Cryptocurrency is a viable money stream and one of the highly-profitable investments today. It seems like everyone is investing in crypto. People are trading it, buying it, selling it, and even mining for new coins.
But cryptocurrencies are not created equally. Some have better technology than others. Some have a great community supporting the project. Some offer an amazing product that makes them worth investing in. So, if you are wondering what to mine, we have the answer. Today we’ll be looking at what is the best cryptocurrency to mine in 2022.
Before we move on to our top 10 cryptocurrencies that will be worth mining in 2022, let’s first explain some crypto mining-related terms. If you are already familiar with crypto mining, then you can head straight over to our top 10 section. The rest of you can read on for full disclosure!
Cryptocurrency Types
There are 3 main types of cryptocurrencies out there:
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Tokens
These are non-minable coins that use another cryptocurrency as a parent currency, for example, Ethereum or NEO.
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Altcoins
Coins other than Bitcoin use the same algorithm for mining as Bitcoin but offer different features and/or potential.
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Mineable coins
These are coins that can be mined using computational power or purchased using fiat currency (examples include Monero, Zcash, etc.).
Types of Cryptocurrency Mining
Before you start digging into this article on “Top 10 cryptocurrencies to mine in 2022,” let us explain briefly how each type of cryptocurrency mining works:
a) Cloud Mining
This is a service where you pay someone else to miner for you, and they give you the reward after mining ends. It’s very popular these days. However, it doesn’t work well with Bitcoins (since finding new blocks is becoming harder and harder).
b) Solo Mining
This is when you do all the work by yourself. You download the blockchain, install the software on your computer and start mining using the power of that computer. However, if you have a small mining rig with just one or a few GPUs, it can take up to 1-2 years to mine a single block (a block = reward of coins). This method no longer makes sense with Bitcoins, as people are paying more for electricity than they are making from mining.
c) P2P Pool Mining
When you join a P2P pool, you combine all your computational power into one large network. You’ll receive regular payouts based on how much computational power you own compared to everyone else. The benefit of this method is that you’ll receive consistent payouts as long as the pool doesn’t run dry.
Cloud Mining, Solo Mining, and P2P Pool Mining are examples of how you can mine for cryptocurrencies using computational power.
Cryptocurrency Mining Terms
There’s a ton of jargon involved with crypto mining, which may confuse a beginner. Below are the most commonly used crypto terms along with their meanings:
1: Mining – This is the process of verifying the crypto transactions and adding them to a public ledger (called blockchain), and releasing new currency.
2: Proof of Work (PoW) – A system that ties mining capability to computational power. Coins are mined by performing complex calculations. Bitcoin is the most popular example of proof-of-work-based crypto.
3: Proof of Stake (PoS) – is an alternative way to validate transactions and create new blocks. It does not require high-end computers and GPUs. Instead, the mining power is linked to the number of coins that a person holds. Currently, Ethereum works on the PoS model.
4: Proof of Capacity (POC) – This is another alternative to PoW. Miners use free disk space on their computers to do mining instead of spending exorbitant amounts on electricity.
5: Block – A group of transactions on the blockchain.
6: Blockchain – A public ledger that contains all transaction records. Every transaction is added to the blockchain.
7: Masternode – This is a special node on the network that performs advanced functions like locking transactions with SwiftTX or anonymizing transactions with Privatix. Masternodes require 1000 tokens to be staked for each master node.
8: Fork – A new version of the original cryptocurrency (coin). Forks can happen at any time and are planned or unplanned.
9: Market Cap – the total value of all coins in circulation. This is calculated by multiplying the current price of a coin by its circulating supply. You can also use this tool to compare the market caps of different coins and see how it fluctuates over time.
10: ASIC – Application-specific integrated circuit. This is a special computer designed to perform one or more specific functions. In crypto mining, they’re used to mine a specific coin.
11: Network Difficulty – This number reflects how difficult it is to find the next block.
12: Algorithm – The algorithm is the mathematical formula that a cryptocurrency uses to handle transactions.
How to mine Coins?
The process of mining different currencies has as many similarities as differences. For this article, let’s look at general steps you have to take to mine any cryptocurrency.
Step 1: The first step is to choose a cryptocurrency that you want to mine. If you are new, it’s probably best to start with Bitcoin or another popular currency such as Ethereum, Dash, etc. However, before you select crypto to mine, make sure to look up the algorithm used by the blockchain and get your mining hardware & software accordingly. In the case of Bitcoin, you will need to get ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) miner.
Step 2: Install the mining software on your computer and run it in order to sync with the blockchain network. This can take a few hours – in some cases days – depending on how big is the coin’s blockchain. Once the blockchain has been downloaded, your wallet is created, and you can proceed to add a mining pool or start solo mining.
Step 3: As soon as you have installed the mining software, it will run in the background. You can also monitor your progress and see how many coins were mined with that particular software.
The two main factors that determine the profitability of any mining rig are Hash Rate and Energy Efficiency. Hash Rate is the speed at which a computer is completing an operation in the Bitcoin code, while energy efficiency is how much of the power used to complete that operation is drawn from the wall. While energy efficiency can be improved with better hardware and new ASICs, hash rate is more difficult to determine and somewhat subjective to each individual’s mining conditions. So the most profitable coin to mine will be different for everyone.
The Best Cryptocurrency To Mine In 2022 – Top 10
Stop asking what to mine, just get started.
