Mining of the most popular coins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin became industrial in 2019-20. When mining these cryptocurrencies, special equipment is used - integrated circuits such as ASIC, which makes mining on a regular video card extremely difficult.
In the fight against ASICs, developers are creating new algorithms that are resistant to them, so that ordinary users can engage in mining without any special costs. One such coin is the Zcash (ZEC) cryptocurrency.
In today's material we will talk about mining Zcash, what equipment is needed, and also tell you how to start mining Zcash, set up the program and correctly calculate profitability using the Zcash calculator.
- How to mine Zcash
- Zcash Mining: What You Need to Know
- Necessary equipment
- Zcash (ZEC) Calculator
- Profitability of mining ZEC
- Setting up Zcash mining
- ZCash mining pools
- Features of settings and programs for mining Zcash Windows
- Linux
Zcash Mining: What You Need to Know
How to mine Zcash
The Zcash cryptocurrency is built on confidentiality, and its network is based on zk-SNARKs technology, which displays the minimum amount of user data when entering information into the blockchain.
When mining Zcash, the Equihash cryptocurrency algorithm is used, and the blockchain itself operates using the Proof-of-Work protocol. Blocks of 2 MB in size are created every 2.5 minutes, which is four times faster than Bitcoin’s process. At the moment, the reward is 10 ZEC and will be halved every 4 years, starting in 2016. That is, the first reduction is planned for 2022.
The most important difference between Zcash and other coins based on the PoW protocol is its resistance to ASIC miners. This is achieved by the high requirements of the ZEC algorithm for RAM, which makes this cryptocurrency an excellent option for miners who use video cards for mining.
As for the zk-SNARKS technology, its name stands for zero-knowledge Succinct Non-interactive Arguments of Knowledge. To put it simply, zk-SNARKs are a technology based on “zero-knowledge proof.” It allows you to confirm a transaction without disclosing its details. When a transaction enters the blockchain, information about the sender, recipient and amount is encrypted.
Operating system PiMP
In addition to specialized software, miners have the opportunity to use an operating system image developed specifically for cryptocurrency mining. It's called Portable Instant Mining Platform, or simply PiMP. It is a simple system with its own graphical interface. It is recommended to install it on a portable SSD with a memory capacity of at least 16 GB. Moreover, a flash drive will not work due to intensive data rewriting, and an external HDD will not work due to low speed.
The OS supports the most common mining algorithms and developers are constantly adding new ones. PiMP also works with AMD and NVidia video cards. The preliminary configuration has already been completed by the developer. The mining rig is connected to the SSD with the image and you can work. The cost of the mining OS is $30.
Necessary equipment
Equipment for mining Zcash
As is the case with other cryptocurrencies based on the Proof-Of-Work protocol, video cards from Nvidia and AMD of the GTX 10X0 and RX/Vega family, respectively, are suitable for mining Zcash. At the same time, it is generally accepted that when mining ZEC, preference should be given to “green” ones.
As for the equipment in general, for comfortable Zcash mining you will need:
- Personal computer with Windows 7 or higher operating system. In this case, the OS must be 64-bit;
- RAM from 4 GB, the higher the better;
- Video card with a memory capacity of 3 GB or more. In this case, weak cards with 1-2 GB are also suitable, but the profitability of such GPUs will be significantly lower;
- A processor whose model is absolutely unimportant;
- Good cooling system;
- Latest drivers for GPU.
Of course, the income from Zcash mining will be higher if you assemble a mining farm. To do this, to the above points you need to add a good motherboard for 2 or more video cards. However, let's take a closer look at choosing a GPU.
Since today neither Nvidia nor AMD offer new models with very different hashrates, well-known models are well suited for Zcash mining.
In the Nvidia line for ZEC mining, you can pay attention to the GTX 1050 Ti (18 Kh/s), 1060 (20 Kh/s) and 1070 (28 Kh/s). At the same time, the GTX 1080 Ti produces the highest hashrate, but due to its high cost, it will take about 2.5 years to recover.
As mentioned above, AMD video cards are not the best option for Zcash mining. Even at the same cost, “red” GPUs produce a lower hashrate, which means that preference should be given to Nvidia. Let's look at the profitability using the example of “green video cards”.
conclusions
- Zcash is easily exchanged for Bitcoin, so altcoin is considered an easy way to earn Bitcoin assets.
