UPDATE: Coinhive is no longer operating. This article remains as an archive piece.
Mining bitcoins using your computer’s browser has become hugely popular over recent months, particularly using the Coinhive JavaScript software.
However, whenever you hear browser mining mentioned it always focuses on this one, ‘original’ coin. But is it possible to mine other coins, including alt coins, using your browser, such as Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dash or even Dogecoin?
The answer is a definite yes, although like with Bitcoin, when you use Coinhive you’re not actually mining any of these cryptocurrencies. In fact, you’re mining Monero which is then converted into the coin you are currently set to mine.
The reason for this is that Monero is much more suited to mining on a home computer. It is no longer practical or profitable to mine cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Litecoin using standard equipment.
This is what the Coinhive widget looks like when it’s running:
You can test out a live version for yourself on our Browser Mining Guide page. You will have to allow the Coinhive JavaScript to run in order to do so, but it is perfectly safe and does not download anything to your computer.
For the technically-minded amongst you, Coinhive uses the Monero blockchain because it’s based on the Cryptonight algorithm which runs well on the average home computer.
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