- Based on Ethereum, you can develop your own decentralized projects.
Until recently, Ethereum could only be mined on video cards. Now processors have appeared on sale. This can significantly reduce the profitability of mining on video adapters.
Bitcoin Cash is a hard fork of Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency that splits off from the original blockchain at a certain block. The reason for the hard fork was the desire to solve one of the main disadvantages of bitcoin - the speed of confirmation of transfers. The block size has increased from 1 to 8 MB.
Since the value of Bitcoin Cash is not yet as high as that of Bitcoin, the complexity of the network is an order of magnitude lower. Given the potential, we can say that Bitcoin Cash is the best solution for mining and subsequent storage.
One of the first altcoins, which appeared back in 2011. The founder of Litecoin is former Google employee Charles Lee. Even at that time, he saw several significant flaws in Bitcoin, which he corrected in Litecoin. The following improvements have been made:
- Used over simple encryption algorithm;
- Emission coins is 84 000 000 ;
- The speed of confirmation of new blocks increased by 2.5 times.
You can mine Litecoin both on ASIC processors and on conventional video cards, so you can organize mining at home.
This cryptocurrency has a high degree of anonymity, thanks to which it received recognition from users. Now the cost of one coin is $170, but in the future, according to experts, it can reach several thousand dollars.
Used CryptoNight algorithm more demanding on RAM, which must be considered when buying equipment. The mining reward is calculated with an inflation of approximately 1%, which allows you to keep interest in the coin. The main feature of Monero is combined mining opportunities– users have the opportunity to apply power in parallel video adapter and CPU.
If you decide that it is better to mine, Zcash will be one of the best options. Cryptocurrency appeared only a year and a half ago, but is already included in the top 30 popular ones. Currency provides complete anonymity without sacrificing functionality. Zcash can be considered the most optimal cryptocurrency for beginner miners, since the complexity of the network is not so high, mining on ASIC processors is not possible.
A significant advantage is coin liquidity, you can buy it on all popular ones. The volatility of Zcash is lower than that of other cryptocurrencies. As in the case of Bitcoin Cash, it is recommended to keep some of the currency for yourself, hoping that it will increase in value in the future.
Is it possible to mine cryptocurrency on a home PC in 2018?
One of the most frequently asked questions recently on the forums is: “What cryptocurrency is it profitable to mine on a computer now?”. The fact is that with the growth of the recognition of digital coins, the requirements for equipment are also growing. Now mining most popular cryptocurrencies on a computer is no longer profitable. The exception may be only a few coins. One of them is Monero. But this will require a PC that provides high performance. Mining on computers of medium power will not bring the desired profit.
What is the best cryptocurrency to mine on not the most productive computers? There is little choice here. Gotta choose coins that have very low network difficulty. It should be understood that such currencies are unstable, the cost can collapse by several tens of percent in just a couple of hours. On the other hand, in the future, the price of the coin may rise, which will bring profit to its holders.
New cryptocurrencies for mining
In the case of mining on a personal computer, it is recommended that the currency not only be of low difficulty, but also be of recent release. In almost every case, the cost of new crypto money is very low, but if there is an interesting idea and competent promotion, the coin can shoot, providing its holders with significant income. When choosing a new digital currency for mining, it is necessary to take into account the following criteria:
- Name. Non-standard and fascinating;
- Registration. The currency must have an original and high-quality logo and an official website. This will indicate that the creators are set to actively promote their product;
- Official storage must be provided for different operating systems;
- Premine. Before the launch of the cryptocurrency, developers can mine some of the currency themselves. It is recommended that the digital coin does not have a premine;
- encryption algorithm. It is necessary to choose the cryptocurrency that can be mined at the initial stage without investment.
The advantage of mining new crypto money is the possibility of solo mining. Since there are not so many people who mine new coins, you can get good rewards without commission costs ( usually pools take a commission in the amount of 1 to 3%). In general, mining newly created cryptocurrencies is a great home mining option that does not require large investments.
Conclusion
Summing up the above, you need to choose the best cryptocurrencies for mining based on your capabilities and preferences. If you are ready to invest in mining, it is advisable to choose one of the popular currencies. In the case when you want to mine on a personal computer, it is better to give preference to a newly created cryptocurrency and hope for an increase in price.
