Mining Cryptocurrencies, crypto mining software, our Top 5 in 2021 - Which are the best?

mining software

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⌛ Reading time: 6 minutes
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The value of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin has seen a recent resurgence, with underlying distributed ledger technology (DLT) bolstering good long-term prospects.

Even though cryptocurrencies are currently unregulated, the huge success of bitcoin (BTC), ethereum (ETH), ripple (XRP) and litecoin (LTC) is leading to continued efforts by governments, companies and banks to bring them to market. for more mainstream use.

The reason behind the adoption of cryptocurrencies is quite simple, as they offer an unparalleled way to speed up financial transactions while reducing transaction costs. Best of all, anyone can try their hand at mining their own currency, even if it takes some knowledge and patience.

Now that you are considering taking the plunge and installing your bitcoin (BTC) mining equipment, your next step is to connect to a mining pool. This allows you to share your machine's assets on the internet and join other miners to mine cryptocurrencies, and receive a portion of the mining profits in return.

Many programs are available to help you manage your cryptocurrency mining efforts. In this guide, we'll explore five of the most popular options. For more experienced computer users, a good option is to install the free Linux operating system, and use one of the text-based programs, for example CGminer.

For those who want to keep things simple and stick to Windows 10, mining clients with a graphical interface, such as MultiMiner, may be more suitable.

Before starting, if you want to check the compatibility of a mining program with your particular device or operating system, the Bitcoin Wiki program has a very useful list.

1. CGMiner

A flexible mining program that supports almost all platforms
Reasons to buy
Highly customizable and cross-platform
Reasons to avoid
The Windows version is difficult to install

CGMiner has been around for over six years and is coded in C, making it compatible with almost all operating systems. It works through a simple command line interface, supporting multiple mining pools and devices. It is primarily designed for use with dedicated hardware mining devices, but can also use any GPU connected to your machine.

Upon first launch, CGMiner will ask you to enter the URL, username and password (if required) of your favorite mining pool, and will automatically detect any attached hardware, such as an ASIC device.

Even if you have to work with CGMiner via the command line, the layout is fairly simplified with the extraction devices listed above, and simple keyboard commands to change settings, such as enabling verbose mode or detecting new hardware.

In our tests using CGMiner 4.9.2 on Windows 10, we found that our Avast antivirus software tried to block the download. This may be because hackers using their own versions of this program could secretly install CGMiner on someone else's machine to mine for their own benefit. You can configure your system to make an exception for CGMiner if you want, or use the Linux version.

2. Awesome Miner

Large-scale mining software
Reasons to buy
Scalable up to 200.000 ASIC miners and 25.000 GPU / CPU miners and cross-platform
Reasons to avoid
Lack of support for MacOS

Some software is for casual miners, Awesome Miner is for those who need to manage a larger mining operation. How big, you ask? We're talking about 200.000 ASIC miners and 25.000 CPU / GPU miners. In short, few people will have a larger operation than this software can easily handle.

The goal here is centralized management, for maximum efficiency and, in turn, profitability. This software tracks profits, as it can track revenue and energy consumption in real time. Downtime is minimized with automatic recovery, allowing you to resume work without problems. Not sure which mining pools to join? This is not a problem, because there is also an evaluation function that allows you to "test multiple mining algorithms and software and measure the hash rate and power consumption for each to optimize profit transfer decisions," according to Awesome Miner.

Other features include easy setup, with the ability to join multiple mining pools at the same time. The power of hash and the production of each machine are tracked in real time, with a total provided of both variables. It also has optimization for Antminer firmware, for up to 40% higher performance on the Antminer S17 ASIC.

3. BFGMiner

A targeted mining customer who is do-it-yourself heaven.
Reasons to buy
Available for Windows and Linux and compatible with FPGA devices
Reasons to avoid
It doesn't work well with GPUs

BFGMiner is based on our previous choice, CGMiner, but is designed specifically for ASIC mining hardware. The client is also compatible with Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) devices and can be configured to work with some graphics cards - but it's not easy to make money.

While BFGMiner is narrow in scope, it has features that allow users to tinker with mining devices, such as dynamic overclocking and remote interface capabilities. The temperature of most devices is also monitored, and can also connect to multiple mining pools. Additionally, BFGMiner is smart enough to break connection to inaccessible pools, saving valuable system resources and improving cost efficiency.

Even though the interface is text-based, and like CGminer, the options are well laid out. Hotkeys can be used to perform routine tasks, including pool monitoring, device identification, and activating additional functions.

In addition to offering a simple text interface and a ton of features, BFGMiner is available for Windows and all major versions of Linux. BFGminer can also be installed on a Raspberry Pi server, as part of the free Minera Operating System program.

4.MultiMiner

Simplified BFGMiner for the less tech-savvy
Reasons to buy
Intuitive graphical interface, use of operational policies and easy management of multiple devices

MultiMiner is a graphical front-end that makes BFGMiner an easy to use tool. As such, it has many powerful features, while being much more enjoyable for newcomers.

Does the prospect of setting up mining software scare you? Don't worry, and you are not alone. Multiminer has you covered with a startup wizard that walks you through the process of entering your pool information, using helpful tooltips to clarify any potentially unfamiliar terms.

Once the configuration is complete, MultiMiner automatically searches for the mining devices and lists their details in a useful table, including the pool used, profitability and average hash power. More importantly, the customer will also see your expected daily profit with your current mining equipment.

You can also use the "Pools" tabs to connect to multiple pools if you want. The “Strategies” section allows you to easily choose how you want to mine: for example, you can choose to mine automatically based on the most profitable coin, or choose to mine low difficulty coins.

Even though the software is available for free, upon installation the software developer asks you to send 1% of your profits to their wallet as a thank you for creating such good mining software. This is entirely voluntary, and you can enable or disable it from within the application, in the 'Perks' section.

Multiminer is cross-platform, but additional software is required to make it work on macOS and Linux.

5.EasyMiner

An easy to use GUI approach to mining
Reasons to buy
Easy to use graphical interface, extraction with CPU and ASIC / GPU at the same time and at no additional cost
Reasons to avoid
It can cause problems with anti-virus applications

EasyMiner is a graphical front-end that greatly simplifies mining. The first time you run EasyMiner, switch to "MoneyMaker" mode, which allows you to automatically create a Litecoin wallet and immediately start mining with a private pool. While convenient, this mode is not likely to generate high profits at the current difficulty rate.

The dashboard has an elegant interface, which allows you to configure mining pools, change network settings and view your wallet. You can also use the settings function to activate ASIC hardware such as an Antminer. Once this is done, just click on “Start Mining” to begin.

EasyMiner includes a console that informs about the progress of CGminer (cgminer.exe) and CPUMiner (minerd.exe), which are used by default to mine Bitcoin and Litecoin respectively. There doesn't seem to be an easy way to disable CPUMiner if you're only interested in Bitcoin.

In our tests on Windows 10, Avast Antivirus also automatically removed the core EasyMiner and CPUMiner program, as malicious hackers previously installed their versions of these programs on other people's machines to mine coins for themselves as part of a botnet.

If you are interested in EasyMiner but don't want to worry about virus warnings, the program runs on Ubuntu Linux using Wine (see here for more information).

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