Homework-Task 5 - Steemit Crypto Academy (@besticofinder ) - Introduction to Cryptocurrency Mining - Part 2

Hey everyone, good day to you, I am very happy to be a member of this great platform. The platform has also given me the opportunity to learn so much about cryptocurrency. My thanks go to our tutorial blog crypto professor @ @besticofinder you are such a great teacher, your style of teaching is second to none. More grease to your elbow. Now I can go to the homework properly.

Not too long ago, cryptocurrencies could only be mined using graphics cards (GPUs) or processors in common (PC). This is why cloud mining is now a hot topic within the crypto world. As the years roll by, a lot of people gravitated towards cloud mining.

In the course of this article, I will try and cover both the basic definitions and the more in-depth ones just to get a better understanding of CLOUD MINING. Going further, let’s take it from the top and define cloud mining.

Cloud Mining is usually defined as simply a remote cryptocurrency mining service. This service is provided by hosts (Huge collections of a mining rig, usually held in a big designated facility).

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The host is usually a big corporation that specializes in cloud mining. These corporations buy an excessive amount of mining rig hardware. (GPUs, motherboards, processors, etc.) and build hundreds of rigs. Naturally, they are located in a respectively sized building- huge garages, warehouses, etc.

The type of size of the build does not really work. The only conditions that matter is getting cheap electricity bills and cooling systems and air-conditioning. In summary, cloud mining means you can mine remotely without the need for buying very expensive mining hardware.

Now cloud mining is becoming very popular because of the following reasons.

1. Accessibility: An average person does not really have a lot of space or resources required for a successful mining operation. However, with the help of cloud mining, almost everyone can ‘’ have’’ their designated mining rigs that produce revenue over time.

2. Cost: You can definitely pay someone for their hosting services. However, free cloud mining a thing-with this option, you eliminate any possible spending. Many people do not have thousands of dollars to spend on their rigs and their maintenance. In such scenarios, free cloud mining becomes a very tempting option.

TYPES OF CLOUD MINING.

Since Bitcoin seems to be the most popular cryptocurrency of choice when it comes to cloud mining,
This will be the coin I will be using and referring to in the course of this homework. We cannot successfully talk about cloud mining without knowing the types of cloud mining that we have.

There are three types of cloud mining. Physical Mining Server (Hosted Mining), Virtual Private server Mining (Virtual Hosted Mining) and Leased Hashing Power.

a. PHYSICAL MINING SERVER ( HOSTED MINING): In this process, you are agreeing with the cloud mining service provider to lease his machine for a certain period of time. If you prefer, the mining service provider ships his machine or you can store their leased device with the company itself.

b. VIRTUAL PRIVATE SERVER MINING (Virtual Hosted Mining): In this process, instead of leasing a dedicated machine, you can install your mining software on the service provider machine, and keeps out setting the physical device. This process is best for some of the smaller-cap altcoins which are mainly mined with one’s CPU rather than a GPU.

c. LEASED HASHING POWER: This is by far the best mining process so far. This process is simple, you buy a hash power, (speed) from a cloud mining service provider, and start mining. Until now, cloud mining seems to be the solution for mining problems, especially for those that have fewer resources to go into the mining venture fully.
We have several good mining platforms, I will only list the 4 best of them for the purpose of the homework.

BEST MINING PLATFORMS YOU CAN RELY ON.

1. GENESIS: One of the most popular and best cloud mining websites, Genesis Mining offers three mining plans and also the option to create a custom plan. It charges $285 for 1TH/s for a five-year contract. However, for those who want a different power or a different time limit, they have the option to create a custom plan and would be priced accordingly.

Genesis Mining charges additional maintenance fees.
• Coins Supported: Bitcoin, Dash, Ethereum, Monero/Monero Classic, Litecoin, Zcash
• Mine/Office Location: Europe, America and Asia

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1. HASHING24: A trusted name when it comes to cloud mining, Hashing24 has been around for quite some time and has reasonably priced bitcoin cloud mining plans. It provides instant deliveries and charges $12.50 for a hashing power of 1000 GH/s. However, the website does charge some additional maintenance charges which they specify at the time of the purchase of the plan.

• Coins Supported: Bitcoin.
• Mine/Office Location: Republic of Ireland, Ukraine.

1. HASHFLARE: This is another good mining platform that allows for the cloud mining of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, ZCash and Dash cryptocurrencies. This is considered to be among the best cloud mining websites because of its instant payouts and for the fact that it comes with no additional or hidden fees.

• Coins Supported: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, DASH, ZCash
• Mine/Office Location: Scotland.

1. PLAN-C: Plan-C offers a refreshing mix of multiple cryptocurrency-related services which include cloud mining, cryptocurrency trading, as well as investment into altcoins. It offers three packages that users can purchase where the investment is divided as follows: 60% for mining, 20% for trading, 20% for altcoins. This option for multiple investments makes Plan-C a rather unique option. Their plans range from $250 to $5000.

• Coins Supported: Bitcoin, DASH, Litecoin, Ethereum
• Mine/Office Location: Republic of Georgia

ADVANTAGES OF CLOUD MINING.

1. You don’t need to buy any type of equipment for mining.
2. No installation or setup cost, (sometimes hosting sites charges you a one-time setup fee).
3. Hassle-free mining, no noisy, heat-generating gear in your home.
4. No added electricity cost.
5. No risk of fire and other issues that can arise from running it yourself.
6. You don’t need any extra pieces of equipment to run mining that way, you will reduce the chances of being let down by mining equipment suppliers.

DISADVANTAGES OF CLOUD MINING.

1. High risk of fraud- The company can go out of business or just run away with the funds if they want.
2. If the crypto market keeps falling, it directly impacts on the profits of cloud mining providers, sometimes they cease their operations.
3. Lower Profits- The operators have to cover their costs if the market continues to fall.
4. You do not own the equipment, which means you cannot sell it.
5. If you are a technology geek, then cloud mining is less fun for you.
6. Lack of control and flexibility.

In conclusion, cloud mining is one of the best and easiest ways to make money in the crypto world. Also, we have a lot of scams in cloud mining. This is why we have to choose carefully when choosing a cloud mining platform to use for mining.

This is where I am going to drop my pen and hope and pray to get a good result.
Best regards all, stay safe and blessed.