- Zcash is considered an easy option for exchanging cryptocurrencies for fiat.
- It is not advisable to mine crypto solo.
- Zcash is considered a fairly expensive altcoin; in 2022, the cost of 1 coin reached $400.
- Cloud-mining and mining in pools are the most cost-effective options for obtaining Zcash.
- The payback on the GeForce GTX 1080 Ti video card is about 1.8 years.
- The most popular pools: Nicehash, Flypool, Dwarfpool, Nanopool.
Zcash (ZEC) Calculator
Zcash calculator
To calculate your future earnings, you can use one of the Zcash mining calculators. In this case, the Rubin Mining Calculator is suitable, since it allows you to calculate the income when mining using the Equihash algorithm.
For calculations, we recommend another Zcash mining calculator at the link.
Algorithm
Different hashing algorithms are used to mine cryptocurrencies. For example, for bitcoin it is Sha-256, for ethereum it is ethash. Each of them has its own pros and cons.
Zcash uses the Equihash algorithm . It requires a lot of RAM.
Equihash does not allow mining using ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) - special equipment for mining . But Equihash supports GPU and CPU mining.
Now it takes 2 and a half minutes to search for a new block in the zcash network. The reward is around 12.5 ZEC.
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Profitability of mining ZEC
When mining ZEC on an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti video card, which costs about $167, the annual income will be $448. That is, the cost of the GPU will be recovered in about six months.
Moreover, if we take into account the GTX 1070, then the income for the year will be $697. But its price is much higher - about $500. Of course, it will only last for about a year, but for the same price you can get three GTX 1050 with a total hashrate of 56 Kh/s and annual earnings of $1,395.
Profitability from mining Zcash on GTX 1050 Ti
// Source: 2CryptoCalc
However, do not forget that these calculations were made without taking into account the cost of electricity, as well as equipment maintenance and mining pool fees. Solo mining of Zcash is unprofitable, especially if we are not talking about a farm, but about one video card.
Don’t forget about fluctuations in the exchange rate, due to which earnings can completely disappear or, on the contrary, jump. At its peak, the price of ZEC reached $876, but now the price is around $50.
Profitability
Before you start mining, it is better to calculate its profitability. You can do this on the Whattomine resource.
To do this, on the resource website in the coin section we find zec.
Next, we indicate the level of hashrates, electricity consumption and its cost per kilowatt, commission, and click on Calculate.
Whattomine will calculate your profitability and tell you approximately how much you can earn.
If Whattomine is not enough, you can use two more similar resources: Coinwarz and Mycryptobuddy.
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Setting up Zcash mining
How to set up ZEC mining
First of all, to set up normal and uninterrupted Zcash mining, you need to change several Windows settings.
- Turn off sleep mode. To do this, go to the “Setting up a power plan” section.
- Change the paging file size to 16 GB. Usually the value here is lower.
- Disable automatic system updates.
- Since some antiviruses do not accept any kind of miners well, it is worth adding the downloaded program to the exceptions.
Next, you need to create a wallet to receive coins. Both the official Zcash client and other options are suitable for this - web wallets such as Jaxx, hardware wallets - Ledger, Trezor, and simply a public key (address) generated on the exchange.
Initially, Zcash mining was designed for the Linux operating system, but programs have now appeared for Windows. Unlike Grin mining, you don’t need to enter a dozen commands to start mining on Linux, unless, of course, we are talking about CPU mining.
Yes, Zcash mining on a processor is available through Linux, and we will look at this option a little later.
Characteristics of gtx 1070
This series of graphics adapters is considered quite outdated, but since it is not very expensive and quite productive, many users often purchase it for their farms.
Let's look further at the Gtx 1070 video adapters, how efficient they are in mining and how to overclock them. Gtx 1070 setup for mining will require some time.
GTX 1070 Geforce technical parameters:
- GDDR5 video memory - 8 GB;
- frequency - 1683 MHz;
- GPU Pascal architecture;
- shader core blocks GP104 – 1920;
- ROP – 64;
- transistors - 7.2 billion;
- base/maximum frequency of the graphics processor - 1503/1683 MHz;
- memory - 8000 MHz;
- performance - up to 8000 Gbit/s;
- power consumption - 180 W;
- Suitable for Windows 7/8/10, Linux, Free BSD and Solaris.
The general specifications for all GTX 1070 are similar, but some have better overclocking. Let's look further at those gtx 1070 that are better suited for crypto mining and talk about the settings for mining in detail.
