A Beginner's Guide To Cryptocurrencies.

On Monday 22nd May 2017, the day was marked as the seventh anniversary of what is said to be the first recorded instance of bitcoin used in a real world transaction. Over the course of seven years, bitcoin's value has multiplied 879,999 times over since 2010. If an investor had decided to spend five dollars back then on about 2,000 bitcoins, that stake would be worth $4.4 million today. With $1,200 spent on some 480,000 bitcoins, the investor would be worth at least $1.1 billion today. So this article is going to teach you the basics towards mining, buying and selling different Cryptocurrencies. Enjoy

Is It Worth It to Mine Cryptocoins?
As a hobby venture, yes, cryptocoin mining can generate a small income of perhaps a dollar or two per day. In particular, Litecoins, Dogecoins, and Feathercoins are very accessible for regular people to mine, and a person can recoup $1000 in hardware costs in about 18-24 months.

As a second income, no, cryptocoin mining is not a reliable way to make substantial money for most people. The profit from mining cryptocoins only becomes significant when someone is willing to invest $3000-$5000 in up-front hardware costs, at which time you could potentially earn $50 per day or more.

Now, there is a small chance that Litecoins, Dogecoins, or Feathercoins will jump in value alongside Bitcoin at some point. Then, possibly, you could find yourself sitting on thousands of dollars in cryptocoins. Note: the emphasis here is on 'small chance', with small meaning 'slightly better than winning the lottery'.

If you do decide to try cryptocoin mining, definitely do so as a hobby with a very small income return. Think of it as 'gathering gold dust' instead of collecting actual gold nuggets.

If your objective is to earn substantial money as a second income, then you are better off purchasing cryptocoins with cash instead of mining them, and then tucking them away in the hopes that they will jump in value like gold or silver bullion. If your objective is to make a few digital bucks and spend them somehow, then you just might have a slow way to do that with mining.

How Cryptocoin Mining Works

This brief tutorial below is written for beginning miners who want to keep up-front costs to less than a thousand dollars. This tutorial focuses on mining 'scrypt' coins, namely Litecoins, Dogecoins, or Feathercoins.

The whole focus of mining is to accomplish three things:

• Provide bookkeeping services to the coin network. Mining is essentially 24/7 computer accounting called 'verifying transactions'.
• Get paid a small reward for your accounting services by receiving fractions of coins every couple of days.
• Keep your personal costs down, including electricity and hardware.

The Laundry List: What You Will Need to Mine Cryptocoins
You will need 10 things to mine Litecoins, Dogecoins, and / or Feathercoins.

• A free private database called a coin wallet. This is a password-protected container that stores your earnings and keeps a network-wide ledger of transactions.
• A free mining software package made up of cgminer and stratum.
• A membership in an online mining pool, which is a community of miners who combine their computers to increase profitability and income stability.
• Membership at an online currency exchange, where you can exchange your virtual coins for conventional cash, and vice versa.
• A reliable full time internet connection, ideally 2 megabits per second or faster speed.
• A hardware setup location in your basement or other cool and air-conditioned space.
• A desktop or custom-built computer designed for mining. Yes, you may use your current computer to start, but you won't be able to use the computer while the miner is running. A separate dedicated computer is ideal. Tip: Do not use a laptop, gaming console or handheld device to mine. These devices are not effective enough to generate income.
• An ATI graphics processing card (GPU) or a specialized processing device called a mining ASIC chip. The cost will be anywhere from $90 used to $3000 new for each GPU or ASIC chip. The GPU or ASIC will be the workhorse of providing the accounting services and mining work.
• A house fan to blow cool air across your mining computer. Mining generates substantial heat, and cooling the hardware is critical for your success.
• Personal curiosity. You absolutely need a strong appetite for reading and constant learning, as there are ongoing technology changes and new techniques for optimizing coin mining results. The most successful coin miners spend hours every week studying the best ways to adjust and improve their coin mining performance.