Despite the increasing complexity, Bitcoin and altcoin mining is still relevant and attracts newcomers with the prospect of making money. Before starting work, it is recommended that you get acquainted with the basic concepts of this area in order not to stop at the most important moment.
One of such concepts is hashrate.
The complexity of the cryptocurrency network is an indicator that displays the amount of computing power required to find a new block during mining. This parameter was first set on the Bitcoin network and is used in altcoins. What is the aim?
In the majority of the cryptocurrency systems, the emission of coins is limited - an artificially created deficit should provide a demand for an asset. The increasing difficulty of mining prevents the rapid withdrawal of tokens.
The mining difficulty indicator is not permanent. In the Bitcoin system, changes occur every 2016 blocks, depending on the mining activity. During periods of market growth, competition intensifies, mining of coins on an industrial scale intensifies and accelerates - then the parameter increases. During the crisis, there are fewer new miners, and it goes down.
The recalculation of indicators has another function: it protects the network from “51% attack”, which becomes possible when 51% and more of the computing power is concentrated in the hands of one person.
The blockchain consists of blocks connected in a sequential chain: for the system to continue to exist, new elements must appear in it. Mining is the process of calculating a numerical value that will close the next block.
During mining, a video card or ASIC selects a hash - the way the signature that closes the block is called. For an operation, the computer has to process a large amount of data, the higher the speed of the process, the higher the chances of success. Whoever finds the signature first receives a fixed reward.
The process is carried out on video cards, or ASICs, and depends on the algorithm: in Bitcoin it is SHA-256, in Ethereum - Ethash.
Difficulty and mining are inextricably linked to hash rates. Hashrate is the speed required to complete the computing process or the total computing power of a particular hardware.
In cryptocurrency systems, this term is also connected with the total capacity of the equipment operating in the architecture.
Hashrate is measured in hashes - the number of signatures that a technique can generate per unit of time. The higher the complexity of the network is, the faster the hardware must run to cope with the computing process.
In 2009, bitcoin was mined on computers - the only video card coped with the task. As the popularity of the currency grew and with the arrival of new miners, it has become necessary to use mining farms - the construction of 6-8 video cards.
In 2019-2020, farms have also lost their relevance - only ASICs - integrated installations created to work with crypto - have enough power to mine coins. The same situation is for popular altcoins like Ethereum.
Let's consider which hashrate to choose for mining. You can find out the speed of the equipment before purchasing and using it.
ASIC miners are measured in Th / s and Mh / s:
The final choice depends on a combination of factors: hash rate, energy consumption, cost, currency complexity. The purchase of an ASIC is justified for mining Bitcoin in the long term; video cards are suitable for less complex altcoins.
The hash rate is measured in the number of hashes per second: H / s, Mh / s, Gh / s, and so on. If you already have equipment for mining cryptocurrency, it is better to find out its speed through special software: a program is installed on the computer that calculates the exact value taking into account the model of technology, its overclocking and other details.
Services help:
To calculate the profitability, the equipment model, hash rate, electricity prices are indicated.
During the sale, the producer indicates the average hash rate: the final result differs from the declared one. Miners increase the performance of the equipment on their own.Overclocking a video card - manually improving performance using software. Be careful: there is a risk of damage to the equipment, the guarantee will no longer be valid.
For overclocking in a program (for example, MSI Afterburner), the core frequency and the rotational speed of the cooler are increased. The safe indicator is determined gradually: it is increased by several values, then the card is tested. If everything is in order, the values are added until noises appear in the test mode - then the overclocking rolls back a few more units.
The procedure allows to increase productivity by ~ 10% and more. Setting the maximum capacity is capable of adding all 15%, but the risk of breakdowns (especially overheating) increases many times over.
The hashrate is influenced by factors:
Due to the increasing complexity of the cryptocurrency network and the high cost of equipment, miners use the services of a mining pool.
Pool is a service that combines the computing power of the equipment of the participants for the extraction of currencies. The receipt of remuneration is distributed among the owners evenly or depending on the contribution made.
The pool is selected according to the remuneration distribution algorithm, the size of the commission and the withdrawal conditions. The hashrate is also taken into consideration.
The hash rate of a pool is its total computing power, showing the number of network participants.
Pools with an average hashrate should become a priority, where the chance of getting coins is preserved and there are not so many participants that the amount for each is insignificant. The examples are Suprnova, Dwarfpool, F2Pool.
Hashrate is a basic concept in mining related to the features of the equipment and the cryptocurrency ecosystems themselves:
Miners who are newcomers are advised to pay attention to this issue even before purchasing equipment - so it will come out to choose the best equipment for effective work.
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