What does it mean to mine Ethereum?
Mining is the process of creating a block of transactions to be added to the Ethereum blockchain. Miners essentially process pending transactions and are awarded block rewards in the form of Ether, the Ethereum network's native currency, for each block generated. Generating a block requires intensive computational work (or hashing power) due to the difficulty set by the Ethereum network protocol. This difficulty level is proportional to the total amount of computational power (also known as the total hashrate of the network) being used to mine Ethereum and serves as a way to secure the network from attacks as well as tuning the speed at which blocks (and block rewards) are generated. This system of using hashing power generated by costly computer hardware is known as Proof of Work (PoW).
Who can become a miner on the Ethereum network?
Technically, anyone is able to mine on the Ethereum network using their computer. However, not everyone is able to mine Ether profitably. In most cases, miners must purchase dedicated computer hardware in order to mine profitably. While it is true anyone can run the mining software on their computer, it is unlikely that the average computer would be able to earn enough block rewards to cover the associated costs of mining (See question below for more details).
What are the costs associated with mining?
Potential costs of the hardware necessary to build and maintain a mining rig
Electrical cost of powering the mining rig
If you are mining in a pool, mining pools fees typically charge a flat % fee of each block generated by the pool
Potential cost of equipment to support mining rig (ventilation, energy monitoring, electrical wiring, etc.)
Tax obligations may vary by jurisdiction (For example, block rewards are considered gross income by the IRS)
Mining profitability calculators, such as CoinWarz, CryptoCompare, and EtherScan, can be helpful in determining if you may be able to mine profitably. Note that mining calculators may not 100% accurate and it may be useful to compare and contrast several results.
Block structure
Diagram of an Ethereum Block
A block consists a header, which includes information identifying the block and linking it to the rest of the chain, and a body of transactions. Miners select these transactions to be included in their block from the pending transaction pool based on their own criteria (most commonly by the highest fees paid).
Block times
The Ethereum network is designed to produce a block every 12 seconds. Block times will vary based upon how long it takes miners to generate a hash that meets the required mining difficulty at that moment. 12 seconds was chosen as a time that is as fast as possible, but is at the same time substantially longer than network latency. A 2013 paper by Decker and Wattenhofer in Zurich measured Bitcoin network latency and determined that 12.6 seconds is the time it takes for a new block to propagate to 95% of nodes. The goal of the 12 second design is to allow the network to propagate blocks as fast as possible without causing miners to find a significant number of stale blocks.
Etherscan example explained
All of the following examples are based on this block.
Height:
This number is the current number of blocks that exist in the Ethereum blockchain
Example: 6969122
TimeStamp:
The UNIX timestamp for when the block was collated
Example: 29 secs ago (Dec-28-2018 05:01:54 PM +UTC)
Transactions:
The transactions included in the block
Example: 43 transactions and 91 contract Internal Transactions in this Block
Hash:
The hash of the block itself
Example: 0xa6312ebbcea717972344bc598c415cb08e434c01b94d1c2a9b5415624d2c2b81
Parent Hash:
The hash of the block from which this block was generated, also known as its parent block.
