Mining Litecoin can be an excellent way to generate an income for yourself. It involves committing computer processing power to generate new blocks to earn rewards.
But how easy is it to mine Litecoin? Lets find out more about that below.
Is Litecoin Easy To Mine?
Compared to Bitcoin, Litecoin is easy to mine.
It takes two and a half minutes to mine a block on Litecoin. That’s much faster than its predecessor, Bitcoin, which confirms its blocks within 10 minutes.
Also, Litecoin’s Scrypt algorithm is more efficient for mining.
However, as the halving process continues with time, it becomes harder to mine Litecoin.
LTC halves its rewards after every 840,000 blocks and the next halving is expected in 2023. As a miner, upgrading your equipment is the only way to keep mining Litecoin.
Is It Worth It To Mine Litecoin?
Yes. With the right set of equipment and knowledge, it is rewarding to mine LTC.
You can use your mined LTC to make payments through the Litecoin network. Also, you can use it as a store of value.
At the current hash rate of 9500MH/s, you will earn approximately $70 to produce 12.5 LTC.
Although expensive to start, it’s potentially profitable to mine Litecoin long term. Profitability fluctuates with time because of the difficulty level of mining.
Learn more: Is Litecoin A Stablecoin?
Is It Easier To Mine Litecoin Than Bitcoin?
It’s easier to mine Litecoin than it is to mine Bitcoin.
Although they both use the PoW consensus mechanism to mine new blocks, they employ varying cryptographic algorithms. Here are some differences that make it less burdensome to mine Litecoin.
Hashing Algorithm
Unlike Bitcoin, which uses the SHA-256 hashing algorithm, Litecoin uses the Scrypt algorithm, which is more straightforward and less resource-intensive.
The algorithm increases efficiency while reducing dependence on GPUs.
Learn more: Can You Mine Litecoin With GPU?
Hardware and Software
The Litecoin Scrypt algorithm requires fewer resources compared to Bitcoin. You can download Litecoin to your computer and start mining. You need certain types of mining rigs for mining Bitcoin.
Time required to mine 1 Block
As of now, Litecoin requires 2.5 minutes of block time to confirm and process a block of LTC, while you need 10 minutes to ensure and mine a block of Bitcoin.
How Long Does It Take To Mine 1 Litecoin Block?
It takes two and a half minutes for the Litecoin network to produce a new block of LTC.
The reward of mining a Litecoin block dropped after the initial halving of rewards from 25 LTC to 12.5LTC in August 2019.
The next planned halving process will occur in August 2023, reducing the reward per block from 12.5 LTC to 6.25 LTC.
With the continuous reduction of rewards per block, several other factors determine the time to mine 1 Litecoin block. Such factors include;
- Your hardware and software,
- The difficulty of mining a block of Litecoin
- The amount of reward per block of LTC
How Many Litecoins Are Left?
At the time of this writing, there are 13,687,631 Litecoin left to reach 80 Million. The current number of 70,312,369 LTC in circulation.
Learn more: Is Litecoin A Fork Of Bitcoin?
How To Mine Litecoin?
There is no significant difference between mining Litecoin and Bitcoin. You need a computer to help solve the complex numerical procedures for both cryptocurrencies.
Here are the steps for mining Litecoin:
Invest in Litecoin Mining Hardware
You can use standard computers to mine Litecoin. However, to ramp up mining capacity, most LTC miners resolve to buy rigs.
A Rig has more processing power to solve complex mathematical problems faster.
Although expensive, they’re effective for when the mining difficulty increases. The most common rigs in the market are the Application-Specific-Integrated-Circuits (ASICs).
Ensure the mining rigs you buy can run the Scrypt algorithm.
Download and Install Mining Software
After purchasing your ASIC, you’ll need Litecoin mining software linking you to the LTC blockchain. This software shares tasks among miners and introduces the new blocks to the blockchain.
Today, you can find many easy-to-use software programs for beginners and advanced versions for pro-miners.
Join a Mining group
The easiest way to mine Litecoin as a beginner is to find a group of miners working together to receive rewards for mining Litecoin, aka a mining pool.
A pool acts as one collective supercomputer where the effort of individual small miners competes with large firms to solve the mathematical puzzles and create an entire block.
As part of the pool for small miners, you stand a better chance of receiving rewards through collective mining.
Most pools charge a small fee to join. Before choosing a mining pool, check through them and weigh fees and consistency in their mining patterns.
Pools guarantee your continuous rewards off mining Litecoin, but you will receive fewer rewards per portion of a block as you contribute compared to if you mined by yourself.
Begin Mining
You have the tools and knowledge to start the mining process by this time.
You have a working computer, picked your preferred software, and joined a pool that offers excellent mining frequencies. You can now connect the hardware to the Litecoin blockchain and start taking part in building new blocks for the LTC network.
Ensure that you have a formal Litecoin wallet with your payout details to receive rewards from the operators.
Other Coins That Are Easy To Mine:
With improved mining consensus algorithms, more coins are easier to mine.
Unlike before, over 5 mining algorithms are faster, easier, and more eco-friendly than Bitcoin’s Proof of Work consensus mechanism. We’ll list our top 5 easy to mine coins together with the used mining method.
- Ethereum Classic (ETC)
- Zcash (ZEC)
- Solana (SOL)
- Monero (XMR)
- Cosmos (ATOM)
Learn more: 8 Best Mining Pools For Solana
Final Thoughts
Litecoin is a lucrative crytpocurrency to mine, if you have the right equipment.
Halving makes the mining process more difficult, but with updated equipment you can earn rewards. You can also join mining pools and gain an upside for mining multiple blocks with peers.
