How Do I Mine Cryptocurrencies At Home?

Mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can seem bewildering unless you have a lot of technical knowledge, but it doesn't have to be. This guide will show you the easy way to start mining. 

The days of mining Bitcoin profitably at home are gone. But there are other cryptocurrencies that you can still mine using an average computer set-up.

It Doesn't Have To Be Complicated

NOTE: As of 2020 MinerGate is no longer supporting the same amount of coins as it previously did. Additionally, there is a question mark over how well the platform is being supported and the high percentage the company takes in commission.

 

There are thousands of guides to mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies out there, but the vast majority are filled with technical detail which to the uninitiated can seem daunting.

Even those who are reasonably technically minded can run into difficulties. Setting up mining clients and joining pools with command line code can seem daunting, not to say extremely time consuming.

Which is why we’ve kept this guide as simple as possible; this is not an exhaustive list of mining software and procedure but a road map for you to get up-and-running as quickly as possible with zero technical know-how.

MinerGate

We’re focusing on a free mining client known as MinerGate. It has an intuitive interface and once it's installed you’ll be mining Ethereum, Monero and a host of other coins in minutes.

This is the software in action:

It’s important to mention here that while it is possible to mine Bitcoin and Litecoin with the MinerGate client, a) it’s not really practical and b) it does require you to delve deeper into the software.

Bitcoin And Litecoin

Unless you’re going to spend thousands of dollars/pounds on specialist equipment it is no longer possible to mine Bitcoin or Litecoin at home.

The expense combined with the electricity you’ll use means you’ll spend far more than you’ll ever gain, plus there are safety considerations as well when you have a bedroom full of red-hot equipment.

If you Google Bitcoin mining and do an image search you’ll see pictures of vast mining farms set up in warehouses around the world. Even those clever enough to build a home set-up have still spent invested large sums of money to do so.

A Chinese Bitcoin mine. This is one of the smaller ones we've seen.

What MinerGate does enable you to do is tap into several of the well known cryptocurrencies, which we mentioned earlier, together with some of the lesser known coins.

This should satisfy most people who want to get their first taste of mining. The great thing with this software is that you see your coins accumulate in real time, and you’ll hear your computer working for them as well!

It is also possible to mine multiple currencies at once, depending on your set-up. And if you want some more stats, including the current value of your coins, you can visit your online performance page which looks like this:

Aside from Ethereum and Litecoin, a lot of the coins you can mine are less well known. But don’t be put off; you never know, those 1,000 Bytecoins you’ve mined may one day be worth the same as Bitcoins (albeit unlikely).

If you're interested about how MinerGate works then it can best be described as an interface between your computer and what’s known as a mining pool - groups of people similar to yourself who want to join their resources together to mine coins.

And a clever feature of the software is that it automatically offers to mine the most profitable coin at any given time using its ‘smart miner’ function.

Where's My Wallet

Remember, you’ll need wallets to receive the various coins you mine. Coinbase is an easy-to-use option for Ethereum (and Bitcoin and Litecoin) and also enables you to trade currencies in real time.

We've covered the different kinds of wallets and how to set up and use them in more detail here

Changelly

MinerGate is also linked to a service called Changelly which is an instant crypto-to-crypto currency exchange.

It's easy to set up an account and get started. It features an intuitive layout which means you'll be live in no time at all.

The Changelly interface:

Changelly allows you to take coins mined through MinerGate and convert them instantly to one of more than 35 coins supported by the exchange.

So if you’re unconvinced about the longevity of one altcoin you can convert it into something you feel more comfortable with or is going to be more use to you.

Try the Changelly calculator below to get an idea of how it works:

Changelly works by querying large cryptocurrency exchanges such as Poloniex and Bittrex to get the latest prices. It then selects the best available rate for you to exchange your coins at.

You’ll be anxious to trade your coins or withdraw them but remember with each coin you mine you’ll need to reach a certain threshold before you can make a withdrawal. Don’t panic if you can’t immediately get your hands on your currency!

It’s also worth noting that, like everything on this site, MinerGate is completely free to use.

Changelly is also free, but does levy a 0.5% fee per transaction which is very competitive for this type of service.

Get your free Bitcoin! Now that you've tried mining, why not visit our Best Free Bitcoin Faucet list and collect even more free Satoshis?