MINING BTC WITH A GPU: NICEHASH
Arguably the easiest way to get started at mining cryptocurrencies is with NiceHash. We’ve noted that it’s no longer profitable to mine Bitcoin directly using a GPU, because ASICs are so much faster and more efficient. That doesn’t mean you can’t get BTC from a GPU, however. NiceHash launched in 2014 and greatly lowered the barrier to entry for mining. It gets rid of the worry about what coin(s) to mine and is extremely easy to get running. You lease your PC’s hashing power to other users, who get to choose what to mine, and you get paid in Bitcoin. NiceHash takes a small cut of the potential profits, and your PC can be up and mining in minutes.
The company’s custom NiceHashMiner software benchmarks your hardware using various common hashing algorithms, and offers plenty of configuration options. NiceHashMiner then chooses whatever hashing algorithm currently pays the best rates, based on what people are willing to pay to lease your hardware. Sometimes a new coin launches, or someone wants to dedicate a lot of mining power at a specific coin, and they pay more to do so. Instead of mining Ethereum 24/7, your hardware will occasionally run some other algorithm, and it’s all managed by the software. The software also has auto-update functionality to keep you on top of the latest developments.
There are other ways to mine with NiceHash, such as its QuickMiner software, which aims to make the process even easier. Alternatively, there’s a custom NiceHash OS Linuxbased install you can run in place of Windows. Performance and efficiency are potentially higher, and for dedicated 24/7 mining, it’s supposed to be the best option.
So, next time you hear someone say, “You can’t mine Bitcoin with GPUs anymore,” you can set them straight. While it’s true that directly mining BTC with a GPU isn’t a good idea, services such as NiceHash provide a convenient workaround. Alternately, just mine Ethereum or whatever on your own, and then trade that for Bitcoin.