ZCash mining pools
Pools for ZCash mining
As mentioned above, it is not profitable to mine Zcash solo, which means that another important point that should be completed before downloading and launching the program is choosing a pool.
In total, we can recommend the five most popular pools that work stably over a long time:
- Flypool is probably one of the most popular Zcash mining pools. The total hashrate is 432 Mh/s. At the moment, more than 15,000 miners are connected to it. The commission is 1% and the minimum payout is 0.001 ZEC. The pool operates according to the PPLNS payment system;
- F2pool is also a reliable resource located in China. It has a high commission - 5%. The total hashrate is 5083 Msol/s. Payment system – PPS, minimum withdrawal – 0.1 ZEC;
- Nanopool is not the most popular, but reliable pool with a hashrate of 44,683 Ksol/s. On average, about 5 blocks are mined per day. Works under the PPLNS system, and the minimum withdrawal is 0.01 ZEC;
- 2Miners is a reliable pool with a hashrate of 17.42 Ms/s. Works on the PPLNS or SOLO system. The commission in the pool is 1%, in solo – 1.5%. Minimum payout – 0.01 ZEC;
- SuprNova is a European pool with a hashrate of 3465 Ksol/s. Works using the PPLNS system with a commission of 1%. The minimum withdrawal is 0.001 ZEC.
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Zcash mining pool: review 2Miners
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Nanopool review: setting up a mining pool
Technical support
Technical support service from 8 to 24 helps with resolving issues
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Create a wallet
Bitcoin mining on your phone
If you want to gain experience and learn how to drill, try mining on your phone. Performance will be comparable to what the central processor can offer, no more. However, this is not the worst way to spend your free time and learn something new. At the very least, you can figure out whether such an activity attracts you, how much it attracts you, and whether it is worth investing any resources in it. Or just have a little fun, take a closer look and limit yourself to this mining experience.
Features of settings and programs for mining Zcash
Windows
Today, the most popular program on the Windows operating system for mining ZEC is EWBF Miner, which is tailored for Nvidia video cards. Good programs are also Genoil Miner, Claymore's Zcash AMD GPU Miner, CUDA EquiHash Miner, Nicehash EQM Miner and others. But we will consider EWBF and the Flypool pool.
First, download the latest version of the miner from BitcoinTalk using the link provided above. The program is downloaded not as an application, but as an archive and represents a set of files. Files with the .bat extension are used for configuration.
Unzipped archive from EWBF
EWBF is convenient because the downloaded file already contains settings for some pools - Flypool, Nanopool, SuprNova. Since we chose Flypool, we need to change it before we start. To do this, right-click on the fypool file and click “edit”.
Open .bat file
Here we only change the wallet address, inserting our own and the name of the rig, previously received when registering on the pool website. That’s it, after this the Zcash mining setup is completed, and if everything is done correctly, then all that remains is to launch the file by clicking on it with the left mouse button.
Launched EWBF miner
If you have chosen a different pool, then just download the program from the link above and enter any .bat. Before this, you need to go to your pool website and find the settings - server name and port. Let's say you decide to change the fypool. Instead of “eu1-zcash.flypool.org” indicated there, write the address of your pool, and instead of “3333” write the port of your pool. Then you also insert the wallet address and change the rig name if necessary.
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Read the Flypool hotel review on our website
Detailed video instructions can be viewed below:
How to start mining Zcash through a pool
Linux
Although setting up a miner on Linux is somewhat different from Windows, mainly in that it goes through the terminal, it is not as difficult as it seems. With this, again, the already familiar program will help us - EWBF CUDA Zcash Miner.
Its main advantage is that after downloading the archive, there is no need to delve into the settings for a long time, enter commands into the terminal, and so on. And so, again go to the Bitcointalk website and download the version for Linux.
After unpacking, open the vi miner.cfg file and edit it. Here you need to enter the address of the pool you intend to join, username and password (if necessary). Accordingly, we look for the lines – Server, port, user and pass, and enter the values we need.
Miner config, in which we change the settings to our own
After that, click save, left-click on the miner and launch it by entering the command ./miner. The program will read the data we saved from the config and start working.
Running miner on Linux
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We recommend: Nicehash - a simple program for beginners to get acquainted with mining
Installing the miner
At the beginning of the material, we mentioned that the era of complex settings with a lot of variables is becoming a thing of the past and pools offer the use of pre-configured software for work.
