How to Mine Bitcoin Cash: A Complete Guide for Beginners [2021]

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency and a peer-to-peer electronic cash system launched in 2017. It was presented as a cryptocurrency with increased scalability, increased block size limit, and reduced transaction fees.

However, being forked from Bitcoin, BCH has several common features with the number one crypto asset. Both ecosystems run a Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm, they are open for anyone to join, and both are available for mining. So If you are interested in Bitcoin Cash mining – our guide is rushing to help you! Create a Bitcoin Cash wallet on Guarda right now!

Why Should You Mine Bitcoin Cash?

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) cryptocurrency is in the top 20 by market capitalization and it is a fairly new altcoin.
Bitcoin Cash is a fork of Bitcoin and considering its popularity BCH mining can be assumed to be a wise decision.
BCH has also a larger block size, and hence increases the interest of miners looking for more transaction verifications and frequent mining profits.

Is Bitcoin Cash Mining Profitable?

Mining is like any other business process where profitability depends on several unique variables. Here is the list of the most important financial factors you need to take into account:

Hardware and software requirements. Anyone can become a BCH miner. The first thing you need is to purchase the appropriate hardware (computers marketed as mining rigs) and the required software. The more powerful mining hardware you have, the higher your chances of winning the mining reward. So, the most powerful device is likely the most rewarding.
Hash rate. It is a measure of the computational power per second. In short, the hash rate is the speed of mining. It measures how many calculations per second your hardware can perform. Machines with a high hash rate can process lots of data in a single second.
Power consumption costs. Another thing you need to foresee is the amount of electricity. Because it requires lots of computational power and, in its turn, electricity to solve cryptographic hashes. Don’t forget that every miner on the BCH blockchain is trying to solve the same hash. So, even if you don’t win the mining reward, you will still use lots of electricity for the attempt.
Efficiency tells you how much power must be used to get a single coin. An efficient machine consumes less electricity.
Bitcoin Cash value. One more factor you need to consider is the current Bitcoin Cash price. You are paid a reward in BCH, and the higher the price, the more profitable mining is. If the BCH price falls too low, then you might have a loss.
Bitcoin Cash halving. This is an automatic event of halving mining rewards. It happens after every 210 000 blocks have been mined (almost every four years). The first BCH halving took place on April 8, 2020, and halved mining rewards to 6.25 BCH per mined block. The next halving in March 2024 will reduce the block reward to 3.125 BCH.
Mining pool fee. If you decide to join a BCH mining pool, find out how much fee you will pay, and consider the Bitcoin Cash price.

Before you start, make sure the mining expenses are less than the rewards you are going to earn. Make some calculations around the above factors to ensure you’re running the most cost-effective process. You can use a Bitcoin Cash mining calculator to find out the amount of BCH coins you can mine in a certain period.

Best way to mine Bitcoin Cash

Hardware Mining

Like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash runs on the same proof-of-work consensus and SHA-256 algorithm, so you may use Bitcoin Cash hardware for mining Bitcoin as well. ASICs’ hash rate allows bitcoin cash miners to achieve the highest mining profitability. They also have pre-installed software. Configure it and be ready to mine some crypto.

You can also mine Bitcoin Cash with GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) and CPUs (Central Processing Units). Unfortunately, mining difficulty these days makes them unable to compete with powerful ASIC machines.

Here is the list of the most popular ASIC miners:

Halong Mining DragonMint 16T

#1. Halong Mining DragonMint 16T

The DragonMint device is one of the most powerful ASIC devices for BCH mining. This device is suitable for advanced BCH miners and organizations, and might not be suitable for average miners or newbies. It requires buying an additional power supply, which costs around $120.

Hash Rate: 16 Th/s
Power supply: 220-240V

Antminer S9

#2. Antminer S9

The Antminer S9 is a mining device for advanced miners manufactured by Chinese-based company Bitmain. Bitmain runs one of the largest mining pools in the Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash industry.

It requires buying an additional power supply which costs around $170.

Hash Rate: 14 TH/second
Power supply: 110-120V

Antminer S7

#3. Antminer S7

The Antminer S7 is also manufactured by Bitmain. It is much slower than the S9 version, and it is not suitable for solo mining because you won’t be able to compete with more powerful models. Anyway, it will allow you to earn Bitcoin Cash when you join a Bitcoin Cash mining pool. One more thing to be mentioned is that the S7 is noisy enough for complaints from your neighbors.

Hash Rate: 4.73 Th/s ±5%
Power Consumption: 1293W ±10%

Antminer S19 Pro

#4. Antminer S19 Pro

The Antminer S19 Pro is perhaps one of the most powerful and profitable Bitcoin Cash mining ASIC from Bitmain.

Hash Rate: 110 Th/s
Power Consumption: 3250W

#5. MicroBT Whatsminer M30s++

MicroBT Whatsminer M30s++

It is one of the latest and most powerful ASIC miners for advanced users.

Hash Rate: 112 Th/s
Power Consumption: 3472W

Software Mining

Mining software is an application that connects with your hardware to set up, run, monitor mining processes, and check profits.

The most popular software options for Bitcoin Cash Mining are CGminer, BFGminer, and EasyMiner. The last one supports both self-mining (solo) and pool mining.

Pay attention that you need to choose the software compatible with the hardware that you are using.