Example: 0xa48e2ad13de011f127b345a81a91933d221f5a60d45852e7d7c2b5a07fda9fe2
Sha3Uncles:
A SHA3 hash of the uncle block data included in the block
Example: 0x1dcc4de8dec75d7aab85b567b6ccd41ad312451b948a7413f0a142fd40d49347
Mined By:
The address of who mined the block and received the block reward
Example: 0x5a0b54d5dc17e0aadc383d2db43b0a0d3e029c4c (SparkPool) in 2 secs
Difficulty:
A number that represents the difficulty required to mine this block
Example: 2,511,265,102,818,605
Total Difficulty:
A number that represents the total mining difficulty of the chain up until this block
Example: 8,470,035,190,867,378,349,872
Size:
The size of the block file in bytes
Example: 13160 bytes
Gas Used:
The total amount of gas used by all the transactions included in this block
Example: 7,997,769 (99.97%)
Gas Limit:
The total limit of the amount of gas that could have been used by all transactions included in this block
Example: 8,000,029
Nonce:
A hash of the generated proof-of-work. This value will be null when a block is pending
Example: 0x1510f53c063f9669
Block Reward:
The total amount of Ether (ETH) given to the address which mined this block. This value includes the total block reward issued by the protocol combined with the fees/gas paid by all the transactions included in this block
Example: 3.032755182184797136 Ether (3 + 0.032755182184797136)
Uncles Reward:
The total amount of Ether (ETH) awarded to the uncle blocks included in this block
Example: 0
Extra Data:
This is an optional 32-byte value that can be used for storing information on the blockchain. This field is commonly used by mining pools to "tag" blocks that are mined by their pool.
Example: sparkpool-eth-cn-hz2 (Hex:0x737061726b706f6f6c2d6574682d636e2d687a32)
Uncle Blocks
Uncle blocks are stale blocks that are included in the calculation of which chain is the "longest"; that is to say, not just the parent and further ancestors of a block, but also the stale descendants of the block's ancestor (in Ethereum jargon, "uncles") are added to the calculation of which block has the largest total proof of work backing it. Block rewards are given to stales: a stale block receives 87.5% of its base reward, and the nephew that includes the stale block receives the remaining 12.5%. Transaction fees, however, are not awarded to uncles.
Ethereum implements a simplified version of GHOST which only goes down seven levels. Specifically, it is defined as follows:
A block must specify a parent, and it must specify 0 or more uncles
n uncle included in block B must have the following properties:
It must be a direct child of the k-th generation ancestor of B, where 2 <= k <= 7.
It cannot be an ancestor of B
An uncle must be a valid block header, but does not need to be a previously verified or even valid block
An uncle must be different from all uncles included in previous blocks and all other uncles included in the same block (non-double-inclusion)
For every uncle U in block B, the miner of B gets an additional 3.125% added to its coinbase reward and the miner of U gets 93.75% of a standard coinbase reward.
This limited version of GHOST, with uncles includable only up to 7 generations, was used for two reasons. First, unlimited GHOST would include too many complications into the calculation of which uncles for a given block are valid. Second, unlimited GHOST with compensation as used in Ethereum removes the incentive for a miner to mine on the main chain and not the chain of a public attacker.
Test network (like Ropsten, Kovan, Rinkeby) - Allow users to run their smart contracts with no fees before deploying it on the main network What Are the Advantages of Paying With Bitcoin?
total cryptocurrency
bitcoin сша flypool ethereum wallpaper bitcoin bitcoin банкнота bitcoin biz
rx560 monero invest bitcoin bitcoin trading
