Do you still own an Antminer L3+ and you’re wondering what to do with it? Can you still mine crypto using it?
Let’s find out below.
Best Mining Pool For Antminer L3+?
Suppose you’re planning to start mining crypto, or you’re already an avid crypto miner with an Antminer L3+. You’ll need a mining pool that offers the best opportunity for an upside.
Here’s our list of 4 excellent mining pools for you.
Poolin
Founded in 2017 by Kevin Pan and his team, Poolin is a top private multi-cryptocurrency mining pool in the market. It has a market share of about 12.6%, and most Antminer L3+ miners prefer joining Poolin.
Poolin charges a 2.5% mining fee for most cryptos and uses the PPS payout method to reward miners on its platform. As of this writing, the pool hash rate is 22.91EH/s.
Poolin has an excellent interface with many attractive features for any potential miner. Since its last public attack, Poolin hasn’t fallen victim to any other DDoS attacks and has improved the safety of all participants’ assets.
Moreover, Poolin supports many miners’ simultaneous pool mining of various tokens.
You can use Poolin on your phone or a web application on your PC. Poolin is available on Android and iOS, where you can continue tracking your pool rate, hash rate, and profitability.
Pros
- It has its crypto wallet called Poolin Wallet.
- It supports multiple tokens.
- It can work on more than one device.
Cons
- Not so profitable.
Litecoinpool
Dubbed as the first “perfect Pay Per Share (PPS)” mining pool, the Litecoin pool is a major pioneer in crypto mining. You can merge-mine several cryptocurrencies under Litecoinpool, including Dogecoin, Viacoin, Myriad, and others.
The Litecoin pool is a project of the Litecoin developer Pooler, established in 2011. While Litecoinpool is ideal for Litecoin mining, It also works well with the Antminer L3+ for other cryptos.
Litecoin Pool Runs the TLS-encrypted stratum security fence for users, so you can safely use the mining pool as it forms a trustless environment to mine without fear of intermediary attack.
Also, to enforce security, Litecoinpool has servers in different countries to prevent manipulation. Also, they charge 0% fees for users anywhere in the world.
Litecoinpool keeps data for every miner’s activity for payments, rewards, and more. Their software’s straightforward mining interface allows miners to enjoy seamless activity monitoring on their smartphones and PCs.
Pros
- Easy to use for new users
- Multi-token support.
- It is fast and secure
- It offers faster payouts
Cons
- You can’t use Litecoinpool with CPUs or GPUs.
- The profitability isn’t so rewarding
- It has no recent updates giving it a dull appearance.
NiceHash
NiceHash is a mining company that offers mining pool services with some of the highest hash rates in the crypto world. Besides mining services, NiceHash lets you purchase or sell crypto. Examples of what you can trade include like BTC and ETH.
The NiceHash algorithm is light and allows mining of crypto through GPUs as it eases the computation difficulty. It supports about 15 cryptos and over ten countries globally.
Using NiceHash limits users mining on the NiceHash pool pay maker and taker fees for traders and charge 0.0001BTC withdrawal fees. Also, if you’re using the NiceHash wallet, you’ll have to pay wallet fees.
The NiceHash team offers excellent security for miners by use of the two-factor confirmation function. The second layer of protection helps keep miners’ wallets and assets secure. You’ll receive a text message notification on your orders, among other robust security features.
Pros
- It has excellent stability and better profits.
- It has the best hash rate.
- The smooth learning curve for beginners.
- It offers affiliate programs to increase income for its loyal miners.
- Cheaper fees.
- Availability of a NiceHash crypto wallet.
- Excellent customer support.
Cons
- You can’t mine crypto remotely on long-term investments.
- NiceHash charges steep commissions for miners using different payment methods.
AntPool
The AntPool mining company is a Bitmain Technology project and the makes of Antminer ASICs. AntPool managed to mine its initial cryptocurrency block in early 2014, and the pool continues to get a foothold in the crypto mining sector.
To date, Antpool has several servers worldwide and now supports other tokens like BTM, ZEC, and DASH, among others.