Bitcoin Cash Cloud Mining

Instead of setting up your hardware, you can mine Bitcoin Cash by renting computing power from another person, group, or data center, paying on a monthly (or weekly/daily) basis. All you need is to buy a BCH mining contract that includes all the necessary rights and access to rewards and commit to the cloud mining platform for a given period. This process is called cloud mining.

Here’s the catch though: the hash provider can terminate the contract if it suits them, so just keep an eye on this. And, of course, read all service conditions.

Cloud mining Pros and Cons

Pros

No need to purchase and install mining hardware
No need for equipment maintenance
No need to worry about power consumption costs
The fastest way for newcomers to mine coins

Cons

Risk of potential scams
The contract’s time may be fixed

What do you need to start mining Bitcoin Cash?

To sum all the above up, make all necessary calculations to estimate your future profit, choose suitable hardware and software, and mark compliance with the requirements below.

Bitcoin Cash Mining Requirements List

BCH is mined with specific powerful machines, so-called Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). They run 24/7, consume large amounts of electricity, and generate a lot of heat. Before starting Bitcoin Cash mining take into account the following requirements you have to provide:

A Bitcoin Cash Wallet to receive, store, and exchange your mined assets.
Stable Internet connection 24/7 with an incoming and outgoing speed of at least 1 MB/s.
Stable power consumption and capacity of your power distribution.
Powerful hardware and compatible software.
Cooling and ventilation for keeping your devices safe and efficient.
Noise level reduction because the fans run full speed and are very loud.

How To Start Bitcoin Cash Mining

#1. Connect your hardware to the electricity and internet:

Plug your ASIC miner into the power supply unit (PSU) by putting the cables coming from the PSU to the hashing and control boards sockets.
Connect the internet cable from the router to the LAN port of your ASIC miner.
Connect the PSU to the electricity grid.

#2. Choose a BCH mining pool

Bitcoin Cash mining pools provide miners with an opportunity to win a part of the mining reward.

It works as follows:

The mining pool combines the hashing power of several small miners.
It increases the chance to win the race and then receive the reward.
Then the reward is shared between mining pool participants.

Since miners are only contributing a part of the power, their share of the reward is far less, although more regular. Anyway, these pools allow small miners to compete with huge mining farms with hundreds of ASIC miners.

There are three types of participant rewards in mining pools:

Pay Per Share (PPS): this method guarantees you a fixed payout based on your rigs’ contribution, no matter whether a block is mined or not. This provides you with a regular income, but with no right to a share of block rewards.
Full Pay Per Share (FPPS): this method guarantees you a constant payout as in PPS, but with a lower rate. Additionally, you get a share of any transaction fees the pool earns, but still with no right to a share of block rewards.
Pay Per Last N Shares (PPLNS) is the riskiest payment system without any fixed payout. It only means sharing the block rewards with participants but with a chance of a greater payout.

Once you choose which mining pool to join, head over to their website and register. Your registration will include instructions for connecting your Bitcoin Cash mining software with the pool.

The flip side of the coin is that mining pools control the mining process and receive a reward before sharing it with individual miners. Thus, it would be better to research the provider and to clarify the terms and conditions before you join. These terms include hash rate threshold, fees, and terms of reward sharing. These simple rules can help you to avoid potential scams.

After choosing a Bitcoin Cash mining pool, create an account on the pool’s website.

#3. Find out the IP-Address of your Bitcoin Cash Mining Hardware

The  mining device  is configured by default  to receive an IP address from the DHCP server of the  network, which is usually the internet router.  You just need to discover the IP address by logging into your router or scan the network to verify it.

#4. Log in to the Web Interface of the Miner

Open your Internet browser
Enter the hardware IP address to access the administrative Web interface
On the login page, enter the  user ID. It can be different and depends on the model or manufacturer. Check the ASIC’s manual to find the right login data.
After  logging in click on the Miner Configuration page to enter the pool information.

#5. Enter Mining Pool information’s

You may use only one URL if you are sure the pool is stable and has no downtime. However, It is highly recommended to enter different pool URLs in all 3 sections, to use the failover function. The goal is to point your ASIC miner to a different pool if the current one is down or unresponsive.

#6. Click “Save & Apply”

After the software restarts, you can control its activity from the status page.

Setup of a Bitcoin Cash Wallet

Before you start, you need to set up a Bitcoin Cash wallet for receiving and storing your mining rewards. The wallet you choose should have the highest level of security. We recommend you use Guarda Wallet.

Follow these steps to create a Guarda cryptocurrency wallet:

Go to the Guarda website from your browser.
Click Create BCH Wallet.
If it is your first Guarda wallet – choose to create a new wallet.
Think of a strong password, confirm it, and store it in a secure place.
Download your wallet backup. Just like your password, the backup needs to be stored securely and preferably offline.

Read our guide for detailed information.

Conclusion. What to do with mined BCH?

After you have successfully received the first reward you can:

Trade the BCH for fiat currency via a crypto exchange.
Exchange BCH coins into other cryptocurrencies using your wallet
Hold the coins in your wallet and sell them at a later date
Use BCH as a means of payment for purchasing goods and services

Use all the functions of the Guarda wallet to receive, store, and exchange your mined Bitcoin Cash assets.

Among thousands of Bitcoin-forked crypto projects, Bitcoin Cash is one of the most successful. Lots of hardware and software solutions make BCH competitive among other crypto-assets and accessible for mining. Offering faster confirmation times and lower transaction fees BCH is also widely spread as payment.

At the same time, any process has its pros and cons, and we hope this guide will help you clarify important points and draw the necessary conclusions.