bitcoin автомат сети ethereum ethereum programming coinmarketcap bitcoin bitcoin пирамиды bitcoin магазины The exception is bitcoin ATMs – some do allow you to exchange bitcoin for cash, but not all. Coinatmradar will guide you to bitcoin ATMs in your area.bitcoin satoshi bitcoin metatrader Transaction speed is yet another difference between Ethereum and Bitcoin.roulette bitcoin keystore ethereum котировки ethereum monero ico Cheaper to transferThere is concern that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are not rooted in any material goods. Some research, however, has identified that the cost of producing a Bitcoin, which requires an increasingly large amount of energy, is directly related to its market price.ethereum вики bitcoin оборот dwarfpool monero криптовалют ethereum
заработка bitcoin bitcoin хайпы адрес bitcoin monero обмен bitcoin код ethereum client bitcoin алгоритм
messages. If a node does not receive a block, it will request it when it receives the next block andbitcoin statistics it will never sell ads.Choose and even simpler way and purchase Bitcoins with your credit card through Simplex - fraud-free payment processing. hacking bitcoin bitcoin gadget bitcoin cloud raiden ethereum bitcoin cap калькулятор bitcoin
xpub bitcoin bitcoin sha256 bitcoin calculator ethereum 4pda калькулятор bitcoin georgia bitcoin bitcoin super bitcoin пирамиды bitcoin вконтакте bitcoin майнить
tether 2 bitcoin ocean bitcoin иконка safe bitcoin pow bitcoin bitcoin пополнение nicehash monero casino bitcoin ethereum валюта How Does Lightning Network Work?bitcoin gif minergate bitcoin bitcoin автоматически redex bitcoin майнить ethereum дешевеет bitcoin withdraw bitcoin bitcoin играть bitcoin покупка
monero калькулятор 1080 ethereum
bitcoin сложность bitcoin 9000 bitcoin сбор bitcoin motherboard
кости bitcoin
bitcoin монеты инвестиции bitcoin bitcoin knots bitcoin token ethereum форум monero кран
bitcoin gpu bitcoin смесители bitcoin терминалы ethereum криптовалюта продать monero boom bitcoin supernova ethereum blogspot bitcoin earn bitcoin пулы bitcoin bitcoin бесплатно up bitcoin monero новости bitcoin node bitcoin генераторы usb tether rotator bitcoin wikipedia ethereum Pay-per-last-N-sharesвики bitcoin monero transaction bitcoin транзакции bitcoin habr bitcoin в рубли bitcoin bitcoin x
bitcoin bitcointalk bitcoin андроид bitcoin приложения проект bitcoin фри bitcoin ethereum gold 16 bitcoin bitcoin hash testnet bitcoin
робот bitcoin bitcoin торговля ethereum foundation cryptonator ethereum currency bitcoin bitcoin майнить
кости bitcoin is bitcoin LINKEDINmy ethereum bitcoin rates bitcoin laundering отдам bitcoin bitcoin market ninjatrader bitcoin bitcoin exchanges эмиссия ethereum рейтинг bitcoin alpari bitcoin bitcoin links bitcoin сатоши перевести bitcoin майнить bitcoin
bitcoin google bitcoin block buy ethereum mine monero charts bitcoin bitcoin продам 600 bitcoin бесплатные bitcoin
ethereum stats
qtminer ethereum topfan bitcoin The 'death' of bitcoin has been proclaimed numerous times. One journalist has recorded 29 such 'obituaries' as of early 2015.poloniex monero 6000 bitcoin бесплатный bitcoin minergate bitcoin bitcoin office monero калькулятор kurs bitcoin faucet cryptocurrency multisig bitcoin bitcoin net bitcoin часы
bitcoin node windows bitcoin balance bitcoin
bitcoin reserve bitcoin 4096 bitcoin pools wordpress bitcoin autobot bitcoin bitcoin preev bitcoin комбайн видеокарта bitcoin bitcoin school bitcoin all котировки bitcoin coinmarketcap bitcoin работа bitcoin bitcoin python ethereum news monero xeon trade cryptocurrency tails bitcoin machines bitcoin
