Filecoin Miner - Best ASIC | GPU | Arweave Crypto miner Website-Unixhash

Unixhash: A Mining Rig Manufacturer

Unixhash Technology Co. is a mining rig manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China. Focusing on the hardware requirement of Filecoin, Unixhash has multiple different servers available for you to choose from. Each server has a specific role that it plays in the mining rig and is composed of the mining hardware and architecture that is necessary for successful Filecoin mining. All servers are sold directly from the factory, to you, to reduce the transfer of the product through the middle channels which can cause damage to the equipment or get delayed, hence, delaying your chance to earn through mining of storage.

With decentralization of cryptocurrencies, mining has become one of the most popular and profitable tasks, even though the statement doesn’t apply to every cryptocurrency. One of the most profitable alternate cryptocurrencies that’s hit the scene is Filecoin and while it is different from others in the sense that you are not mining for coins but rather mining for storage space, Filecoin mining is shown to have high rates and hence, high profits.

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What is a mining rig?

A mining rig refers to a computer system or servers that can be used for the mining of cryptocurrencies. UnixhashTechnology manufactures and sells these servers to be used and operated specifically with the purpose of mining. The brand also manufactures GPUs that not only can be used to mine cryptocurrencies on the side, but also can be used for the gaming computers. Depending on your mining needs, different mining servers and rigs are made available by this high-tech brand.

There are three general types of mining rigs; CPU based, GPU based, and AISC based. The decision of which type of mining rig to use depends on the cryptocurrency being mined, and for Filecoin, CPU based mining rigs are preferred. This is why Unixhash servers come equipped with CPUs and slots for GPUs, if ever need be.

Unixhash’s GPUs have solid performance with excelling mining abilities and proficiency in hash cracking. The GPUs belong to NVIDIA, and it is these GPUs that are also part of the mining servers manufactured by Unixhash. NVIDIA is one of the two main contenders for GPUs in the mining business.

What are Unixhash Mining Rigs Made of?

Unixhash Mining rigs or servers are composed of the following, which are the minimum hardware requirements for Filecoin mining:

CPU/GPU, depending on your mining needs. Both CPU mining and GPU mining are possible although GPU mining is no longer considered to be profitable because even when free electricity is used, GPU mining doesn’t produce enough revenue to have any financial benefits
Memory card
Network card
Hard drive composed of at least 2 pieces of SSD
Slots for GPU cards
And lastly, hot-swap power source

The different types of servers made available at the Unixhash website are:

Hash Sever
Miner Server
Storage Server
Node Server
Post Server

Each of these servers has specific jobs that it plays in the mining process. Also sold on the Unixhash website are high power GPUs with cooling fans and motherboards to prevent overheating of the rig.

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How to Install a Single Filecoin Mining Rig?

To be able to install a filecoin mining rig, you will need to purchase the hardware and different servers that might be needed. The basic requirements for the mining process to efficient and financially stable are as follows: (the requirements and steps for installation of finlecoin rig here are using the Ubuntu operating system, and if you are using a different operating system, the instructions might differ slightly)

Type	Name	Quantity
CPU	AMD Ryder Threadripper 3960X/ 3.0 GHz/104MB cache/24 cores/ 48 threads/ Socket sTRX4	1
Main	MSI TRX40 PRO WIFI (socket sTRX4 for CPU 3960X/3970X)	1
Cooler	XIGMATEK AURORA 360 (EN42814) – ARGB, SUPPORT AMD TR4. ALL IN ONE WATERCOOLING	1
RAM	CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 64GC (2*32GB) DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200	1
NVMe	SSD M2-PCle 1TB Samsung pm981a NVMe 2280 (OEM Samsung 970 Evo Plus)	1
PSU	Seasonic 1300w Prime Ultra 1300 PD – 80 PLUS PLATINUM	1
Case	Case Thermaltake Core p3 Tempered Glass	1
Hard Drive	HDD Enterprise WD Ultrastar HC320 8tv 3.5” 256 MB Cache SATA 6GB/s 7.2 Krpm	1
Graphic Card	Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC 6GB (GV-N1660OC-6GD)	1

Step 1: Set Swap to 250GB on NVMe

The purpose of this step is to ensure that you are never running out of memory.

