How to mine ETC
In this post, I briefly describe the ETC blockchain and provide mining tips for those who want to participate.
What is Ethereum Classic?
Before the DAO hack in 2016, there was only one Ethereum blockchain.
After the hack, there were different visions on which way to continue the development.
There was a proposal to roll back the blockchain history to return the stolen DAO tokens.
This proposal split the Ethereum community.
After many debates and negotiations, the blockchain was forked in two.
The Ethereum (ETH) blockchain released a hard fork to compensate the DAO holders.
The Ethereum Classic
community took the approach that "restored money is not money" and continued forward.
On December 11th, 2017, the total supply of Ether (ETC) on Ethereum Classic was hard capped at 210,700,000 ETC via the Gotham hard fork. The ETC emission is reduced by 20% every 5,000,000 blocks. The current block reward of 2.56 ETC will be reduced to 2.048 ETC in mid-2024.ETC emission schedule
| Date | 5M20 Era | Block | Block Reward | Total Era Emission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-07-30 | Era 1 | 1 | 5 ETC | 25,000,000 ETC |
| 2017-12-11 | Era 2 | 5,000,001 | 4 ETC | 20,000,000 ETC |
| 2020-03-17 | Era 3 | 10,000,001 | 3.2 ETC | 16,000,000 ETC |
| 2022-04-15 | Era 4 | 15,000,001 | 2.56 ETC | 12,800,000 ETC |
| 2024-05-07 | Era 5 | 20,000,001 | 2.048 ETC | 10,240,000 ETC |
Mining ETC
ETC uses the Etchash algorithm, which is almost the same as Ethash. The difference is that Etchash includes an enhancement that enables mining with smaller (4 GB memory) graphics cards, allowing more miners to participate.
ETC Wallet
If you do not have an Ethereum wallet, you should obtain one. There are many applications you can use. Visit ETC Wallets to see the list of supported apps. It is also possible to mine directly into an exchange wallet, but remember that the exchange controls that address.
Mining hardware
Mining is most popular with video cards, but it is also possible with ASIC hardware. The difference in performance is not as significant as it is in Bitcoin mining.
Mining software
At the time this post was written, ETC could be mined with a wide variety of applications.
This list highlights some of them without claiming to be complete. Do your own research to find the software that best fits your setup.
| Miner | Source | Dev Fee | Hardware | OS | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhoenixMiner | Closed source | 0.65% | NVIDIA, AMD | Windows/Linux | PhoenixMiner |
| Gminer | Closed source | 1.0% | NVIDIA, AMD | Windows/Linux | gMiner |
| lolMiner | Closed source | 0.7% | NVIDIA, AMD | Windows/Linux | lolMiner |
| Nanominer | Closed source | 1.0% | NVIDIA, AMD | Windows/Linux | Nanominer |
| NBMiner | Closed source | 1.0% | NVIDIA, AMD | Windows/Linux | NBMiner |
| SRBMiner-MULTI | Closed source | 0.65% | AMD | Windows/Linux | SRBMiner-MULTI |
| T-Rex | Closed source | 1.0% | NVIDIA | Windows/Linux | T-Rex |
| Location | SSL | Difficulty | Pool URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 9.00G | http://nushypool.com:40000 | |
| Europe | 9.00G | https://nushypool.com:44000 | |
| North America | 9.00G | http://nushypool.com:40000 | |
| North America | 9.00G | https://nushypool.com:44000 | |
| South America | 9.00G | http://nushypool.com:40000 | |
| South America | 9.00G | https://nushypool.com:44000 | |
| Asia | 9.00G | http://nushypool.com:40000 | |
| Asia | 9.00G | https://nushypool.com:44000 | |
| Africa | 9.00G | http://nushypool.com:40000 | |
| Africa | 9.00G | https://nushypool.com:44000 |
| Location | SSL | Difficulty | Pool URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 9.00G | http://nushypool.com:45000 | |
| Europe | 90.00G | http://nushypool.com:46000 | |
| North America | 9.00G | http://nushypool.com:45000 | |
| North America | 90.00G | http://nushypool.com:46000 | |
| South America | 9.00G | http://nushypool.com:45000 | |
| South America | 90.00G | http://nushypool.com:46000 | |
| Asia | 9.00G | http://nushypool.com:45000 | |
| Asia | 90.00G | http://nushypool.com:46000 | |
| Africa | 9.00G | http://nushypool.com:45000 | |
| Africa | 90.00G | http://nushypool.com:46000 |
To start mining
If Windows suggests that the miners are "potentially unwanted" software, you may need to select the "Allow on device" option in Windows Security settings.
Find the nearest server to your geographic area and ping it. If the ping is under 100 ms, you can consider this server for mining.
$ ping nushypool.comRun the miner. The command line depends on your miner and operating system. For example, to start mining with NBMiner, run:
$ ./nbminer -a etchash -o stratum+tcp://nushypool.com:40000 -u [address].[workername]You can quickly configure your command on our ETC Pool Page and tap the "Start Mining" button.
Good luck!
Yours Max Mustermann
Developer, Miner
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