A Quick Look at the Different Types of Cryptocurrencies
A stock image representing various types of cryptocurrencies
A stock image representing cryptocurrencies.
You may be wondering what types of cryptocurrencies are out there. You’ve likely heard of a few, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Dash (DASH), and Monero (XMR). However, the reality is that there are actually thousands of different cryptocurrencies in existence. Coinmarketcap.com reports that there are 7,433 cryptocurrencies as of Oct. 16, 2020, and the global crypto market is worth more than $356 billion.
The current values of cryptocurrencies vary greatly and fluctuate daily. For example, yearn.finance (YFI) is worth $14,134.78 per unit and Bitcoin is worth $11,363.07 per unit. BitTorrent (BTT) and Dogecoin (DOGE) are worth just $0.000339 and $0.002572 per unit.
A screenshot of some of the most valuable cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin
A screenshot of the cryptocurrency market’s top cryptocurrencies in terms of prices per unit, according to coinmarketcap.com.
Why Is Crypto Mining Such a Big Deal?
People love being able to use money digitally. Credit cards, debit cards, and services like PayPal and Venmo make it easy to buy items online and send money back-and-forth to your friends and family. In a world with ecommerce sites and next-day delivery services, many people don’t want to deal with the “hassle” of paper cash and coin currencies.
But what leads people to engage in crypto mining? There isn’t a one-size-fits-all response to that question. After all, people have different needs, interests and goals. We’ll explore just a few of them here now…
1. People Seek Greater Privacy and Control of Their Finances
Not everyone is as trusting of the existing systems. And some would prefer to have greater control — and privacy — when it comes to their finances. The idea here is that Uncle Sam doesn’t need to know when you purchase underwear or how much you spent on that new surround-sound audio system.
To avoid being a part of the traditional centralized banking system, some people keep money under their mattresses or rolled up in old coffee cans in their pantries. But there’s another way that people can keep their money out of the traditional centralized banking system: by mining for and using cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Dash, Ethereum and Monero offer a certain level of anonymity to users. Why? Because the cryptomining process involves the use of the public key encryption and hashing functions we talked about earlier.
2. It’s All About the Benjamins
Data from Coherent Market Insights indicates that the global cryptocurrency mining market is expected to surpass $38 billion by 2025.
A screenshot of the coinbase.com Bitcoin trading dashboard
A screenshot of the coinbase.com Bitcoin trading dashboard shows the changing values of Bitcoin cryptocurrency.
A screenshot of the coinbase.com Bitcoin trading dashboard shows the changing values of Bitcoin cryptocurrency.
And for some, crypto mining can be incredibly profitable and is thought to be a good investment. But for many users, this often isn’t the case because there are a lot of resources that go into mining them and often not a high return.
Some cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, are worth a lot of money when you cash them in. Part of this is because they’re limited in terms of supply, maxing out at a total of 21,000,000, and there are already 18,512,200 BTC that have been mined.
And people have the option of buying and selling fractions of Bitcoins, which are known as Satoshi. There are 100,000,000 Satoshi per BTC.
3. Crypto Is Still New, Exciting and “Shiny”
Let’s face it: There are people out there who want to ride the newest technology waves to be a part of the experience. Essentially, they want to be a part of the next best thing. But how many people are involved in crypto mining? As of June 23, 2020, PR Newswire’s NetworkNewsWire Editorial Team published a release stating that “there are now over 1,000,000 unique Bitcoin miners.”
And to think, that number is just for the people who are mining Bitcoin specifically!
If Cryptocurrency Mining Is So Simple, Why Doesn’t Everyone Do It?
While everyone might want to take advantage of crypto mining, the fact is that it’s not for everyone.
1. Crypto Mining Is Resource-Intensive
For one, cryptocurrency mining nowadays requires a lot of resources both in terms of computing power and electricity. Why? Because crypto mining requires a lot of computing power to generate new guesses continually. If you’re successful, then not only do you generate new Bitcoin, but you also get to update the blockchain by adding information to the end of the ledger.
2. Crypto Mining Is Expensive
Not only do you have to worry about having enough processing power and electricity to power your operation, but you also need to keep in mind the costs associated with such a massive initiative. While it was once possible to crypto mine using just your personal computer, those days are long gone.
If you want to have even a slight chance of beating other cryptocurrency miners to the punch, then you need to have the tech and processing capacity to compete at their level. This means having more devices and access to less expensive power.
3. The ROI Ain’t What It Used to Be
While it’s true that some people have been able to make money by mining cryptocurrencies, the same can’t be said for everyone. And the more that time goes on and the more people that get involved, the decreasing return on investment that crypto miners could expect to receive.
Let’s consider Bitcoin as an example. Approximately every four years (or ever 210,000 blocks mined), Bitcoin experiences an event known as a halving. What this means is that the number of Bitcoins that people would receive as a reward for every blockchain block mined would reduce by half. So, when people first started mining Bitcoins back in 2009, they’d receive 50 BTCs per block. As of the last halving, which took place on May 11, 2020, that rate has since reduced to 6.25 BTC per block.
Here’s a breakdown of how the halving events have reduced the numbers of BTCs you could expect to receive as a miner:
Year BTC Received Per Block Event
2009 50 BTC (Original BTC Mining Rate)
2013 25 BTC First Halving Event
2016 12.5 BTC Second Halving Event
2020 6.25 Third Halving Event
4. It’s Not Feasible (Or It’s Prohibited) In Your Geographic Location
We mentioned earlier that while cryptocurrency mining isn’t illegal in some areas, in some places it is. As we mentioned earlier, governments globally have different viewpoints of cryptocurrencies in terms of crypto mining. Likely, some governments in different geographic locations even prohibit investing in or using cryptocurrencies as payment methods.
Final Thoughts on Cryptocurrency Mining
Cryptocurrency mining is an interesting alternative to the traditional centralized systems that currently operate throughout the world. However, it’s very taxing in terms of computer and power resources and isn’t feasible for many users as a result.
If you have a secure ledger, the process to leverage it into a digital payment system is straightforward. For example, if Alice sends Bob $100 by PayPal, then PayPal debits $100 from Alice's account and credits $100 to Bob's account. This is also roughly what happens in traditional banking, although the absence of a single ledger shared between banks complicates things.As mentioned above, the easiest way to acquire bitcoin is to simply buy it on one of the many exchanges. Alternately, you can always leverage the 'pickaxe strategy.' This is based on the old saw that during the 1849 California gold rush, the smart investment was not to pan for gold, but rather to make the pickaxes used for mining. Or, to put it in modern terms, invest in the companies that manufacture those pickaxes. In a cryptocurrency context, the pickaxe equivalent would be a company that manufactures equipment used for Bitcoin mining. You may consider looking into companies that make ASICs equipment or GPUs instead, for example.