Even with the rising Bitcoin price, the set-up fees and electricity costs may outweigh the revenue that you’d earn through mining.

The primary factors that affect your Bitcoin mining profitable are:

• Mining difficulty and rewards
• Hash rate
• Operational costs

Mining difficulty and rewards

The mining difficulty determines the complexity of the algorithm you need to solve when creating a new block of transactions. As more miners join the network, the difficulty increases making Bitcoin harder to mine.

The reward for mining a block is currently 3.125 Bitcoin, following the most recent halving in April 2024. This reward is halved approximately every 210,000 blocks, with the next halving expected in 2028. The reduction in block rewards aims to control Bitcoin’s supply, potentially driving up the price as supply decreases. However, whether the price will increase enough to offset the declining mining rewards remains uncertain.

You should also factor in the conversion rate of Bitcoin to fiat if you plan on cashing out at any time. With the volatility of Bitcoin’s price, this could greatly affect your profitability.

The biggest unknown when calculating your projected Bitcoin mining profitable is the amount of yearly profitability decline. No one knows how many miners will continue to join the network, so it’s nearly impossible to calculate just how much your revenue will decrease each year.

Hash rate

The hash rate is the speed at which your mining rig can solve the algorithm needed to mine new blocks. Although a mining rig with a high hash rate may seem nice, they usually cost significantly more to purchase and operate.

When choosing a miner, you should first figure out how long you’d like to mine for. If you’re only planning on mining Bitcoin for a short amount of time, it could be advantageous to pick up a less expensive miner. Even though the hash rate may be lower, you may be able to pay off the initial purchase cost at a faster rate. 

Operational costs

There are a few different costs you need to consider when calculating your Bitcoin mining profitability.

The electrical costs differ based on your electricity rates and the power consumption of your mining rig. Mining rigs are usually listed with their typical power consumption, and you can find your electricity rate on your power bills.

To mine effectively, you’ll need to join a mining pool and pay the associated pool fees. A mining pool is a group of miners that work together to mine blocks at an increased rate. The reward of each block is then split amongst the miners enabling you to get paid more regularly. These fees range anywhere from 0% – 5%.

You should also include the upfront cost of buying a mining rig when calculating your potential profitability.

Bitcoin mining profitability calculators

Once you’ve figured out some of your costs and mining rig options, you can use a calculator to determine whether or not Bitcoin mining is worth it for you. 

If you find that you won’t be profitable mining Bitcoin, don’t fret. There’s plenty of other coins like Monero or Litecoin that you may find more profitable for yourself.

The post Is Bitcoin Mining Worth It? appeared first on CoinCentral.

Bitcoin was created in 2009 by an unknown developer (or developers) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Nakamoto seemingly created the digital currency in response to the 2008 financial crisis.

New Bitcoins enter the ecosystem using the computer programming Nakamoto wrote when creating the Bitcoin network. This program will only ever produce 21 million Bitcoin. Today, a little over 16.7 million exist.

Where do new Bitcoins come from?

In the Bitcoin whitepaper, Nakamoto explains that each Bitcoin transaction has to be verified by a decentralized group of computers – also known as miners. In exchange for verifying transactions and auditing the network ledger, these miners get Bitcoins as a reward.

These Bitcoin rewards had previously not been in circulation and therefore come from the network programming.

Transactions are grouped together in sets called blocks. With each block, miners work to solve a complex algorithm for the privilege to add the block to the chain of existing blocks, hence the name blockchain.

The algorithm increases and decreases in difficulty to ensure that each block takes an average of 10 minutes to mine.

The first miner to solve the algorithm broadcasts the answer to the rest of the miners on the network. If the other miners agree that the block is valid, they add it to the blockchain.

The miner that solved the algorithm then receives the Bitcoin reward. The mining rewards are the only source of new Bitcoins.

Bitcoin mining rewards

The bitcoin mining reward started at 50 Bitcoin per block and has decreased 50% every 210,000 blocks (~4 years). The current mining reward is 12.5 Bitcoin per block.

The reward will continue to decrease about every 4 years until all of the Bitcoins are in circulation. 

The post Where do Bitcoins come from? appeared first on CoinCentral.

When sending Bitcoin, it can be easy to make a small mistake causing you to want to cancel your Bitcoin transaction. Oftentimes, funds can become stuck if the miner fee you enter isn’t high enough for any miner to confirm your transaction.

Unfortunately, the steps to cancel a Bitcoin transaction are a little more complicated than just pressing an “Undo” button. In this brief guide, I’ll walk you through the process to cancel an unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction.

Has your transaction been confirmed?

The first step in canceling your Bitcoin transaction is to check whether or not it has any confirmations.

When you made your transaction, you should have gotten a transaction ID that looks something like this:

240615b6ab59a5adb19ba52cb969aeb16ff82d2082b7a72cb2912c5d38c297cf

Take your transaction ID and enter it into a block explorer. Blockchain.info is a great option.

