Mining Litecoin (LTC) is a great way to put your computer to use and earn some income. The digital currency is one of the easiest cryptocurrencies to mine at home. It’s also less volatile than many other altcoins.
Just about anyone can take a crack at mining cryptocurrency. To mine Litecoin, you need Litecoin mining hardware and the necessary software. This article will look at the best software and hardware for mining Litecoin.
Best Litecoin Mining Hardware
To profitably mine Litecoin, you need hardware equipment—an ASIC miner. You’ll also need a computer that works with that hardware and the right software to mine LTC. Litecoin, like Ethereum and Bitcoin, can no longer be mined using a simple CPU. ASIC miners have higher hashing power, are easy to install, and are considered the best LTC mining hardware. Here are the best Litecoin ASIC miners.
Antminer Series
Antminers are powerful hardware primarily built to mine cryptocurrency. The Antminer L3++, for example, is one of the most popular and cost-effective ASICs.
The Scrypt algorithm mining equipment can mine Litecoin with a hash rate of 580MH/s for a power consumption of 942W. Note that if you don’t have access to powerful hardware, you can always cloud mine LTC.
The small-sized machine is easy to set up, making it an ideal choice to mine LTC at home. A new miner costs about $1,550, though you can buy second-hand or refurbished Antminers for relatively low prices. Older ASICs, however, tend to be less energy-efficient with reduced processing capabilities, making it difficult to turn a profit.
FutureBit Apollo LTC Pod
The LTC Pod is a standalone miner that doesn’t require an external computer to operate. The Scrypt miner is designed with the home user in mind. It has a custom-built cold-forged aluminum pin heatsink for unrivaled cooling capabilities. It also features low fan speeds and is one of the quietest ASIC miners. Plus, it doesn’t generate much heat like a traditional ASIC.
The miner delivers up to 135 MH/s of Scrypt performance with up to 200W of power consumption. This makes it a good choice in areas where electricity is expensive.
The LTC Pod standard version costs about $375, with the latest Batch 3 featuring support for a Full Litecoin Node. In addition, the miner is upgradable and can be reused with a board upgrade.
Best Litecoin Mining Software
After getting the right mining hardware, the next step is Litecoin mining software. Keep in mind that if you’re mining using an ASIC miner, your hardware will likely come with pre-installed mining software.
There are many mining programs to help you mine LTC effectively, some with unique features like inbuilt cryptocurrency wallets. Here are three of the most popular options.
Cgminer
Cgminer is a free Litecoin mining software and is easily the best Litecoin miner out there. The popular software is compatible with various operating systems, including Linux, Windows, and macOS.
The program is open source, making it easy for miners to verify the software codes. Its features include remote interface capabilities, overclocking, and monitoring.
The ASIC, GPU, and FPGA miner is highly customizable, working via a command-line interface. The software has simple keyboard commands for changing settings, like detecting new hardware, enabling verbose mode, and controlling fan speed. It also has a menu for self-detecting new blocks with a mini database for failing longpoll scenarios.
Download: Cgminer for Windows, Mac, and Linux (Free)
MultiMiner
MultiMiner is a simple LTC mining software with an intuitive graphical interface. The program is also free to download and use. The Software is easy to set up, compatible with Linux and macOS, and highly optimized for Windows. In addition, the program has a Getting Started wizard guide to help you through the process of setting up your equipment and starting to mine.
Once set up, the software automatically scans for mining devices and tabulates details like the pool used, average hash power, and profitability. Furthermore, MultiMiner allows you to access and monitor your mining rigs remotely. With the software, you can configure, monitor, and control the MultiMiner rigs on the network.
The miner software lets you easily switch mining rigs, including ASICs, GPUS, and FPGAs. In addition, it allows you to choose your mining strategy and automatically mines the lowest difficulty or the most profitable cryptocurrency.
Download: MultiMiner for Windows, Mac, and Linux (Free)
EasyMiner
EasyMiner is another free and open-source Litecoin mining software. The lightweight program has an easy-to-use graphical interface that provides a statistical representation of your operations.
The software provides analytics and real-time statistics. You can view parameters like hash rate, earnings, and total shares in the past hour.
EasyMiner works best on x86, x86-64 machines and supports the getwork and Stratum mining protocols. The first time you run the software, it goes into “MoneyMaker” mode, instantly creating a Litecoin wallet, allowing you to start mining immediately.
While the program is designed with GPU and CPU users in mind, it also mines cryptos using more advanced hardware. It lets you configure your miners to mine solo or connect to external mining pools. It also employs military-grade security to safeguard your cryptocurrency.
Download: EasyMiner for Windows (Free)
Get a Litecoin Miner and Start Earning Today
Litecoin mining can be a pretty good way to earn some income. When choosing what mining hardware to use, a thorough cost-benefit analysis is a great way to determine whether it’s worth buying your own hardware or investing in cloud mining.
For example, before starting to mine Litecoin, you need to balance the costs of setting up and running the machines with the outputs, not forgetting to factor in your electricity use. Mining Litecoin can even be more profitable if you have the proper setup.
When organizing your setup, consider the cost of power and proper ventilation. If you want to own Litecoin, but mining isn’t your thing, you can always trade the digital currency using cryptocurrency apps. And to collect revenue from your mining operations, just download and set up your personal Litecoin wallet.