Use this command to view your system Swap:

sudo swapon -show

Step 2: Mount SATA drive to your OS

This SATA harddrive will be used for Filecoin Storage. Add SATA disk to /hdd/disk1

Step 3: Set fix IP address in LAN

Step 4: Change files limit

$ ulimit -n 10000

Step 5: Setup Firewall to let your system accessible via Filecoin default ports

sudo ufw allow 1347/tcp

sudo ufw allow 2345/tcp

sudo ufw allow 1234/tcp

Step 6: Install Nvidia driver for your Graphic Card

This card will be used in the sealing process after a deal is made on the Filecoin network

apt search nvidia-driver

sudo apt install nvidia-driver-440

tep 7: Install all libraries and Lotus

sudo apt update

sudo apt install mesa-opencl-icd ocl-icd-opencl-dev gcc git bzr jq pkg-config curl

sudo apt upgrade

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:longsleep/golang-backports

sudo apt update

sudo apt install golang-go gcc git bzr jq pkg-config mesa-opencl-icd ocl-icd-opencl-dev

git clone https://github.com/filecoin-project/lotus.git

cd lotus/

env RUSTFLAGS=”-C target-cpu=native -g” FFI_BUILD_FROM_SOURCE=1 make clean && make all

sudo make install

Step 8: Start Daemon and create wallet

Run the daemon:

sudo lotus daemon

Sync to the latest heads

sudo lotus sync status

sudo lotus sync wait

The following command can make the process faster

lotus daemon — import-chain xxx.car

For Testnet: https://filecoin-chain-snapshot.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/chain.car

Once synced, create your wallet.

lotus wallet list

lotus wallet new

lotus wallet new bls

lotus wallet balance <YOUR_NEW_ADDRESS>

https://faucet.testnet.filecoin.io/ ->create new miner and add some FIL to your wallet

Step 9: Initialize and start Lotus Storage Miner:

After you have visited the faucet website and created a miner, this is what you should receive:

lotus-storage-miner init — actor=ACTOR_VALUE_RECEIVED — owner=OWNER_VALUE_RECEIVED

For example:

lotus-storage-miner init — actor=t0118947 — owner=t3wfhknty2ixysfoiv6o6otohprcauwhpuabdltgkulksf7lnzekppr3ghxo4b6jqsndyfy3n52zelwm6ya3aa

Step 10: Set Environment Variables

This is to increase the speed for miners and seal workers

go to /etc/profile

sudo nano /etc/profile

And add:

export FIL_PROOFS_MAXIMIZE_CACHING=1

export FIL_PROOFS_USE_GPU_COLUMN_BUILDER=1

export RUST_LOG=info

export BELLMAN_CUSTOM_GPU=”GeForce GTX 1660:1408″

Step 11: Configure the Miner

Go to ~/.lotusstorage and open config.toml

cd ~/.lotusstorage

sudo nano config.toml

Change those to:

[Storage]

AllowPreCommit1 = false

AllowPreCommit2 = false

AllowCommit = false

AllowUnseal = false

Then, open sectorstore.json on the same folder

sudo nano sectorstore.json

And update as follow:

{

“ID”: “b59d069b-b0ee-4115-bc6f-7b98205f8783”,

“Weight”: 10,

“CanSeal”: true,

“CanStore”: false

}

Step 12: Run lotus-storage-miner and add new storage

Run the following command on terminal 1

lotus-storage-miner run

nohup sudo lotus-storage-miner run 2>&1 > lotus-miner-log &

Step 13: Run Seal Worker and start sealing process:

sudo lotus-seal-worker — workerrepo=/any nvme location/ run — address=127.0.0.1:3456

You can start a new seal worker on the same machine while the above written command is still running. Depending on the system used, a minimum of 3 sealing operations can be run together

Step 14: Other commands

sudo lotus-storage-miner storage list

sudo lotus-storage-miner sectors list

sudo lotus-storage-miner info

sudo lotus-storage-miner workers list

sudo lotus-storage-miner sectors status -log <sector id>

These are the detailed steps required for the installation of a mining rig for Filecoin mining.

Crypto Wallets

Much like real currency needs to be stored in a wallet, cryptocurrencies need to be stored in wallets too, although these wallets are as physical in nature as the currency, which is none. When you are investing in a mining rig to get started with Filecoin mining, you should also make sure the rig comes with the wallet. Filecoin wallets store the Filecoin currency known as FIL, along with private keys. These keys can be used to access transaction information and authorize them, as needed.

Wallets supporting Filecoin specifically are Lotus wallet and Glif wallet. There are several others that are compatible but it is these two that are widely used. Filecoin mining doesn’t just need a rig composed of servers, but also a wallet for authorization of transactions such as buying FIL or transferring it to other accounts.

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Filecoin mining machines: an in-depth analysis

Filecoin is a decentralized storage protocol that is mined similar to mainstream cryptocurrencies, with the only difference being that storage is mined in Filecoin instead of coins. The miners are rewarded in a similar manner to other cryptocurrencies. It is built on IFPS, which is a storage protocol also dependant on peer-to-peer networks. However, IFPS is built such that it allows users to store data on the network but they cannot store data for others and receive rewards. That is a feature unique to filecoin but to enjoy the best features of both protocols, their combined use is often preferred and the users, in this scenario, are referred to as Filecoin IFPS miners.

