Ethereum Mining Tips for 2022
I Built an Ethereum Mining Rig in 2020 — Here Are Some Tips for Crypto Mining in 2022
Ethereum has been moving to proof of stake (PoS) since 2017. They’re transitioning away from from proof of work (PoW or mining). As of 2022 though, the transition remains in progress.
The move to ethereum 2.0 is happening for a few reasons. One — ethereum wants to become more scalable, and they believe that proof of stake is the way to do that. Switching to PoS should reduce transaction (gas) fees. Two — ethereum wants to become more “green.” This one is more nuanced and up for debate, but that’s irrelevant to this discussion.
I started mining ethereum in 2020 when I built an ethereum mining rig at home during the pandemic. The kicker was that I built the rig for less than $1,000. I was immediately hooked to cryptocurrency mining, and I’ve been mining and tracking the space ever since.
ETH 2.0 Is Live
It’s important to note that ethereum 2.0 is already live. Current ETH holders can already stake their ETH via various platforms.
We’re in a hybrid transition period where ethereum is both minable and capable of being staked. In order to stake your ETH, you do have to use certain platforms, but the options are out there to do it.
We’re in a hybrid transition period where ethereum is both minable and capable of being staked.
Some of the available staking options have lock-in periods built around when ethereum moves fully to PoS, but they’re there, and people are staking ETH. While this is happening, however, people are still mining ethereum.
I Stopped Mining ETH
I stopped mining ethereum last year. I did this for one primary reason — I wanted to mine ravencoin 100% for a period of time.
Ravencoin (RVN) is a fork of the bitcoin code and is a speculative altcoin. I think the project shows promise, and I also believe that PoW blockchains are undervalued currently while PoS is all the rage in crypto.
There are tradeoffs between PoS and PoW, but I do see value in expending energy to create something like bitcoin. If (and it’s a big if) ravencoin can have similar value in terms of its network to bitcoin, then the price of RVN could appreciate along with that. I mined RVN on spec and am still holding the RVN I earned as of writing this.
I hit a number of RVN I had in mind that I wanted to hold and have temporarily switched over to mining ethereum classic (ETC).
Ravencoin is a fork of bitcoin and is a speculative altcoin. I think the project shows promise and believe that PoW blockchains are being undervalued against PoS.
I’m Mining Ethereum Classic
Once I hit the ravencoin target goal I set for myself, I had three options. One— continue mining ravencoin. Two — switch back to mining ethereum. Three — mine ethereum classic. I went with option three.
Why Ethereum Classic?
- all my GPUs can mine it
- frequent payouts
- can convert to bitcoin
There are very specific reasons for why I decided to mine ethereum classic. Most of them have to do with my mining rig setup. During the pandemic, it was difficult to find and purchase decent graphics cards. The supply chain and chip shortage issues had a huge impact on GPUs and other computer hardware. But, I was able to get two cheap cards.
The catch — both of those cards are 4GB cards and not 6GB or higher. That means that, when it comes to mining crypto, they’re limited in the types of coins they can mine. I now have six total GPUs on my mining rig, and I wanted to dedicate all of their hash power to one coin. I chose ETC.
I also settled on ETC for some of the same reasons that ravencoin was appealing. I mine to a mining pool with Nanopool and their ETC setup provides frequent payouts. With ethereum gas fees so high for ETH as of late, payouts for ethereum miners are less frequent. If you want your mining rewards quicker, other coins like RVN or ETC can be advantageous.
Similar to receiving more frequent payouts with ETC than with ETH, I wanted to be able to convert my rewards directly to bitcoin.
I’m receiving my ETC mining rewards directly to a cryptocurrency wallet that allows me to convert to BTC instantly. Unlike with ravencoin, I’m not mining ethereum classic on spec. It’s a utility play for me — I’m mining ethereum classic because it’s one of the more profitable coins for my specific cryptocurrency mining rig that both earns payouts quickly and allows me to buy bitcoin with relative ease.
I’m mining ethereum classic because it’s one of the more profitable coins for my specific cryptocurrency mining rig that both earns payouts quickly and allows me to buy bitcoin with relative ease.
ETH Is Still Profitable
Ethereum remains one of if not the most profitable coins to mine right now. Determining mining profitability depends entirely on your rig setup though. You can use websites like WhatToMine to help you determine which coins are the most profitable for your graphics cards to mine.
At one point last year, my simple rig setup was making over $400 per month on average. That may or may not sound like a lot to you, but, for me, it was a lot. I was able to get a quick and efficient return on my investment to build the mining rig and start earning solid profits thereafter.
Even with ETH 2.0 being live and lots of ETH holders already staking, ethereum mining remains very profitable for most GPU miners. It may not be what it used to be but the transition to PoS remains in progress and ethereum should be minable for the near term.
Is Ethereum Mining Going Away In 2022?
As recently as early 2022, there’s talk that ETH 2.0 will complete a full merger of its beacon chain and mainnet chain sometime in 2022. Middle of the year or Q2 2022 has been tossed around as an anticipated date. Having seen this before though, it’s a wait-and-see game for ETH 2.0.
You can find more info about the ETH 2.0 merge here, but it’s important to note that ethereum isn’t going to risk acting too quickly on this if things aren’t ready. There’s too much money involved to get it wrong.
As mentioned above, ethereum has been discussing ETH 2.0 for almost five years. In my opinion, I don’t think ethereum mining is going away by summer 2022. End of year feels more realistic, but I’d also lean toward not predicting anything timing-wise until there’s a concrete deadline announced.
Conclusion
You may have less than a year left to mine ethereum. But, you may also have more than a year to mine ethereum. The jury is still out. ETH 2.0 is here, but it’s not yet ready for its full merge that will ultimately get rid of PoW.
When ethereum is no longer minable, I’ll likely continue to mine either ethereum classic or switch back to ravencoin. I’m also considering conflux coin and looking into getting my rig set up for that, just in case. For miners, it’s good to know that your rig is ready to go on a new coin so that any transition is seamless. Do some trial and error as you check out mining alternatives.
As for the broader cryptocurrency mining ecosystem, the ETH 2.0 transition is big. A LOT of computing power from GPUs mining ethereum will be available to go elsewhere, and no one is sure whether or not other coins like ravencoin or ethereum classic can support that amount of hash.
A lot of computing power from GPUs mining ethereum will be available to go elsewhere and no one is sure whether or not other coins like ravencoin or ethereum classic can support that amount of hash.
It’s even possible that a new coin or project emerges as a GPU frontrunner in the aftermath of the ETH 2.0 transition. For now, though, 2022 is making me feel like the end of ethereum mining is finally drawing closer. I didn’t believe it even as recently as last year, but this year it does feel like a possibility.
What do you think will happen with ethereum this year? Are you a crypto miner and, if so, are you mining ethereum or another coin? Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading! I am not an investment or financial advisor. This is not financial advice. All opinions expressed are mine alone. If you want more content like this, sign up for my weekly email.
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