1. Monero (XMR)
Mining algorithms in Monero can be efficiently handled by computer CPUs, GPUs, and specialized mining hardware like FPGAs and ASICs. Monero also has a Block reward of 0.8238 coins (as of November 2021), halving every 4 years. Monero also uses a different mining algorithm called random, which is resistant to ASICs.
Monero has a market capitalization of more than 3 billion USD. Let’s put this in perspective. Bitcoin has a market cap of over 100 billion USD, and Ethereum clocks at 30 billion USD. Monero being valued so highly among mineable cryptocurrencies, it is a top pick if you want to invest in the best cryptocurrency of 2022.
2. ZCash (ZEC)
This is also a proof of work type of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero. Still, the major difference here is that it uses the Equihash algorithm instead of SHA-256 or Scrypt. This makes mining more accessible for users without powerful computers and specialized hardware such as ASICs.
ZCash also has a Block reward of 3.13 + 0.000981 ZEC ($550.22), halving every 4 years, and the mining difficulty is re-targeted every block. It has a market cap of 2.02 Billion USD as of November 2021.
3. Bitcoin Gold (BTG)
Bitcoin Gold is a cryptocurrency that emerged as a result of Bitcoin’s hard fork on October 24, 2017.
Bitcoin Gold uses the Equihash hashing algorithm and is open to GPU mining. It also has a Block reward of 12.5 BTG per block (as of November 2021), halving every 210,000 blocks. The mining difficulty targets 2.5 minutes per block, making it 4 times faster than Bitcoin to mine.
It has a market cap of over 1.1 Billion USD as of November 2021.
4. Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies. It brought smart contracts to life and made blockchain technology reach its potential!
Ethereum uses the Ethash algorithm to mine coins using CPU or GPU hardware. Ethereum has a block reward of 3 ETH per block (as of November 2021), halving every 12000 blocks. The mining difficulty is re-targeted every 30 blocks based on the last 90 blocks.
It has a market cap of over 250 Billion USD as of November 2021.
5. DASH (DASH)
DASH is a cryptocurrency that allows fast, private transactions through its decentralized governance system.
DASH uses an X11 hashing algorithm, making it ASIC resistant and thus making mining more accessible for users without specialized hardware. It also has a block time of 2.5 minutes per block, with the Block reward of DASH being 7.88 + 0.63845 (at November 2021), halving every 4 years, and the difficulty re-targets at every block based on the last 90 blocks.
It has a market cap of over 2 Billion USD as of November 2021
6 – RavenCoin (RVN)
Ravencoin is a cryptocurrency that uses the X16R algorithm. This best new cryptocurrency was created out of a lack of innovation in Bitcoin and aims to address all its shortfalls while staying true to the original idea of Peer to Peer electronic cash system.
It also has a Block reward of 500 RVN per block (at November 2022), halving every 4 years, and the difficulty targets every block.
Ravencoin has a market cap of over 1.282 Billion USD today.
7 – Litecoin (LTC)
Litecoin is often called the digital silver to Bitcoins digital gold. It was released in 2011 by Charlie Lee after being inspired by Bitcoin.
Litecoin has a Block reward of 12.5 LTC per block (as of November 2022), halving every 840,000 blocks. The mining difficulty is re-targeted every block. It also uses a Scrypt hashing algorithm which makes it mineable using consumer-grade hardware such as GPUs.
It has a market cap of 13.7 Billion USD today.
8 – Cardano (ADA)
Cardano is a cryptocurrency that uses the proof of stake algorithm. It’s a cryptocurrency with the most potential. In terms of profits, it has already outperformed LiteCoin, and Ethereum seems next.
It also has a Block reward of ADA being 0.155 + 0.000054 (at 2021), halving every 5 years, and the mining difficulty targets 15 seconds per block, making it 3 times faster than Bitcoin to mine.
It has a market cap of over 66 Billion USD as of November 2021.
9 – TRON (TRX)
Tron is a blockchain-based decentralized protocol that aims to construct a worldwide free content entertainment system with the blockchain and distributed storage technology.
Tron uses a consensus mechanism called proof-of-stake. It requires the validators to lock their TRX tokens in a Tron wallet and prove they own at least 12 Trillion Tron tokens. In return, the users get an equivalent TRX credit for every token locked up. The more tokens one owns, the higher chance of getting rewards from transaction fees.
It has a market cap of over 7.3 Billion USD as of November 2021.
10 – Dogecoin (Doge)
Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency based on the popular Shiba Inu meme and was released in 2013. It is a fork of LiteCoin, with an unlimited supply of coins.
Dogecoin uses a proof of work algorithm (just like Bitcoin) where the difficulty is re-targeted every block. The Block reward is Dogecoin being 10,000 per block (at 2021), halving every 100,000 blocks.
Doge has a market cap of over 34 Billion USD.
Final Thoughts
To summarize, if you are looking to invest in Cryptocurrencies that are highly valued, then investing in any of the coins mentioned earlier is a good choice. After all, these are the best coin to mine today. But, keep in mind, crypto mining profitability may differ depending on your hardware, settings and specific conditions.
However, mining requires specialized equipment. So much so that it may be difficult for hobbyists to break even on their investment. But if you have been waiting for the right time to buy mining equipment, now is as good as any. With the right specialized mining equipment, you might find that you can make considerably more profit with mining in 2022.