Filecoin mining requires all different types of miners to have specific servers which meet the basic hardware requirements set by the altcoin. This is because Filecoin is dependant on more than the GPU, unlike other cryptocurrencies, and requires significant storage space and servers. There are different servers available on the market with different features that make them stand out. These servers act as the mining rig and the different types of servers by Unixhash are all mentioned below. These fully integrated servers make mining easier and faster, especially for larger operations. In fact, they are mandatory for the smooth running of these larger mining operations.

Filecoin Node Server

A node in the world of cryptocurrency refers to the computer that is connected to other computers, ensuring that rules and regulations of the network are being followed. In Filecoin networks, nodes play an important role in the synchronization of the entire Filecoin blockchain. It also plays a vital role in distinguishing legitimate Filecoin transactions from illegitimate ones, not allowing the latter to go forward.

The Filecoin Node Server by Unixhash connects different servers to synchronize the network and perform quality checks on the system. The specifications of this Node server are mentioned below, and they exceed the basic, minimum requirements of Filecoin for this step of mining process:

Specifications	rack-mounted 2U/8 disk full modular server (including rails);
CPU	2 Intel Xeon Platinum 8260 24C 2.40GHz 35.75MB 165W processor (supports ≥ 2 CPU extensions);
Memory	4 64GB DDR4-2933 ECC REG RDIMM memory (supports ≥ 24 memory slot expansion);
Hard drive	2 pieces 3.84TB U.2 NVMe SSD enterprise hard drives and 1 piece 480GB 2.5″SATA interface SSD enterprise hard drive (supports ≥24 front 2.5″ and ≥2 rear 2.5″ hot-swap hard drive bit expansion);
Network	1 four-port gigabit network card, 1 dual-optical 10 Megabit network card (including 2 SFP-10000 multimode optical modules) and 1 IPMI management port;
Slots	8 PCIe 3.0 slots (supports ≥ 2 enterprise GPU cards);
Power supply	2 blocks of 750W 1+1 redundant hot-swap platinum power supply;

Filecoin Hash Server

When data to be stored is being sealed off by the storage miner in a specific sector, it is done so using the Poseidon hashing algorithm which creates cryptographic hashes for the safety of the stored data. In a large operation, hashing algorithms are created and run by specific servers known as Hash servers. The filecoin Hash server by Unixhash is one such server, with a high power supply and quick speed, to make the mining operation more efficient and reliable.

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The exact specification of this server are as follows:

Specifications	rack- mounted 2U/8 disk full modular server (including rails);
CPU	2 Intel Xeon Platinum 8260 24C 2 40GHz 35.75MB 165W processor (supports 2 2 CPU extensions);
Memory	4 64GB DDR4-2933 ECC REG RDIMM memory (supports 2 24 memory slot expansion);
Hard drive	2 pieces 3.84TB U.2 NVMe SSD enterprise hard drives and 1 piece 480GB 2.5″SATA interface SSD enterprise hard drive (supports ≥24 front 2.5″ and 22 rear 2.5* hot swap hard drive bit expansion);
Network	1 four- port gigabit network card, 1 dual- optical 10 Megabit network card (including 2 SFP-10000 multimode optical modules) and 1 IPMI management port;
Slots	8 PCle 3.0 slots (supports 2 2 enterprise GPU cards);
Power supply:	2 blocks of 750W 1+1 redundant hot-swap platinum power supply;

Filecoin Storage Server

After a deal is made, and the storage miner has received the data from the client for storage, the miner can outsource this data to a Filecoin storage server. The server will produce proof of storage in regular intervals for both the client and the miner. The Filecoin Storage Server by Unixhash is a fully integrated server with the following specifications:

Specifications	rack-mounted 4U/36 disk full modular server (including rail);
CPU	2 pieces Intel Xeon Gold 5117 14C/28T 2.0GHz 19.25MB 105W processor (supports ≥ 2 CPU extensions);
Memory	2 pieces 32GB DDR4-2933 ECC REG RDIMM memory (supports ≥ 16 memory slot expansion);
Hard drive	1 piece 500GB M.2 NVME SSD enterprise drive and 36 16TB 3.5″7.2K SATA enterprise hard drive (supports ≥24 pieces front 3.5″ and ≥12 pieces end 3.5″ and ≥2 pieces 2.5″ hot-swap hard drive expansion);
Array card	1 piece 12Gb 2GB cache SAS RAID controller and battery supercapacitor module (supports Raid 0/1/5/6/10/50/60, etc.);
Network	1 dual-electric gigabit network card, 1 dual-optical 10-megabit network card (including 2 SFP-1000-mega-mode optical modules) and 1 IPMI management port;
Slots	7 pieces PCIe 3.0 slots (supports ≥ 2 enterprise GPU cards);
Power supply	2 pieces of 1200W 1-1 redundant hot-swap platinum power supply;

Filecoin Post Server

The Post server meets the basic hardware requirements for the mining step regarding the production of PoSt followed by the Window PoSt and Winning PoSt. PoSt refers to the Proof of Spacetime which basically means that the miner has to provide proof to the client that at any point, the miner has stored the data as promised, during the entire duration of the agreement.