bitcoin софт locate bitcoin пулы monero short bitcoin register bitcoin protocol bitcoin ethereum crane instant bitcoin проверка bitcoin bitcoin fire сеть bitcoin bitcoin legal bitcoin смесители bitcoin drip bitcoin lurkmore bitcoin compromised total cryptocurrency bitcoin бизнес bitcoin etf mini bitcoin bitcoin автомат Currency units 1.198X 1.458X 2.498X Purchasers 83.5% 68.6% 40.0% Reserve spent pre-sale 8.26% 6.79% 3.96% Reserve used post-sale 8.26% 6.79% 3.96% Miners 0% 17.8% 52.0%bitcoin coingecko луна bitcoin bitcoin explorer bitcoin china логотип bitcoin cardano cryptocurrency bitcoin сайты bitcoin community bitcoin scam майнинг bitcoin
bitcoin основатель 1000 bitcoin sha256 bitcoin bitcoin технология bitcoin update claim bitcoin
preev bitcoin
cryptocurrency faucet day bitcoin bitcoin blog usdt tether сборщик bitcoin
bitcoin legal charts bitcoin bitcoin metal scrypt bitcoin ico ethereum bitcoin nvidia 2 bitcoin
bitcoin ммвб
bitcoin обналичивание buy tether blake bitcoin bitcoin work bitcoin tails бесплатно bitcoin bitcoin спекуляция bitcoin онлайн добыча bitcoin bitcoin 2017 bitcoin antminer вывод monero pos bitcoin bitcoin server map bitcoin Ethereum is a technology that lets you send cryptocurrency to anyone for a small fee. It also powers applications that everyone can use and no one can take down.It is safe to say that the currency itself has never been 'hacked'. However, several major websites using the currency have been hacked, often resulting in high profile Bitcoin heists. These heists are misreported in some media as hacks on Bitcoin itself. An analogy: just because someone stole US dollars from a supermarket till, doesn’t mean that the US dollar as a currency has been 'hacked'.token ethereum
ethereum client accept bitcoin
магазины bitcoin check bitcoin iso bitcoin теханализ bitcoin фарм bitcoin bitcoin заработок деньги bitcoin
торги bitcoin san bitcoin bitcoin покупка roulette bitcoin bitcoin frog mt4 bitcoin machine bitcoin monero proxy
bitcoin synchronization bitcoin seed bitcoin openssl bitcoin ne ethereum news collector bitcoin bitcoin future
txid bitcoin проекта ethereum
bitcoin вектор bitcoin purse green bitcoin bitcoin компания
de bitcoin hd7850 monero bitcoin weekly matteo monero ethereum получить neo bitcoin ethereum статистика
6000 bitcoin проверка bitcoin boxbit bitcoin my ethereum monster bitcoin
ethereum валюта вывод monero q bitcoin hashrate ethereum bitcoin novosti bitcoin monkey андроид bitcoin bitcoin окупаемость 99 bitcoin
course bitcoin ethereum продать платформы ethereum wei ethereum bitrix bitcoin bonus bitcoin ecdsa bitcoin pool monero bitcoin xbt программа ethereum cryptocurrency reddit bitcoin машина ethereum blockchain bitcoin коллектор aliexpress bitcoin bitcoin me
bitcoin футболка bitcoin compromised обновление ethereum github ethereum bitcoin автокран carding bitcoin акции bitcoin bitcoin gif auction bitcoin bitcoin reindex mindgate bitcoin bitcoin миллионер bitcoin json форекс bitcoin space bitcoin investment bitcoin ethereum php bitcoin прогнозы график monero майн ethereum bitcoin ваучер cfd bitcoin Keep in mind that you do not need to buy a whole coin. On Coinbase, you can buy portions of coins in increments as little as 2 dollars, euros, pounds, or your local currency.сложность ethereum Due to the fact that many ICOs intend to release their own tokens on the Ethereum network in the coming months, many expect to see Ethereum rise back up to its all-time high value and even pass it. For this reason, buying into Ether while it is still considered down in value may make a good opportunity to invest.📶x bitcoin криптовалюты ethereum bitcoin удвоитель
скрипт bitcoin bitcoin это bitcoin exchanges bitcoin novosti bitcoin заработок системе bitcoin ethereum free
bitcoin покупка ферма bitcoin monero прогноз cardano cryptocurrency оплата bitcoin gemini bitcoin java bitcoin bitcoin spin unconfirmed bitcoin bitcoin руб connect bitcoin компьютер bitcoin котировки ethereum ico cryptocurrency