The best, according to most miners, is EWBF Zcash Miner.
Important! There is a lot of information about the zetcash miner on the Internet. For the most part, reviews and descriptions contain up-to-date information, but the links that suggest downloading the miner can lead the user to downloading fraudulent or modified programs that send funds to other wallets and in other ways that deceive customers.
The way out of this situation is to download the EWBF Zcash Miner from the corresponding BitcoinTalk forum thread or resources that have a high level of customer trust.
Another point that is important to pay attention to is the reaction of the antivirus to downloading the miner.
Software for generating netcash, like other cryptocurrencies, is often blocked by antiviruses and firewalls and must be added to the list of exceptions before downloading.
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How to mine Zcash on a CPU
Mining Zcash on a processor
And now let's move on to the most difficult, but, unfortunately, not the most profitable business - mining Zcash on a processor. To do this, we will use the Nicehash mining pool, where you must first register.
So, the first thing you can do is open the system monitor, so that at the end of the process it will be easier and faster to track whether the miner has started based on the CPU load. After that, open the terminal.
Now let's begin the process of installing and configuring the miner. First, enter the following command into the terminal: sudo apt-get install cmake build-essential libboost-all-dev
First command in terminal
With its help, we install all the necessary packages or update them. Next, we clone Nicehash Miner from Github using the command: git clone -b Linux https://github.com/nicehash/nheqminer.git and wait until all the files are downloaded.
Second command in terminal
After we see that everything is ready, insert the following text to enter the directory: cd nheqminer/cpu_xenoncat/Linux/asm/
Third command in terminal
Next, enter: sh assemble.sh
The fourth command in the terminal
Next, to go to the previous folder, enter: cd ../../../Linux_cmake/nheqminer_cpu_xenoncat
Fifth command in the terminal
After that, enter cmake . and wait while the program compiles.
Sixth command in the terminal
Now enter: cmake. and wait until the miner compiles. Then we insert: make -j $(nproc) and wait again, this process will take a little longer than the previous ones.
Seventh command in the terminal
Almost done. Now paste the following: ./nheqminer_cpu_xenoncat -l equihash.eu.nicehash.com:3357 -u wallet_address_Zcash.Linux -t 2
Eighth command in the terminal
Note that the server and port must be checked on the nicehash website itself. Also, after the Zcash wallet address you specified, “Linux” is a worker that will be different from this one, since ours is just for example. -t2 is the number of processor cores that will be used for mining.
Running miner
After we entered the last command, press the Enter key and that’s it, Zcash mining is started, and in the system monitor we should observe the corresponding load on the central processor.
CPU load after starting the miner
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We recommend the article: Mining on a processor: the best CPU models and how to choose the right one
Overclocking gtx 1070 and reducing energy costs
When making 1070 settings for mining, it is better to immediately give the equipment maximum power. You need to install the latest drivers from the Nvidia website and do proper high-quality overclocking. For Nvidia components, overclocking can be done using the official NVIDIAInspector utility. The program will install all the necessary overclocking parameters. You just need to fix the starting .bat file.
And it is better to do the msi 1070 settings for mining in another program. In msi afterburner 1070, the mining setting has some features. In MSI Afterburner, you cannot set the core voltage to 800 mV, overclocking can be unstable and you need to manually enter the parameters necessary for your video card in the .bat file. By installing 1070 ti afterburner mining settings you can make it faster and more efficient. The 1070 ti mining settings are similar to the 1070, usually the difference in parameters is about 8% (the 1070ti mining setting requires setting higher values). For 1070 mining, setting up via msi afterburner is even simpler and more accurate. For the most popular 1070 8gb cards, we have analyzed all the settings for mining in detail and presented them in tables.
If the computer is unstable with the settings set, you need to try lowering them; in production it will be almost unnoticeable.
Downvolting on hive os
It is better to overclock and configure a 1070 card for mining in hive os, by increasing the Power limit and core overclocking (for example, up to 170 MHz), the memory frequency can be set to approximately 800 Hz, consumption by 125 W - and you can get a hashrate of 28.5 MHS/s. Overclocking 1070 ti settings for mining in raveos can be done in the same way; selecting parameters here is more convenient than in Windows. Overclocking is carried out for each card individually by enumerating the values of key parameters. For all 1070 video cards, mining settings are made according to a standard template.