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The only mechanism through which this scheme of PoSt can work is if the storage provider or miners provides the client with proof nearly every minute that the data is stored on the storage space rented to the client. This is a huge task for the entire system and that’s PoSt scheme came to begin; to help prevent a bottleneck scenario from erupting in the system.

This PoSt scheme has certain hardware requirements that are mentioned in the mining hardware requirements article. These requirements are easily met by the Unixhash Filecoin Post Server, whose package details are mentioned below:

Specifications	rack-mounted 2U/12 disk full modular server (including rails);
CPU	2 pieces AMD EPYC 7282 16C 2.80GHz 64MB 120W processor (supports ≥ 2 pieces CPU extensions);
Memory	4 pieces 64GB DDR4-3200 ECC REG RDIMM memory (supports ≥ 32 pieces memory slot expansion);
Hard drive	1 piece 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD enterprise hard drive and 1 piece 2T U.2 NVMe SSD enterprise hard drive (supports ≥24 pieces front 2.5″ and ≥2 piece 2.5″ hot-swap hard drive bit expansion);
Network	1 piece four-port gigabit network card, 1 piece dual-optical 10 Megabit network card (including 2 SFP-10000 multimode optical modules) and 1 IPMI management port;
Slots	8 pieces PCIe 3.0 slots (supports ≥ 2 enterprise GPU cards);
GPU card	2 pieces NVIDIA RTX3080 turbine card (locking force);
Power supply	2 blocks of 1600W 1-1 redundant hot-swap platinum power supply;

Filecoin Miner Server

Miners in Filecoin are not similar to miners on other cryptocurrency networks as here, they provide storage to clients. This storage is on their computers if they are a solo miner or on specific servers if it is a large operation. These servers are referred to as Filecoin miner servers and Unixhash manufactures these servers to make the mining process quicker. The packet information of the miner server is as follows:

Specifications	rack-mounted 2U/8 disk full modular server (including rails);
CPU	2 pieces Intel Xeon Gold 6230 20C/40T 2.10GHz 27.5MB 125W processor (supports ≥ 2 CPU extensions);
Memory	4 pieces 64GB DDR4-2933 ECC REG RDIMM memory (supports ≥ 24 memory slot expansion);
Hard drive	2 pieces 1.92TB 2.5″SATA interface SSDs and 1 480GB 2.5″SATA interface SSD enterprise hard drives (supports ≥24 pieces front 2.5″ and ≥2 pieces 2.5″ hot-swap hard drive extensions);
Network	1 four-port gigabit network card, 1 dual-optical 10 Megabit network card (including 2 SFP-10000 multimode optical modules) and 1 IPMI management port;
Slots	8 PCIe 3.0 slots (supports ≥ 2 pieces enterprise GPU cards);
Power supply	2 blocks of 750W 1+1 redundant hot-swap platinum power supply;

The use of these servers together will help create a mining rig fast enough and reliable enough for a larger mining operation on the Filecoin network.

Filecoin Mining Hardware and Architeture

Filecoin mining is basically providing storage space by miners which is a feature unique to this decentralized storage network. Filecoin mining is followed by the agreement or deal between client and miner, which is then followed by sealing off of the client’s data by the miner. This sealing off of the data is what requires specific hardware and mining architecture and participants can only mine when they have met these requirements.

Sometimes, other workers apart from miners are present in the framework to help seal tasks and the distribution of work in these settings is quite different from the settings where only miners are responsible for sealing of tasks. Mentioned below are the general requirements all must meet to be able to mine and receive rewards. After that, the specific hardware details are mentioned for each operation type.

