Mining for good

Speaking as someone who has been involved in cryptocurrencies for some years, I was pleasantly surprised by your article in the January 2018 issue. Your report was well balanced, kudos.

However, there are more ways to become involved without necessarily investing money. While Bitcoin ‘mining’ is now industrial scale and beyond the reach of individuals, there are some cryptocurrencies directly connected with scientific/humanitarian endeavour that average people can use. Gridcoin ( gridcoin.science) lets you ‘mine’ Gridcoins by allowing scientists to use your home computer to process data for research projects. Research ranges from cures for childhood cancers, to mapping the Milky Way in 3D, running particle collision data at the LHC and much more. The more research you do, the more Gridcoins you get. FoldingCoin and Curecoin are similar and do proteinfolding work on the Folding@Home project. Meanwhile, readers with solar panels may wish to investigate SolarCoin. The SolarCoin Foundation issues a SolarCoin for each 1MWh of verified solar energy produced. The aim is to incentivise the transition to clean energy. The list goes on: Einsteinium aims to raise money for research grants; Pinkcoin is based on generating money for charities. Readers should be wary of scams and check a cryptocurrency’s authenticity (including those I have mentioned) – any promises of huge investment returns is an immediate warning sign. Keep an eye on the HMRC guidance in relation to taxes, and seek professional advice if uncertain. Steve, via email

These are all worthy options, which then let you trade the currencies you earn for other cryptocurrencies. As Steve says, always exercise caution when trading money. – Ed