Is Litecoin Mining Worth It | A Beginner’s Guide to Litecoin Mining

There are two types of people who mine Litecoin. Some people mine Litecoin as a hobby to own Litecoin and they don’t worry about the profit or loss. While other people mine Litecoin and their main focus is profit. If profit is the main target then two factors determine whether it is worth mining Litecoin or not and they are electricity and hardware costs. If your electricity bill is cheap then it is worth mining Litecoin. Moreover, if you can get access to a cheap mining rig then Litecoin mining is definitely worth it.

Key Takeaways

• Litecoin is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that was founded by Charlie Lee and it was released in October 2011
• Currently, Litecoin is the 2^nd choice cryptocurrency after Bitcoin
• If you want to have your own Litecoin then you have to buy it from crypto exchanges like Coinbase
• There are quite a few ways you can mine Litecoin: Solo Mining, Mining Pool, Cloud Mining, etc.
• The geographic location plays an important role in the profit margin of Litecoin Mining

What Is Litecoin?

Litecoin is a very popular peer-to-peer Internet currency that anyone can use as a payment method anywhere in the world. This is an open-source global payment network and it is fully decentralized without any central authorities. So, individuals can control their own finances and this is one of the main reasons the popularity of Litecoin is increasing day by day. Compared to other available cryptocurrencies, Litecoin provides faster transaction confirmation times and improved storage efficiency.

What Is Litecoin Mining?

Litecoin mining is the process by which new Litecoin comes into circulation. Litecoin mining is a great way to make a profit as well as support the cryptocurrency community. Litecoin mining is a bit different from Bitcoin mining and there are different ways available to mine Litecoin. They are:

Solo Mining: If you buy your own mining rig and don’t share any of the responsibilities with other people then it is called solo mining. The advantage of solo mining is you don’t have to share the mining rewards with anyone else. However, if you have a limited budget then solo mining might be difficult for you because it requires some investment.

Mining Pool: If the cost of solo mining is too much of a risk for you then you can join a mining pool and start mining Litecoin. In the Mining pool, miners share resources and mine Bitcoin together. Moreover, here you will have a greater chance to get the block reward compared to solo mining.

Cloud Mining: If you are new to mining and don’t want to spend lots of money on expensive equipment then cloud mining will be the right option for you. Here you have to pay money for a Litecoin mining rig and the rig will do all the work. You only need a computer to cloud mine Litecoin.

Is Litecoin Mining Worth It?

The profit of Litecoin mining completely depends on your cost barrier to entry. For example, if you already have all the required hardware then your cost will be less and you will be able to generate more profit. On the other hand, if you have to start from scratch then you have to invest more money and it will be difficult for you to make more profit out of Litecoin mining. You have to consider the cost of mining gears because mining gear becomes outdated and inefficient so quickly. Therefore, many investors prefer pool mining. In pool mining, you can buy contracts for affordable fees and join the network with other investors.

Moreover, the profits also depend on your knowledge of cryptocurrency and mining. If you are learning to mine then it will be very difficult for you to keep everything running and you might not be able to tell if your equipment is working at full capacity or it needs more optimization. The geographic location also plays an important role in the profit margin. If you have a low-cost power source then it will boost your profit. So these are some important factors that will determine whether it is worth mining Litecoin or not.

Beginner’s Guide On How To Start Mining Litecoin

If you want to mine bitcoin then you have to use the L3+. Then you have to connect the mining rig to your computer and configure the miner. Then you can solely mine Litecoin or join a mining pool. Keep reading the article to know all the details.

Bitmain’s Antminer L3 Series

This is a very powerful ASIC miner that uses Scrypt to mine Litecoin. ASIC stands for Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, so the L3 series is made solely for mining cryptocurrencies like Litecoin. With L3 you can make around $20-$30 per day despite the rising difficulties and network hash rates. Below I will discuss how you can mine Litecoin with the L3 series.

Set Up The Miner

Usually, an L3+ miner has 9 PCI-e connections. You will find two PCI-e connections on each of the 4 hashing boards, and 1 on the controller. There will be also an Ethernet cable that you have to connect from the L3+ to your router. There is also a power cord available and you have to connect it to the miner. Once you connect the power cord, the miner will power on automatically.

Log In To Miner’s Interface

Once you are done with setting up the miner, the next step is to log in to the miner’s interface. The process is quite simple. Follow the below steps – 

1. First, download the free IP Scanner tool       

2. Once the download is completed, install and run the Angry IP Scanner

3. Next, click “Start” to scan and detect devices on your local network

4. When the scan completes, click “Go to” at the top menu bar and then click “Next alive host”

5. Continue the process until “Antminer” appears in the ‘Hostname’ column

6. Once you find the Hostname, right-click on it and choose “Copy IP”

7. Then paste the IP into your browser’s URL line

8. Now use “root” for both username and password and log in

Choose A Mining Pool

Mining pools are a great way to make constant revenue from the mining rig. So, if you have a limited budget then you can easily join a mining pool. Below I have shown how you can join two different mining pools. Let’s check them out!

1. Prohashing

The best part of this mining pool is, it automatically mines the most profitable coins for each supported algorithm and you get paid in the coin that you choose regardless of what coin you are mining. So, this is a very convenient system and you will be able to make more Litecoins than you could have individually. Moreover, the setup process is very simple for this mining pool. First, you have to log in to your Antminer and then go to the “Miner Configuration” page and enter the following:

a) URL:  prohashing.com:3333

b) WORKER: <enter your ProHashing Account Username here>

c) PASSWORD: n=<WorkerName>, a=<Algorithm to mine>       

2. NiceHash

a) This is also a popular mining pool for Litecoin. Follow the below steps – 

b) First, visit the NiceHash ASIC page

c) From the “SELECT ALGORITHM” drop-down, choose “Scrypt”

d) Then from the “SELECT LOCATION,” choose your region

e) Next, click the “Generate Stratum” button

f) Now you will find an output URL, that might look something like this:

1. stratum+tcp://scrypt.<your_region>.nicehash.com:3333

g) Now, copy the URL and paste it in your 2nd Pool, under your Antminer Miner Configuration tab

FAQs About Is Litecoin Mining Worth It

References:

1. https://www.investopedia.com/tech/how-do-you-mine-litecoin/
2. https://f2pool.io/mining/guides/how-to-mine-litecoin/

Last Updated on October 23, 2022 by Magalie D.