How To Mine Dogecoin In 3 Simple Steps

Requirements – What do You Need to Start Mining Dogecoin Today?

To start mining DOGE right away, you need to have set up your Dogecoin wallet, have the right hardware and software or buy a cloud mining contract. Read below for simple steps that could see you mining one of the phenomenal coins of 2021 which became popular after Elon Musk tweeted about it.

Popular Hardware and Mining Rigs for Dogecoin

Mining most of the popular digital currencies has moved from the use of CPUs, and that too applies to Dogecoin. You can mine DOGE using a GPU mining rig. However, the most popular hardware to mine Dogecoin today is an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) device.

The underlying dynamic in mining, whether it’s Dogecoin’s Scrypt or another algorithm, is that hardware devices or rigs that pack the most computing power have the greatest chance of mining the next block and getting the reward.

As this is getting more and more defined with DOGE’s increased popularity, getting an ASIC with a good enough hash rate is the first step. Of course, your profitability will largely still depend on other factors including electricity consumption, efficiency, and the Dogecoin price.

You can purchase a Dogecoin miner from the manufacturer or any of the several outlets in the market. Remember to do due diligence before buying the rig, including how long it might take before you get a return on investment (ROI).

Here are three top ASIC miners for Dogecoin.

1. Bitmain Antminer L3+

Bitmain Antimimer L3+. Image Source: ASICMiner Value

The Antiminer L3+ is an ASIC miner from global mining hardware giant Bitmain. The miner comes with a decent hash rate of 504MH/s at a power consumption of 800W and an efficiency of 1.6J/MH at the wall. You can mine DOGE with this miner, as well as several other Scrypt-based cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin.

2. BW L21 Scrypt Miner

BW L21 Scrypt Miner. Image Source: ASICMiner Value

The BW L21 is a January 2018 release by BW.com. This Scrypt ASIC Miner offers 550 MH/s with a power consumption of 950W and output efficiency of 1.727j/Mh. This is one of the most powerful ASIC miners for Dogecoin.

3. FusionSilicon X6 Miner

X6 Miner. Image Source: ASICMiner Value

The X6 Miner is an ASIC miner from FusionSilicon released in August 2018. It supports the Scrypt algorithm and thus is great for Dogecoin among other Scrypt-based coins. X6 Miner has a hash rate of 860Mh/s, power consumption of 1079W, and efficiency of 1.255j/Mh.

Software

Before you start to mine crypto, you need software integration with your hardware. If you decide to mine with an ASIC, then you might find it pre-installed with mining software. However, in case you assemble or acquire a GPU mining rig, you need to download and install the software.

You should ensure that you use the software that fits best with the type of mining hardware you have. Note also that there are desktop and mobile versions. With the former, you have it on your desktop device and can only access it on that device, while a mobile version allows you to mine on the go.

Which software people use to mine Dogecoin

The most popular mining software you can check out is CGMiner. The CGMiner v3.7.2 is a command-line interface (CLI) software product that you can easily install and customise to your settings. You can also check out MultiMiner and EasyMiner for ASIC hardware and CudaMiner for GPU mining hardware.

Can I Use my Personal Computer to Mine Dogecoin?

Technically, this is something you could try as Dogecoin mining needed relatively less computing power before the price explosion put it on the map and attracted more hashrate and thus increased difficulty. 

Today, mining Dogecoin with your PC is not a venture you are likely to undertake if you seriously want to make money from it. The simple reason, as noted above, is that you need a lot more computing power than what your CPU can handle. 

Again, if you do try, your computer will quickly overheat and likely get damaged. As such, you can only use GPUs or ASICs, and even with the former, you might need a rig comprising 4 or more top graphics cards from top brands.

Technical Knowledge Required to Mine Dogecoin

As you prepare to begin mining Dogecoin, you may need to understand a few technical terms that apply to the industry. The know-how will help you make sense of the whole idea of mining.

• Algorithm: A set of rules that allows for mining, which entails security of the transactions and blockchain. Mining algorithms vary and it’s good to know which applies to the coin you want to mine.
• Blockchain: In simple terms, a blockchain refers to the series of data blocks added one after the other on a distributed ledger. The blocks have to be valid and contain hashes of all the transaction data. Miners only get their reward once a block is verified and added to the ledger.
• Hash rate: This is the amount of computing power needed to mine new coins. The more the hash rate, the higher the chances of getting a block. Hash rate is also the total computing power from all the miners securing the network. The higher the hash rate, the more difficult it is to execute a 51% attack.
• Block time: This refers to the time it takes a miner to find a new block, verify transactions and add it to the blockchain. It’s also called block generation time. Dogecoin has a 1 minute block time, while Litecoin is 2.5 minutes and Bitcoin’s is 10 minutes.
• Mining difficulty: This is a measure of how hard it is for miners to get a new block. It often increases or decreases depending on the number of miners on the network. Difficulty adjustment ensures the average block time remains around the coded duration.
• Mining fees: This is a small fee a user pays to have their transactions processed on the network. It forms part of a miner’s block reward.
• Block reward: This is the prize each miner or pool gets for every block they mine and add to the blockchain. It includes the new coins (10,000 DOGE) and transaction/mining fees.
• Mining profitability: This is the calculation of potential returns when all costs of mining have been taken into account. Miners become profitable when the price of mined coins exceeds the overall cost of mining.

Joining a Dogecoin Mining Pool

Other than solo or self-mining, you have the option of joining a Dogecoin mining pool. Mining pools combine or bring together many miners, “pooling” the hashing power to mine as a single unit. In this way, miners can compete against big farms for the block reward.

A mining pool will reduce the time it would take you to mine a single block, which means, you are likely to turn profitable faster with a pool than as a private miner on a limited budget.

The mining pool you join needs to support Dogecoin’s Scrypt algorithm. While you check these out, here are two of the most popular for this cryptocurrency:

• Prohashing: It supports Scrypt, X11, Equihash, and SHA-256 and pays in DOGE, not USD so you have the coin and can “hodl“.
• Multipool: Here you can do merged mining of DOGE and Litecoin.

Mining Dogecoin on the cloud is another option you can consider. Cloud mining allows you to start mining simply by renting hashing power from one of the data centres. 

It’s hands-free mining and doesn’t require you to have any hardware or commit time to monitor the equipment. All you do is buy a mining contract, usually on a monthly or yearly basis and pay the fees. The data centre will use its hash rate to mine Dogecoin and pay you a share of the reward.

To start cloud mining Dogecoin, set up a wallet and find a reputable mining pool that offers cloud contracts. Nice Hash and Genesis Mining are the two top choices for Scrypt-based coins.

Pros and cons of cloud mining

Pros

• Cheaper than hardware setups.
• Passive mining.
• No need to master technical aspects and terms.
• You can mine any coin.
• Steady share of the reward.

Cons

• Risk of shady contracts.
• Contract locked with a fixed fee, even if the price falls during the contract.