On the next page, you can see information about your transaction including the number of its confirmations.

If the number of confirmations is greater than 0, you won’t be able to cancel your transaction. Confirmed transactions on the blockchain are permanent and irreversible. Just wait and your transaction will finish going through soon.

If the transaction has no confirmations yet, there’s still a chance that you can cancel it.

How to cancel an unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction

There are two primary strategies you can use to try to cancel your unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction:

1. Replace by Fee (RBF)
2. Double spend using a higher fee

Some wallets support the RBF protocol allowing you to replace your original transaction with a new one that includes a higher transaction fee. This would effectively unstick your transaction.

To use this feature, though, you would’ve needed to make the original transaction replaceable (usually via an opt-in checkbox); here, you can see the actual structure of a mined RBF transaction.

To use this feature, though, you would’ve needed to make the original transaction replaceable (usually via an opt-in checkbox).

If you’re unable to use RBF, you still may be able to cancel the Bitcoin transaction by double spending with a higher fee.

To do this, make a new transaction equal to the amount of the original one and send it to yourself. Make sure the transaction fee on this is significantly higher than the original one you paid.

You may need to use another wallet or specialized software that allows double spending for the transaction to be broadcast to the network.

If all goes well, miners will pick up the new transaction, and your Bitcoin will be back in your wallet.

Most miners and wallets have safeguards against double spending, though, so there’s still a large chance that this method may not work.

Hopefully, one of these two methods works for you. If not, treat this as an important lesson taught to you by the wild world of Bitcoin.

This educationally-focused technical article is proudly sponsored by BitScript.app, a Bitcoin educational platform & development environment.

The post How to cancel an unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction appeared first on CoinCentral.

When you make a Bitcoin transaction, it needs to be approved by the network before it can be completed. The Bitcoin community has set a standard of 6 confirmations that a transfer needs before you can consider it complete.

What determines the Bitcoin transaction times?

The two main factors influencing the transaction time are:

• The amount of network activity
• Transaction fees

The more transactions that the network needs to process, the longer each transaction takes. This is because there are only a finite number of miners to process each block and there are a finite number of transactions that can be included in a block.

Miners on the Bitcoin network prioritize transactions by the fee that they receive for confirming them. Therefore, if you pay a higher fee, a miner is more likely to process your transfer which decreases the transaction time.

How long does it take to confirm a Bitcoin transaction?

As mentioned earlier, a Bitcoin transaction generally needs 6 confirmations from miners before it’s processed. The average time it takes to mine a block is 10 minutes, so you would expect a transaction to take around an hour on average.

However, the recent popularity boom of Bitcoin has caused congestion on the network.  

The average time for one Bitcoin confirmation has recently ranged anywhere from 30 minutes to over 16 hours in extreme cases.

Historically, there has been a divide in the Bitcoin community on how to best address these scaling issues. Some members (specifically those in favor of Bitcoin Cash in 2018) believe that the solution is a larger block size that’s capable of holding more transactions per block.

Other community members debate that improvements such as Segregated Witness (SegWit) and the Lightning Network will speed up the network without having to increase the block sizes.

Only time will tell which solution proves to be the best.

What is a bitcoin transaction?

First, let’s remember that bitcoins don’t physically exist. There’s no solid coin to hold in your hand, nor a token or slip of paper to signify the value of your bitcoin. Instead, bitcoins exist in the virtual realm as a series of transactions that have been verified—in essence, legitimized—on the hyper-secure, public ledger known as the “blockchain.” In other words: bitcoins are a history of signatures, secured with cryptography.

So, if you “have” bitcoin, what you really possess is information: the history of your bitcoins, and a pair of “keys” allowing you to use them—the public key and the private key.

Think of your bitcoin as a collection of information tokens stored in a glass box. The public key is the label of your box—everyone knows this is your box and how much bitcoin your box contains. Like a bank account routing number, your public key is shared so that people can send you money.

By contrast, your private key is safely guarded; it is the only way to open your glass box of bitcoin. Having access to the private key is akin to having control of the bank account, which is why people take great pains to prevent private keys from falling into the wrong hands.

In sum, bitcoins are summaries of transaction information. Public keys allow you to possess that information. Private keys authorize you to send that value to another public key.

How does a Bitcoin transaction work?

Say that you want to give your friend Dave a generous birthday gift of five bitcoin (5 BTC). To do so, you need to use your private key to send a message to the public blockchain announcing this transaction. This transaction message contains three parts:

1. Input: the source transaction of the bitcoins you’re sending to Dave. This code explains the history of how the bitcoins came to your public key.
2. Amount: the number of bitcoins—in this case, five—that you intend to send to Dave.
3. Output: Dave’s public key, or the address to which you are sending the bitcoins.

