In the current field of economics, there is a certain term that has gained strength for some time in a dizzying way; this term is cryptocurrency. Throughout the last decade, the use of these assets has increased exponentially.
There are several methods to acquire cryptocurrenciesbut the most common are: buying through the different exchangeswhich act as an exchange office; and through the mining process. The latter consists of the confirmation of transactions within the blockchain network in which a cryptocurrency is processed.
The cryptocurrency mining process It is done with machines specially designed to support the blockchains of each Tokennevertheless, it is possible, with the right tools, to create a node for mining certain cryptocurrencies with a Raspberry Pi board and a few other materials. Would you like to know how? Now we explain it to you.
What do I need to mine cryptocurrencies with a Raspberry Pi? Main materials and requirements
Mining cryptocurrencies is a complex processalthough once started it is as simple as waiting. A considerable investment is required to achieve it, even the maintenance costs are quite high. The cryptocurrency mining process is achieved by a computer programmed to function as a nodeand consists of a series of algorithms that approve and complete transactions within the blockchain network of a certain token and transfer the amount of the transaction to an e-wallet.
In order to turn your Raspberry Pi into a cryptocurrency mining machine, all you need is:
- /4.
- An account of MinerGate.
- Source of feeding.
- Micro SD.
- HDD case for ssd.
- SSD hard drive of at least 120GB (variable depending on which cryptocurrency you want to mine).
- ethernet connection or by Wifi.
- Display.
- peripherals of computer.
In principle, these are all the materials to carry out this project, since most of the process involves commands to run the mining application on our Raspberry Pi.
Is it profitable to mine cryptocurrencies using a Raspberry Pi? In how long would my investment return?
It must be made very clear that mining cryptocurrencies with your Raspberry PI is not profitable at all, and this is due to both the power of the Raspberry Pi and the mining requirements of the most valuable cryptos. The Raspberry Pi processor is perfect for mining certain coins that are optimized to work with CPUswhich is the only way to mine with the Pi.
The problem is that Coins that meet this characteristic are worth extremely little in relation to crypto assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) or Etherium (ETH).. Also, a machine with GPU processing is necessary to work on the BTC and ETH blockchain networkand a hard drive of at least 500Gb.
So no, mining cryptocurrencies with the Raspberry Pi will not allow you to recover any investment. If you want to do it, It will be more because of the experience of the project for your Raspberry Pi, and because of the knowledge that you will be able to acquire about how crypto asset mining works.but do not expect to generate profits through this method of mining.
What are the cryptocurrencies that can be mined from a Raspberry Pi single board?
Contrary to what it may seem, thanks to the low power of the Raspberry Pi, there are a lot of cryptocurrencies that can be mined with this little computer if it is properly adapted. Of course, the entire process is limited to crypto assets whose blockchain is optimized for CPU processing, i.e. relatively small value cryptocurrencies that do not require a lot of power.
This, unfortunately, puts Bitcoin outside the capabilities of the Raspberry Pi due to the heavy weight and demand of its blockchain, which requires a hard drive of at least 500 GB and GPU processing.
Check which are the most profitable crypto assets to mine with your Raspberry Pi:
- MagiCoin (XMG): It is a low-value, CPU-minable crypto-asset, although its popularity is increasing and its value could increase.
- Monero (XMR): this coin has been around since 2014 and is the most popular option for mining on the Raspberry Pi.
- ZCash (ZEC): it is a fairly new coin with a good market value and potential for future growth.
- Nexus Coin(NXS): Currently, it does not have much information at the moment, except that it can be mined by both CPU and GPU.
Learn step by step how to create a cryptocurrency mining node with a Raspberry Pi from scratch
A node is a device with ARM architecture that runs the required software of each crypto asset, and downloads the entire blockchain. Nodes participate in the network by making secure transactions and following consensus rules, which increases the security of the cryptocurrency network itself. One of the biggest advantages that a node offers you It is the security and privacy of transactions by not depending on third-party networks.
Next, we will explain step by step how to build your own mining node and start with this project so that you properly understand its functions:
Create your MinerGate account
The first step is to include your data in a mining pool. The most recommended option currently for beginner miners is the portal MinerGatewhich includes a repertoire of CPU-minable cryptocurrencies.
Let’s see:
- Open and fill the Registration Form of MinerGate.
- Enter and confirm your email address electronic.
- Start session.
- Upon entering, you will be able to see the dashboard that indicates which cryptocurrency you are mining and your earnings so far, also check if it works as your default ewallet.
- At the bottom of the page, you find the mining pool information. Copy it and keep it safeas it will be needed later.
Prepare the Hardware
Assemble the HDD enclosure around your Raspberry Pi and connect the SSD hard drive using the USB connection on your Pi, then it adapts the computer peripherals, that is, monitor, keyboard and mouse, to be able to enter the commands easily. Finally, after inserting the microSD with Raspberry Pi OS installedconnect the board to power to start it.
Install Raspberry Pi OS and its mining tool
For this part, all we are going to need is the NOOBS file that is available on the official Raspberry Pi website:
- Download the NOOBS file from the official Raspberry Pi page or from the following link.
- Insert your SD card into your PC and format to FAT32.
- Unzip the NOOBS file and insert all the files in the Micro SD.
- Safely remove the SD and insert it into your Raspberry Pi.
insert the commands
Once the Raspberry Pi boots, you will see the selector of the available operating systems, the system we need is the Raspberry Pi OS Lite or the Raspberry Pi OS with desktop. This is what is required to start the command panel. Once the operating system is installed and the last settings have been made, open the command prompt and install the tool “Cpuminer”from Caroline Dunn’s GitHub project.
The first thing we will need is to update the repositories of our Raspberry Pi to avoid processing problems:
- sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade –y
Once updated, enter the following code to clone and install the project:
- git clone https://github.com/carolinedunn/cpuminer-multi
- sudo apt install git automake autoconf libcurl4-openssl-dev libjansson-dev libssl-dev libgmp-dev cd cpuminer-multi
After this, the following codes will allow you to compile and install:
- sudo ./autogen.sh
- sudo ./configure
- sudo ./build.sh
Once you write the commands, you just have to wait for build to finish. This process can take a few minutes on the Raspberry Pi.
Run the mining tool
The miner is ready to use and you only need one more code to start the mining process:
- ./cpuminer -a cryptonight -o stratum+tcp://xmr.pool.minergate.com:45700 -u YOUR_EMAIL
In the countryside “YOUR_EMAIL”write the email address with which you log in to the portal MinerGate. It is all you need, since the command does not require your password. Within a few seconds, the miner will start working, and you can view it online by logging into your cryptocurrency dashboard at MinerGate.
Clever! Now you have your own cryptocurrency mining node adapted from scratch with your Raspberry Pi. This project is interesting and illustrative, and very useful for understanding the inner workings of crypto asset mining. Now, besides the academic and learning value, there is little that crypto mining with the Raspberry Pi can do for you, since CPU-minable crypto assets are too few and not worth enough to justify the investmentwhich makes this a low-profit project.
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