The main difficulty lies in the fact that no one can say with 100% accuracy what awaits this or that cryptocurrency. It is very important to have a good understanding of the cryptocurrency market trends, evaluate costs and take into account possible risks. The amount of income depends entirely on a competent approach and analysis of all factors.
What do you think is the most popular currency for mining? Say your opinion in the comments below.
People in the post-Soviet space have too vivid memories of MMM and the famous Lena Golubkov, so cryptocurrency for a larger percentage of the population is a soap bubble that is about to burst. Where more optimistic in this regard are the populations of African countries (Zimbabwe, Kenya), Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Israel and the United States. These states are experiencing a real boom and cryptomania, not afraid to invest digital money in “farms”. In America, a sociological survey was even conducted among 1,000 people aged 26 to 40. It turned out that 11.5% of respondents are going to invest in mining in 2018, and 21% are holders of part of the funds in cryptocurrency. Why is it profitable for the population of these countries to invest in mining equipment?
Investing in a "farm" for Bitcoin mining
On December 10, 2017, the Chicago exchange, which is the second in the exchange market in terms of daily turnover of funds, begins trading in Bitcoin futures. This news affected the cryptocurrency market and raised the cost per BTC by almost 20% in a week. Following her, the Tokyo Stock Exchange announced its desire to launch its futures product for Bitcoin, and the Swiss exchange magnate had previously announced the same intentions. Based on the above, a picture emerges that BTC has entered the cryptocurrency market for a long time. Which is a positive signal and answer to the question about investing in a mining farm based on miners.
Add a fly in the ointment to a barrel of honey, the price of BTC mining devices and payback periods. Profitability is affected by the complexity of Bitcoin mining, which depends on the number of network users, and it grows exponentially. But do not forget about the increase in the price of BTC, which has reached 1100% since the beginning of 2017.
Now for BTC mining, Antminer S9 and S7 miners with different hash rates are mainly used. On average, they bring about $ 20 per day, the payback period is 6-7 months. For long-term investment, this period is short, usually during business development, payback starts from 1-5 years.
Dash mining farm investment in 2018
The advantage of the Dash network is the constant work of developers on it. Relatively recently, an update was launched that increased the block to 2 MB, and became seven times faster, and transaction prices were also reduced. This suggests that the cryptocurrency will develop and this is confirmed by a slow but steady increase in the price of Dash. The disadvantage of a cryptocoin is that it is unstable, the cost jumps, after which a correction occurs, rolling back the price by 15-18%. Dash profit on ASICs is around $16, but the numbers may change if the Dash network makes a new qualitative leap.
Investments in a farm on video cards in 2018
Cloud mining on video cards is back in trend due to the growth of major currencies in the ratio of equipment price and profit. For example, ETC grew by 4000% in 2017 and continues to grow. The reason for this is the support of the Ethereum platform by large companies. Other Altcoins are also showing good growth, so investing in a mining “farm” on video cards in 2018 will also be profitable, as long as there are no trends to the contrary.
Asking a question about the return on investment in mining in 2018, you still will not hear a clear answer and will not receive 100% guarantees. In many countries, the process of legalizing cryptocurrencies as securities has begun, so digital money, like any product on the exchanges, can go through the processes of price collapse and rise.
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The crypto-currency fever has long since died down, the Bitcoin exchange rate has been at a level slightly above $6,000 for six months now, and other currencies follow suit. During these six months, ASICs entered the market for mining cryptocurrencies, previously mined only with the help of central and graphic processors. But is it profitable to do it now?
On the one hand, the lack of hype is accompanied by a lower rate of increase in complexity, which means that the current level of profitability of equipment will last longer. But on the other hand, the prices of coins do not grow, and without this, mining often becomes unprofitable, reaching self-sufficiency occurs later.
Let's see if mining is profitable at the end of 2018 by analyzing the profitability indicators calculated by the Crytocompare service. Calculations were made taking into account the price of electricity at the level of 12 cents per kWh. The average for Russia is lower, so the figures may be more optimistic, but in general they "do not change the weather."