General Mining Hardware

If all mining operations are performed by one machine, then miners need to ensure that the following hardware is present in this machine:

CPU: A multicore CPU will be required and it is our recommendation that you use an 8+ core CPU that will support Intel SHA Extensions: AMD. Protocol Labs itself has AMD processors and it recommends multicore CPUs as well as it will speed up the time with which sealing can be performed. The quicker the sealing process is performed, the faster information can be uploaded onto the network, and storage fees can be charged. High clock rates are a must with multicore CPUs and failing to do so may severely impair the storage mining process.
RAM: The sectors that can be sealed off currently on the Filecoin network are 32 GiB and 64 GiB. For you to be able to perform the necessary computations for the sealing processes, a significantly larger RAM of 128 GiB minimum is required. Not just that, there should always be a fast NVMe SSD storage medium of 256 GiB available on hand to swap out the RAM. The higher the RAM, the quicker the process will be for you.
GPU: Much like the CPU, the GPU has to be powerful and quick to be able to perform the computations within the time frame. Lotus GPU is currently recommended as it supports NVIDIA-manufactured chips.
Disk: A slow disk can slow down the performance of the miner. A 1TiB NVMe-based disk space for cache storage is recommended as the bare minimum, and a slow disk or less RAM should always be available for a quick swap with an SSD with more disk space to maintain the high performance of the miner.

You will also need to consider the following basic requirements for Filecoin storage mining:

Storage: A miner server must-have storage available for clients to rent out, and the minimum storage requirement for storage miners to pledge to Filecoin is 1TiB of raw storage. For the mainnet, the requirement is increased to 100 TiB. Storage miners are asked to be especially careful of the storage requirements as there are severe penalties for losing any form of data.
Network: It is recommended to use 10GbE+ network cards and switches, especially if network-attached storage is being used.

Specific Operation Hardware

Based on which operation needs to be performed, the use of CPU and GPU differs and so do the specificities of the system.

Sealing: Pre-commit phase 1

This step usually takes hours and is completely CPU-based. It is during this step that PoRep SDR encoding occurs and the exact time that this step may take depends mostly on the size of the sector and the hardware features of the machine doing the work. As GPU is not required, using a CPU with high clock time is enough to increase the speed of the process significantly. The recommended memory requirement for this operation is 128 GiB. The use of AMD processors with SHA extensions is another way to accelerate this operation.

Sealing: Pre-commit phase 2

This operation includes Merkel tree generation via the Poseidon hashing algorithm. This step requires GPU but in some cases, a CPU may work as well but the process is then slowed significantly. With a GPU, this process takes anywhere between 45 minutes to 60 minutes. In the absence of GPU, a multicore CPU with all cores being functional at a given time has to be used. Memory requirement is the same as the phase 1 and requires 128 GiB.

Sealing: Commit phase 1

This process is quite quick and takes mere seconds. That’s because it is an intermediary step during which all the preparation for the generation of proof of transaction is taking place. This operation does not require a GPU but requires all cores of the CPU to be up and running.

Sealing: Commit phase 2

During this operation, SNARK is created and the memory requirement is approximately 192 GiB. SNARK basically compresses the proof of transaction so it can be easily broadcasted to the blockchain. It can take around 20 minutes to 30 minutes to finish this operation is performed on the GPU. Much like pre-commit phase 2, this operation can be performed on both CPU and GPU. Without GPUs, all cores of the CPU are required and still, the duration of the operation may be prolonged.

Unsealing

This operation only requires the CPU and a memory of 128 GiB.

Proving Window PoSt

Window PoSts are required to be broadcasted in 30-minute windows and this operation is heavily dependant on GPUs. However, in their absence, the process can be performed using CPUs and the speed of the operation depends on the number of cores. More cores equal faster operation.

Proving Winning PoSt

This operation is a CPU-dependant process that needs to be done in 25-second windows. Compared to Window PoSt operation, this one is less computational and intensive.

Required Infrastructure for Filecoin Storage Mining

Protocol Labs, the creators of Filecoin have created a sample architecture for advanced storage mining. This example has the following hardware requirements including node server, miner server, post server, storage server, and hash server. It is recommended for miners to have a similar setup, especially as the hardware is not predicted to change any time soon. This means you do not need to make a big investment now and repeat it in the near future.

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Hardware unit	CPU model	GPU	RAM	Disk	Processes	Notes
Storage miner + Node server	AMD Epyc 7402 (24 cores)	Nvidia Quadro RTX 6000	128-256 GB	Unspecified	1x lotus 1x lotus-miner	The miner delegates sealing functions to the workers below.
PC1 workers	AMD Epyc 7F32 DP/UP (8 cores)	–	128-256 GiB	6 x 1-2 TiB SSD scratch disk	6x lotus-worker	Runs 6 Lotus seal workers in parallel for PreCommit1 phase only.
PC2, Commit workers	AMD Epyc 7402 (24 cores)	2 x Nvidia Quadro RTX 6000	256 GiB	2-4 TiB SSD scratch disk(s)	1x lotus-worker (PC2) 1x lotus-worker (Commit)	One worker dedicated to PreCommit2 and another to the Commit phase
Storage miner + Node Server	Intel Xeon Platinum Processor 8358 (32 cores)	Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 series or RTX 3090	128-256 GB	Unspecified	1x lotus 1x lotus-miner	The miner delegates sealing functions to the workers below.
PC1 workers	Intel Xeon Gold Processor 6346 (16 cores)	–	128-256 GiB	6 x 1-2 TiB SSD scratch disk	6x lotus-worker	Runs 6 Lotus seal workers in parallel for PreCommit1 phase only.
PC2, Commit workers	Intel Xeon Platinum Processor 8358 (32 cores)	2x Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 series or RTX 3090	256 GiB	2-4 TiB SSD scratch disk(s)	1x lotus-worker (PC2) 1x lotus-worker (Commit)	One worker dedicated to PreCommit2 and another to the Commit phase.

