At the time writing of this article (28th of December), 1 Bitcoin is worth exactly 26,630.70 $ (19,722.56 £) and rising fast. Most of us may be thinking, how worth is it to mine a Bitcoin or to be part of the cryptocurrency trend? Let's briefly investigate the Bitcoin mining process.
How much energy consuming is it to mine a Bitcoin block?
As for now, it takes an average period of 10 minutes to mine a Bitcoin block (worth 6.25 Bitcoins). This means that from all the miners around the world, there will be only one miner who will manage to solve the cryptocurrency puzzle in 10 minutes. Then, in the following 10 minutes, another puzzle will be generated, and the process repeats. This means that per day, 900 Bitcoins on average will be generated. The power generated is also enormous and with an ASIC miner, will require you about 72 Terawatts to mine 1 Bitcoin block. To answer the question, it's lots of energy consumption and in most cases, you will end up with a net loss of profit. However, this varies from region to region depending on the electricity costs.
For that reason, many newcomers in the cryptocurrency mining trend are discouraged due to lack of resources. Setting up your personal computer to mine Bitcoins, will almost certainly lead your computer to overheat and if in unimaginable scenario your personal computer manages to not overheat, you will barely manage to mine a single Bitcoin in your lifetime.
For this reason, newcomers are encouraged to look for alternative options when it comes to joining the cryptocurrency trend.
Are there any alternative options?
Yes! Back in March 2019, a new experimental project under the name of pi(π) network was launched by PhD students in Stanford university with the idea of building secure, immutable, non-counterfeitable and interoperable digital money. The good news? Everyone who has a phone can start mining Pi hoping that their amount of Pi coins will worth something in the very near future. This means that right now, by the time writing this article, 1 Pi equals 0$. Keep in mind that Bitcoin was also 0$ when it started back in 2009 and during the first years after it entered the exchange market, 1 Bitcoin was worth below 10$ and now it's worth more than 20K$.
How likely is for Pi to succeed as a cryptocurrency?
Looks promising. As for December 2020 there are more than 10M pioneers and the user base steadily growing from around the globe. This implies that there are more than 10 million pi miners. Of course, don't take the promises from the team to granted. There is no guarantee that the project will ever become a cryptocurrency and be tradable. However, with the rise of the pioneers it gives promises that it could become a cryptocurrency by sometime in 2021. Keep in mind that the exchange rate will be very low at the start so it will most likely take years to climb the ranks.
Is Pi network a scam?
As far as I have read, it doesn't look like to be a scam. The whole project is new meaning that there are lots of uncertain scenarios. I would personally highly advice anyone to join at their own risk. Though it seems to be unlikely to happen, I will still not be responsible for any damages caused.
How does it work?
The way the miner works, is by using the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) meaning that no battery will consumed in your phone while the miner is active. You may even turn off WIFI and force quit the app, the miner will still be active. Please remember to not logout from the app while the miner session is running (24 hour session).
There are 4 types of users:
- Pioneer. A user of the Pi mobile app who is simply confirming that they are not a “robot” on a daily basis. They use the app for transaction purposes (as soon as it becomes a cryptocurrency).
- Contributor. A user of the Pi mobile app who is contributing by providing a list of pioneers he or she knows and trusts.
- Ambassador. A user of the Pi mobile app who is introducing other users into Pi network.
- Node. A user who is a pioneer, a contributor using the Pi mobile app, and is also running the Pi node software on their desktop or laptop computer.
For a full detailed description on how the project works, please refer to the official Pi Network Website.
Can I still join?
Yes, now it's the perfect time to join. According to pi Network, every new member can earn 0.1 Pi coins per hour. However, the rate will not last forever as the rate is expected to halve when the userbase reaches 100M and so every new pioneer after that milestone, will be earning 0.05 pi coins per hour. When the userbase reaches 1B, the rate will drop to 0.
How do I get started with mining Pi?
It's very easy. First you need to download the free app (available both for Android and iOS) from the official pi network website by using this link. It will direct you to the following page.
Alternatively, you can download the app from either App Store or Google Play store. It should be the first result if you type "pi network" in the search area.
Once you download the app, you will need to register by choosing one of the following options.
Once you do that, you will have to verify your phone number if you choose to verify yourself with a number.
Please remember to provide your real name as you will have to prove your identity when pi becomes exchangeable. If you fail to do so, all your pi coins will be deleted. The final registration step is to put a referral code to start mining pi coins. In this case, use georgeka12 as shown below.
Once you join, you will see a lightning symbol on the right. Click on it to start mining! As for now, you will be earning 0.12 pi coins per hour (the extra 0.02 comes from the earning team).
Great! Now your phone is mining Pi coins in the background. The cool news? You don't need WIFI nor the app open to mine. However, remember that you will need to open the app every 24 hours to re-enable the miner. The miner will automatically be disabled after. 24 hours. A good idea would be to set a reminder every 24 hours to re-enable the miner at a specific time.
This is the first time I have ever covered about cryptocurrency and I would like to hear from you. What's your opinion about cryptocurrency and are you looking forward using Pi Network? Please drop your thoughts below!
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