Is mining on video cards profitable in 2018
The first device in the hardware payback rating built on the basis of the GPU was a farm based on 6 AMD Radeon RX 570 video cards, designed for mining Monero. Its estimated cost is $2263, the performance is 5000 decisions per second, and the consumption is 650 watts.
Calculations show that while maintaining the current level of profitability and the Monero rate, the annual income will be slightly less than $250. The estimated payback period is 3303 days or as much as 9 years! It immediately becomes clear that XMR mining on video cards is already dead.
Things are even worse with mining on video cards of the Ethereum cryptocurrency. A 6-GPU AMD Radeon RX 470 or RX 570 farm costs around $2200 and delivers 170 MH/s. This is enough to earn only $134 in a year. Such an installation, under current circumstances, will become profitable in 5954 days, which is more than 16 years.
If we take only the once very profitable, and therefore scarce AMD Radeon RX 580, and calculate its profitability in Ethereum mining, the numbers will be quite sad. The video card, costing about $440, now develops about 24 MH / s. However, its consumption, which is more than 130 W, does not allow it to go to zero, bringing a small loss.
Even with access to free electricity, you can earn less than $130 over the years. This means that it will be possible to reach payback in 4 years, which is not serious at all. It’s time for miners to slowly forget about the possibility of mining popular crypto on video cards, in 2018 this is no longer relevant.
Is it profitable to mine in 2018 using ASIC
An analysis of the situation on the ASIC market shows that they have a lot in common with video cards. The once popular and profitable models have lost their former attractiveness, becoming unprofitable. A year ago, Antminer D3, the first ASIC for Dash, promised super profits. Those who managed to purchase it in the first wave paid for the installation in just a couple of months.
Now this device, depreciated to $ 176, is suitable only for the role of a heater for the garage. Consuming about a kilowatt of energy, for a year of operation in 24/7 mode, it will gobble up electricity in the amount of more than $500 at a tariff of $0.12, or $325 - at $0.09 (average Moscow tariff).
If the energy is free, then in this scenario, he will get 2.83 DASH or $439. But where to get free electricity, except for theft? So in practice, "no, son, it's fantastic."
Similar metamorphoses happened with the models Antminer S9, T9, L3, V9, AwalonMiner 741 and others. The once profitable, and therefore very popular devices, filled the market, caused a jump in the growth of complexity, thereby turning into a pumpkin. Even the Antminer E3, one of the first ASICs for Ethereum, released six months ago, has already “rolled down”. Priced at $1262, it puts out 190 MH/s while consuming 760 watts. The payback period is more than 2 thousand days, which is equivalent to 5.5 years.
The situation on the ASIC market for ZCash mining is more or less interesting. Having appeared this year, they still maintain decent returns. Models like Innosilicon A9 and Antminer Z9 show payback periods of just over 200 days or 6-8 months. This is not bad, about the same amount was promised by video cards a little over a year ago.
Bitcoin mining in 2018 makes little sense when using ASICs. The old models are no longer good enough due to the increase in complexity and the stagnation of the course, but there are no new generations yet, and whether they will be is unknown. The most profitable devices, like the Pangolin Whatsminer M10, promise to pay off in at least 3-4 years.
Is mining worth it in 2018?
Of the most popular cryptocurrencies, none of them promise super profits in 2018. Only Zcash offers potentially attractive payback rates on the actual equipment presented for sale. The rest are somewhat out of touch with reality, a lot of recently very popular equipment has become incapable of anything and unprofitable.
New cryptocurrencies remain attractive, which many have not heard of recently. Vertcoin, Verge and FeatherCoin look very attractive in theory so far. But this is only temporary, as it was with the same Antminer D3 last year. When new hardware gets into the hands of miners, payback periods will increase from a few days or weeks to much longer.
Based on the analysis of the equipment market and cryptocurrency prices, one conclusion can be drawn: mining in 2018, for the most part, is unprofitable. So far, it is not recommended to try to enter this sphere to the fullest by purchasing expensive equipment. You can try to mine something new, not very popular, using the available equipment that is suitable for this. But only an optimist can do this, hoping that in the near future the coin he has chosen will rise in price sharply.
For most users, mining in 2018, if not completely dead, is in an unconscious state and almost hopeless. There is no point in doing it for beginners yet.