Filecoin Mining: How does it Work?

Cryptocurrencies likined by Protocol Labs and is used more as the simulation of Mainnet where clients and miners can interact with each other for renting storage space. This is known as Filecoin mining but before going further into it, it is important to understand what mining exactly means in terms of cryptocurrencies. e Filecoin are dependant on participants that provide new content and storage space using blockchain technology. These participants are often referred to as crypto miners. Simply speaking, they create new coins and participate in the creation of validated transactions all of which are uploaded to be recorded in a central ledger.

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This ledger is provided by a network usually, and the Filecoin networks include Mainnet and Calibration. The former is the one network for the production of Fielcoin whereas the latter acts as a testing network for Filecoin. Mainnet is the main network for Filecoin and currently supports 32 GiB and 64 GiB sectors. It is maintained by the creators of Filecoin, Protocol Labs.

Calibration is also mainta

What is Mining?

Mining refers to the process of increasing the validity of the cryptocurrency while increasing the functionality and popularity of the altcoin. Basically speaking, miners keep the system secure as they are the only ones who can upload transactions on the ledger. Cryptocurrencies are easy to manipulate and when they are decentralized, there is no central authority to validate the transactions. Miners are participants who are verified to create new coins along with performing other functions, depending on the specific cryptocurrencies, and their main job is to credit one account and debit the other while uploading the transaction on the ledger to increase accountability and traceability of the digital coin.

These miners are then rewarded with new coins and this is the incentive for which they work. Miners are crucial for the prevention of double-spending and manipulation of digital coins. However, not everyone can mine digital coins and one must be verified to be able to have access to the ledger. Ensuring this requirement is the proof-of-work protocol or PoW protocol that not only checks verifications of the miners but also protects the network from hacking.

The PoW protocol uses computational power to secure blockchains and only rewards the miner who has cracked the computer-originated code which gives them the block that needs to be added to the ledger along with the new coin. Miners are required to use specific hardware such as miner servers, node servers, has servers, storage servers, post servers, and other architecture to be able to solve the mathematical equations that are controlling the release of new coins. The hardware that the miner is equipped with will crack these codes that ore originated in the form of hash or truncated digital signature of a piece of data. The miner that is able to crack this code will be able to put the block in the ledger and will be given the new coin.

However, the mathematical equations and cryptographic hashes only become more difficult with the passing of time requiring further upgrades of the mining hardware and architecture. Increasing difficulty leads to a scarcity of the mint condition digital coins that are normally rewarded to the miners.

It is also important to note that PoW protocol is not a sustainable option which is especially important to consider given the recent climate change movement. There has been a call for a change of protocol to the power of stake or PoS frameworks as they are more sustainable and leave behind a smaller carbon footprint.

Given that this race to decode the equation for the creation of new coins leads to scarcity of the cryptocurrency, mining pools are becoming more and more famous where multiple miners get together and combine their mining hardware to increase their chances of succeeding. All rewards are usually equally shared amongst all miners in the pool. These pools can be either official which is more reliable and safe or they can be formed by miners meeting up on different forums and deciding to form a mining pool.

Types of Mining and Miners

Miners perform different functions in the cryptocurrency networks using different systems and with different protocols. Based on the status of the miner, Mining is divided into three different types, namely:

Individual Mining: When one person goes solo and uses their own equipment to mine coins and is the sole owner of all rewards, it is referred to as individual or solo mining.
Pool Mining: A miner server combines the computational powers of multiple miners to increase the chances of cracking the cryptographic hashes to earn rewards and add blocks to their network. All rewards are shared by the miners in the pool, equally.
Cloud Mining: This type includes a solo miner that, unlike the types above, mines using rented hardware especially from a firm that itself participates in the mining of cryptocurrencies at an industrial level. The point of cloud mining is to join the mining on an industrial level by just paying for the equipment and benefiting from the coins mined. It does not require the huge investments otherwise associated with big-scale mining processes.