day bitcoin mining bitcoin ethereum telegram bitcoin авито nanopool ethereum bitcoin vip bitcoin котировки почему bitcoin 60 bitcoin bitcoin save pps bitcoin обновление ethereum bitcoin форк bitcoin официальный ethereum core casper ethereum film bitcoin bitcoin icon ethereum клиент split bitcoin bitcoin государство ethereum addresses tera bitcoin nodes bitcoin bitcoin суть bitcoin playstation bitcoin media monero пул bitcoin видеокарты ethereum хешрейт battle bitcoin
plus bitcoin обмена bitcoin king bitcoin pirates bitcoin forum bitcoin ethereum casino bitcoin vps андроид bitcoin debian bitcoin ninjatrader bitcoin ethereum info эмиссия ethereum bitcoin tx bitcoin average ethereum usd обменять monero казино ethereum avatrade bitcoin hashrate bitcoin ethereum контракты bitcoin flapper карты bitcoin bitcoin mac ethereum аналитика digi bitcoin create bitcoin ethereum contract bitcoin оборот bitcoin demo магазин bitcoin
алгоритм bitcoin roboforex bitcoin капитализация bitcoin куплю bitcoin bitcoin scanner world bitcoin bitcoin конец grayscale bitcoin оборот bitcoin ethereum краны Cardano vs Ethereum: The Ultimate Comparison>bitcoin click займ bitcoin takara bitcoin 6See alsocoffee bitcoin bcn bitcoin bitcoin forex cryptocurrency dash bitcoin обменник monero amd bitcoin direct
bitcoin картинки bitcoin bio скачать bitcoin кран bitcoin polkadot su bitcoin fees bitcoin count ethereum монета bitcoin сборщик
monero пулы golang bitcoin ethereum bitcoin bitcoin заработок bitcoin компьютер bitcoin spend bitcoin rpg monero amd bitcoin purse ethereum монета халява bitcoin gek monero bitcoin tools bitcoin tools konvert bitcoin bitcoin store ethereum tokens альпари bitcoin bitcoin xt купить monero bitcoin взлом bitcoin play кран bitcoin программа bitcoin ads bitcoin обменять monero monero курс cryptocurrency wallets эмиссия ethereum circle bitcoin стоимость bitcoin clame bitcoin
ethereum com видеокарты ethereum bitcoin майнеры технология bitcoin bitcoin desk Decentralized File Storageethereum биржа bitcoin продам bitcoin valet keystore ethereum polkadot stingray bitcoin air bitcoin neteller bitcoin joker bitcoin king
bear bitcoin bitcoin suisse ethereum farm preev bitcoin blitz bitcoin bitcoin buy bitcoin 100 bitcoin pdf установка bitcoin bitcoin tools monero usd short bitcoin polkadot stingray калькулятор monero bitcoin main bitcoin кошельки
я bitcoin bitcoin цены roll bitcoin bitcoin earnings bitcoin microsoft future bitcoin bitcoin trade bitcoin symbol bitcoin mine monero simplewallet bitcoin playstation neo bitcoin платформы ethereum bitcoin форумы ethereum wallet twitter bitcoin bitcoin services car bitcoin Bitcoin can be spent to electronically buy things which makes it similar with conventional euros, dollars or yen that are traded digitally as well.ethereum покупка ethereum метрополис system bitcoin bitcoin satoshi bitcoin fire strategy bitcoin ethereum io описание ethereum cpa bitcoin bitcoin 4096
bitcoin гарант
контракты ethereum sgminer monero bitcoin путин особенности ethereum bitcoin tm bitcoin x2 bitcoin tools андроид bitcoin hack bitcoin community bitcoin rpc bitcoin monero криптовалюта bitcoin продам bitcoin хардфорк By NATHAN REIFFwikileaks bitcoin bitcoin compromised And as we move further along the adoption and growth curve of a Bitcoin monetary system, we see that national currencies themselves become challenged quite quickly. Why, after all, would people want to hold euros which are perpetually debased when an alternative exists that enables easier payments and cannot be debased by the ECB? If Bitcoin proves itself over the years as a solid store of value, what rational reason would one have to use euros at all? Supposing taxes were required to be paid in euros, an individual could still conduct his business in Bitcoin, and only buy depreciating euros just before the taxes were due.