Key Insights:
ASIC Miners are used to mine high difficulty cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Litecoin.
Computer mineable cryptocurrecies include XMR that can be mined on any decently powerful desktop.
You can also mine on your mobile with apps like Pi Network, Stormgain, and crypto tab browser.
Cloud Mining apps also let you run an entire node on platforms like AWS and Azure. However, there are ready-to-use platforms too like Binance and Hashmart.
ASIC Miners are the most common type of miners and are usually used to mine cryptocurrencies that have a high difficulty score like Bitcoin, Ethereum Classic, Ethereum PoW, Litecoin and Dogecoin.
These miners come at a great cost, starting a few thousand dollars to even a million. The best aspect about these miners is that they are cost-efficient even though they are expensive, which help you mine with a higher speed. Otherwise, getting a block in these top blockchains is next to impossible for low speed machines.
There are, however, a few disadvantages associated with ASIC miners. First, they are very expensive. Secondly, they consume a lot of electricity, which as caused many large Bitcoin miners to shift from traditional energy sources to solar and wind power. Thirdly, these miners produce a lot of heat requiring extensive cooling systems. Finally, ASIC miners produce a lot of heat and carbon dioxide, making them not so environment-friendly.
Among ASIC miners, Bitmain is one of the leading producers of these hardware with other producers being Bitdeer, and Dragonball Miners.
Several proof of work blockchains do not allow ASIC or even graphics-card-based mining because they want to keep the miner distribution as decentralized as possible, unlike Bitcoin mining, where only a few handful of miners are providing the entire hashrate.
Monero is one such PC-mineable cryptocurrency that restricts ASIC miners for the sake of decentralization. Typically, users need a modern PC with at least 32 GB of RAM and a dedicated graphics card for these kinds of loads.
The best aspect of desktop mining is that it can run on spare PCs as well as cloud PCs. Desktop-based crypto mining, therefore does not require a heavy upfront investment like ASIC miners and can easily help you earn a passive income in crypto.
However, the rewards associated with desktop miners are usually low except in a few cases like Monero.
Several new and old cryptocurrencies are mineable on mobile phones. These cryptocurrencies like the Pi Network work on algorithms that prioritize decentralization as compared to network security. As a result, their algorithms run fine on mobile phones too.
The best feature of mobile mining is that you can mine round the clock without having to worry about electricity consumption or your miner going offline.
However, this kind of mining also has some disadvantages, like low rewards and less popularity. Since anyone can mine on a mobile, the number of people competing with each other to secure a block is very high.
Top mobile apps that can help you mine are Crypto Tab Browser, StromGain, Pi Network, and MinerGate.
Cloud Mining has been a top choice for crypto miners because cloud applications like Google Cloud, Azure, or AWS can handle complex workloads without any trouble. Further, these platforms are inherently scalable with just a fraction of cost.
The best aspect of cloud mining is that these miners are instantly configurable, can start mining from day 1, do not require any major investment and work on a pay-as-you-go model.
On the downside, cloud mining may be a little expensive based on the part of the world where the cloud servers are located. Further, several cloud platforms discourage crypto mining due to fears of crashing other clients.
Besides these traditional cloud miners, you can also mine on ready-to-use cloud mining platforms like Binance, ICO Miner, and Hashmart. These platforms let you mine for free, except in a few cases where there is a small fee.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information but will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.