Based on the hardware used by the miners, mining is again divided into three different types which are:

GPU Mining: This type of mining includes video cards that are added to a rig or a frame. For this type of mining, a motherboard and cooling system need to be attached to the rig. It also has a processor and minimum RAM as it is the go-to option for amateur miners. It has replaced CPU mining which once was the easiest frame to work with.
CPU Mining: This includes processor-based mining without the use of video cards which makes this slower and unreliable. At the beginning of cryptocurrency mining, CPU mining was all the rage, and since the use of video cards, this type is not even common amongst amateurs anymore.
ASIC-based Mining: ASIC are designed solely for the purpose of mining cryptocurrencies using specific algorithms. It is quicker than other types of mining due to the specificity of its functions, however, it is also more expensive.

Cloud mining is becoming more and more popular amongst people as it is a cheaper alternative to GPU mining and ASIC-based mining which require you to buy and own your own hardware and architecture for mining.

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Filecoin Mining

As Filecoin is a decentralized storage network and acts as a place for participants to rent out storage space on their hard disk, the mining process for Filecoin is slightly different from traditional cryptocurrency mining techniques. In Filecoin mining, miners do not create new coins but rather provide storage space and methods to reach the stored data easily. Based on the exact function that the miner has, they are divided into three different types:

Storage Miner: They are the most crucial part of the network as miner servers are the ones providing the storage space to different clients on the network. They are incentivized using Filecoin or FIL and required to use cryptographic computing codes to verify each storage transaction. Unlike traditional coin mining, the incentives in Filecoin mining increase based on the amount of storage made available to the client and not the ability of the hardware to crack the cryptographic hashes.
Retrieval Miners: After data has been stored, clients need to be given a simple way to access the data by miners, different from those storing the data for them. This retrieval of data is a task performed by retrieval miners who have been incentivized based on their bandwidth and initial response time to the client for retrieval of data. If the miners cannot provide quick pipes for the retrieval of data, their incentives are likely to decrease significantly.
Repair Miners: This type of miner is going to be added to the network to increase the speed of the deals and rewards, along with proper maintenance of the stored data and quick pipes necessary for their retrieval. This idea, although good, has yet to be implemented by Filecoin. It is not fully understood how these miners will be paid or more appropriately, for what they will be incentivized.

After the storage space has been placed on the network for clients to look into, they can choose to work with a specific miner. Once the client chooses a miner to rent storage space from, they enter an agreement which in Filecoin terms is referred to as a Deal. The client is required to put the funds for the entire duration of the deal in the wallet, and the miner is supposed to accept the terms of the deal before this deal can be published on the network.

After the deal has been published, the client sends the prepared data to the miner for storage. Once the miner receives this data, it is put into a sector and then sealed off. Once this process is complete, the miner server sends proof to the network to be added to the chain for confirmation. After confirmation, the client can be certain the data is stored and this marks the beginning of the deal.

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Filecoin Mining Rewards

Miners send proofs of storage to the chain to be able to access the money in the wallet as storage fees from the clients. But that is not the only way they are rewarded but are also rewarded by the network based on the power associated with them. Depending on how much space has been contributed by a miner, they have a numerical power value which gives them the right to mine blocks. As they mine blocks, they can earn rewards for the messages on those blocks.

Filecoin Explained

Cryptocurrency is the thing of the future that’s gaining popularity due to the safety of the finances, especially since it cannot be hacked or counterfeited. Although the popularity of cryptocurrency should be credited to Bitcoin, the most commonly used cryptocurrency, many alternate cryptocurrencies or altcoins have since been born that gained traction amongst investors. In fact, the altcoin market grew significantly in 2020, with a net worth of $1.25 trillion.

The problem with the rising popularity of altcoins, however, is that there are over 10,000 altcoins out there which makes it hard to know which ones are worth investing in. Filecoin is one of many altcoins out there but it has been proving itself with its various decentralized features which has put it on the top of our list of investment-worthy altcoins.

What is Filecoin?

Filecoin is a decentralized storage network that is built on the idea of peer-to-peer networking using blockchain-based cooperative digital storage and data retrieval. Filecoin is a marketplace for crypto investors to rent storage space on their computers. Made by Protocol labs, it is an open-source cryptocurrency that not only allows investors to rent storage space but also allows others to rent out unused space on their hard disks.

The decentralized aspect of file coin refers to the fact that there is no central authority controlling the market, unlike the current cryptocurrency market. Currently, the storage market is under the ownership of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft’s Azure, with both companies acting as the authority in charge since the former holds 32 percent and the latter holds 19 percent of the overall market. However, filecoin acts as an intermediary for all the renting of and renting out of storage by peers on the network.