AntPool offers email notifications from accounts and wallet access among users. Also, for security, you can activate two-factor authentication to secure your assets in case you lose your wallet keys.
Unlike most mining pools, AntPool offers three payout methods for miners participating on their platforms. It charges varying fees and payouts as follows;
- Pay Per Share (PPS), charging 2.25% mining fees
- Pay Per Last N Shares (PPLNS) with 0% mining fees.
- Solo miners pay a 1% fee for mining.
Pros
- Exceptional customer care.
- AntPool has many partnerships.
- Easy on transaction fees.
- It’s user-friendly.
- It’s stable and secure.
- Transparent.
Cons
- Hidden transaction fees.
- Minimal payout.
- Payouts are limited to once daily.
Also read: 3 Best Mining Pools For Handshake
How To Choose A Pool
With plenty of options for mining pools in the crypto market today, you may find it daunting to pick one. Each mining pool is unique and appeals to a specific customer base with specific needs.
Depending on your goals, here are some criteria to pick a mining pool from among the hundreds in the market today.
Pool Size
The size of a mining pool is its ability to perform computational tasks.
A large mining pool has higher mining activity. Because it has many participants, it is often significantly profitable and has massive computing ability. Because these are the same thing, smaller pools lack, they may offer lower rewards and take longer to mine blocks.
Larger mining pools are more attractive because they are stable and secure.
Transparency
Finding a transparent mining pool is critical if you want to grow your crypto mining activities and gain more rewards. Always research how your prospective mining pool operates before you join it.
Ensure you clearly understand elements like mining fees, the pool hash rate, and available payout methods. Sometimes, high costs may eat into your returns if you join a mining pool with unclear fee structures and hidden charges.
Payout Scheme
You can use several payout methods to receive rewards once you become an active participant in the mining pool. The most common payout methods include PPS+, PPLNS, PPS, or rewards for solo mining.
Stay away from mining pools with higher payout limits if you’re using a low-grade ASIC miner or CPUs and GPUs. For instance, a policy like PPLNS allows you to receive a payout once you mine a whole block completely. For this reason, small miners may suffer delayed payouts or make minimal profits.
Stability & Security
Whenever possible, opt for a stable and safe mining pool. Stability means no lags in the mining process and that you receive rewards on time.
On the other hand, security is essential to protecting platform block production and any gained crypto assets from unprecedented attacks.
You want a mining pool that can withstand brute-force and DDoS attacks. Also, check online forums and communities for any negative reviews about stability that may need you to know.
Pool Fees
There isn’t a single mining pool entirely free to use. While you may find pools that let you mine for free, they often charge you during the payout process or require you to pay gas fees.
Most pools charge from 0% to 3% for mining and you may pay up to 2% to join the pool.
What Can Antminer L3+ Mine?
The Antminer L3+ is ideal for Scrypt-based cryptocurrencies. Here are examples of the coins you can mine with the Bitmain mining hardware:
- Litecoin (LTC).
- DigiByte (DGB).
- Dogecoin (DOGE).
- Verge (XVG).
- Emerald (EMD).
- Gulden (NLG).
- Auroracoin (AUR).
- Gamecredits (GAME).
Is Antminer L3+ Still Profitable?
It’s no longer profitable to mine with the Antminer L3+ ASIC today. You’ll spend more on utility costs like electricity than you make daily.
As of this writing, mining crypto with the Antminer L3+ will incur a daily loss of $0.98. Miners using this ASIC generate an optimum daily income of $1.32 against a power consumption of $2.30.
You can use software like Hiveon to reduce power consumption to below 660W while maintaining the 504Mh rate, but that won’t significantly affect your earnings.
Better ASIC miners can give you better returns on investment, like the Bitmain Antminer KA3, which boasts of 166Th, and has a potential for profits of up to $60 and more. However, such ASIC miners are pretty pricey.
Final Thoughts
Although Antminer L3+ is quite old in the mining space, you can still use it to make a few extra bucks. However, it may not be much. Unless you’re just an enthusiast, you’re better off using newer ASICs hardware.