Blockchain technology is used as the basic building block for the network because it is able to keep track of the commitments and deals made by investors. It is also beneficial in recording the necessary information regarding any transactions made using the system’s own cryptocurrency. As Filecoin does not act as a gatekeeper of the storage space but rather acts as a network for people to communicate with each other and buy storage, proof of contact and transaction needs to be maintained through the safety of the blockchain technology.

The storage capability of Filecoin is well over 7.58 exabytes, which is a huge storage space. For reference, Netflix stores 60 petabytes of videos which is around 6 percent of the total capacity of Filecoin. When using Filcoin, you can simply communicate with others that are willing to give out unused space, and then make transactions and commitments accordingly. While Filecoin will act as an intermediary and hold both parties accountable using the stored information, that is the extent of its involvement in the process.

The current rate for FIL, the original cryptocurrency of Filecoin with regards to USD is approximate $60 to $62for 1 FIL, which is quite significant considering it has reached this value just in time for its first year anniversary. The market capital for FIL is $7.7 billion and it now falls amongst the top cryptocurrencies amongst altcoins.

Benefits of Filecoin

With the increase in the use of computerized systems in the world, data storage is becoming more difficult. There isn’t enough space and the space available is centralized which has resulted in price hikes. To combat these issues, Filecoin joined the market as the future of data storage.

The main benefit of this altcoin is that it is decentralized which has resulted in easier access to the storage with a clear lack of censorship, unlike the centralized storage networks. This does not affect the safety of the process but it increases its distribution while making it easy to retrieve. Apart from the decentralization of this network, it also has the ability to single-handedly reduce the costs of storage.

As Filecoin has made it easier for people to rent out their unused hard disk space as storage on this network, without excessive extra costs imposed by the network, it has increased the available storage significantly. Increased supply helps meet the increased demand of the market, which eventually results in decreased costs for storage. Moreover, investors are at liberty to find and communicate with whoever, giving them control over their investments while also providing full safety and security on every transaction.

Filecoin provides a look into the future and what Web 3 may look like without the dependence on centralized authorities that manage and control the Web 2 that we have been using. Another important feature of Filcoin that makes it stand out is that it keeps the data flowing. FIL incentivizes everyone involved so as to keep everyone’s interests aligned while also preventing any disruption of flow. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t any disruptions but rather that when there is one, it is swiftly handled so that data flow is never compromised. Given that these features are unique to Filecoin, it is understandable why this altcoin has taken the market by a storm, that too in its first year.

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Centralized vs Decentralized Blockchains

Filecoin is promoted as a decentralized storage network that depends on peer-to-peer interactions. It is also the opposite of the current centralized storage networks that are available to crypto investors. Understanding these benefits of FIL is not possible till it is understood what centralized and decentralized refers to.

Centralized blockchain networks are relatively safe networks that are governed and managed by a central authority like Amazon. Most of what you use today is a centralized network with one authority not only managing the data but also having access to it. When you sign up for networks such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Amazon, you also consent to your data being accessed by the appropriate central authority. While the authority may not look at your data every time, it has access to it if needed. Usually, this is not a problem as there used to be more pros than cons.

However, a central authority with access to all data puts participants at risk of being hacked and leaking private information. Since all information is usually located on a central server, hijacking alone can give anyone access to all information stored by all participants. An example of this is the infamous 2015 Yahoo hack that exposed the emails of millions of users. A centralized network has a single point of failure, and the exposure of that point often causes the network to crash. At the same time, a centralized blockchain also has some benefits, such as a clear chain of command that produces consistent results.

Decentralized blockchain networks, such as Filecoin, are not governed by a single institution and have no third-party involvement. Their greatest strengths and weaknesses happen to be the same aspect that is completely in the hands of the user, but it can also lead to abuse of control and power. While these are less likely to suffer from data breaches, it is worth noting that they are more difficult to use because control is entirely in the hands of the actors. There is no single chain of command in this network. However, the security and control of the network provides a vision of the future that cannot be ignored for fear of the smallest risks.

Decentralized blockchain networks also have lower transaction fees and lower costs overall. Additionally, Filecoin as a decentralized network is currently increasing supply to reduce the cost of finding storage, a property shared by most decentralized networks.

Is Filecoin worth investing in?

Filecoin is currently considered a worthwhile investment, both in the long and short term, according to the predictions of investors who study the market. It is predicted that the value of the coin will increase to $66 by the end of 2021, compared to the current value of $66.6 by the end of the year. Given that this prediction comes true, it can be assumed that the prediction of a rise in value to $82 by October 2025 will also come true. This makes Filecoin a valuable altcoin for all crypto investors.

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