This three-part transaction message is sent to the blockchain; in reality, transaction involve a lot, for a detailed breakdown, check out this Bitcoin transaction viewer. Once the blockchain receives it, data-crunchers known as “miners” work to verify the transaction. There’s a complicated, very technical background to miners and the work of bitcoin mining, but for the sake of understanding here, we’ll keep it simple. In short, miners solve complex math problems that create new signatures—an updated transaction history—for the transacted bitcoin.

In your case, the miners will verify that you have five bitcoin to send to Dave, then update those bitcoins’ list of past transactions to note that you are sending five bitcoins to Dave’s public address.

How long do Bitcoin transactions take?

Unfortunately for Dave, this process does not occur instantaneously. In fact, bitcoin transactions are subject to delays ranging from a few minutes to a few days. This is because bitcoin requires miners to verify transactions. Transactions are usually lumped into “blocks,” to be verified and added to the public blockchain; according to standard bitcoin protocol, it takes about ten minutes to mine one block.

However, due to its rising popularity, the bitcoin network is often backlogged with transactions waiting to be lumped into a block. Block sizes are limited, and those which do not make it into one are lumped into a large queue known as the “bitcoin mempool.” The mempool fluctuates in size, with wait times also dependent on transaction priority and fees, which we will cover shortly. For an idea of the backlog, check out the current Bitcoin Mempool.

Transaction fees

Mining requires significant effort and technology, so bitcoin transactions are increasingly subject to additional fees. Transaction fees help to prioritize the queue—the higher you’re willing to pay miners to verify your transaction, the quicker it’s likely to be processed. Bitcoin transaction fees are usually expressed in “satoshis per byte”. A Satoshi is one hundred millionth of a bitcoin, per byte size of the transaction, which is usually over 200 bytes.

Bitcoin fees aren’t obligatory, though they do incentivize miners to process your transaction faster. Transaction fees are usually set by the user creating the block of transaction data to be mined. These rates and their dependent wait times vary as traffic ebbs and flows.

For instance, you could pay 200 satoshis per byte (which is 0.000002 BTC or 0.01 USD per byte) for your gift to Dave to be placed in the bitcoin queue of the next 1-3 blocks. Your transaction will thus take about 10-30 minutes to be verified.

Alternatively, you could pay a higher fee—say, 300 satoshis per byte—to have your transaction placed in the immediate queue or the next block to be mined. Your transaction will likely be completed in the next 10 minutes.

Bitcoin is a user-based, peer-to-peer system, thus making the system prone to volatility and experimentation. As of this writing, Bitcoin transactions had become alarmingly expensive—at one point, for example, moving 0.01BTC ($42) cost $4 in transaction fees. As bitcoin continues to develop as a platform, the roller coaster of rates, fees, and wait times will likely stabilize.

Final Thoughts: What Else to Know About Bitcoin

Despite Bitcoin’s growing popularity, the actual process of using cryptocurrency remains murky to many people. Transactions—public, yet secure, as they’re reliant on bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology—are the key to the currency’s future success. They also present some of Bitcoin’s most immediate challenges: wait times, system overloads, and transaction fees necessary to pay “miners” to process the decentralized currency.

Time will tell if the continued use of bitcoin will smooth out the frequently uneven transaction process

This educationally-focused technical article was proudly sponsored by BitScript.app, a Bitcoin educational platform & development environment.

The post How Long do Bitcoin Transactions Take? appeared first on CoinCentral.

What or who determines how many Bitcoins are left?

The remaining Bitcoins not in circulation are in a pool dedicated to rewarding miners for maintaining the integrity of the network. As miners validate transactions and create new blocks, they receive the remaining Bitcoins from this pool as a reward. The Bitcoin source code outlines how the mining rewards should be distributed and when these distributions occur.

The reward for mining each block started at 50 Bitcoins and has since “halved” three times. The current reward sits at 6.25 bitcoins per block as of the May 2020 Bitcoin Halvening– which is about $250,000 in rewards per block.

When will no Bitcoins be left? 

The mining reward halving occurs every 210,000 blocks. With blocks taking about 10 minutes on average to mine, halvings occur about every 4 years.

After 64 total halvings, there will be no more Bitcoins left to reward miners and all 21 million Bitcoins will be in circulation. This will occur sometime in 2140.

You may be wondering, “Without block rewards, what incentive do miners have to validate transactions?”

Miners receive more than just the block rewards when they create new blocks. They also earn the fees associated with each transaction. Transaction fees vary with the amount of network congestion and transaction size.

Miners generally prioritize transactions by the highest Satoshi/byte fee. The higher the transaction fee that you pay, the more likely a miner will process your transaction.

Once there are no Bitcoins left for mining rewards, the transaction fees should be high enough of an incentive for miners to continue running the network.

How many unmined bitcoins are left?

With just over 1.1 million bitcoins left unmined, miners have plenty of an incentive to mine the network to seek out the block reward.

Final Thoughts: What Happens to Bitcoin After All 21 Million BTC Are Mined?

Bitcoin was created to finish issuing its full supply sometime in 2140, which is plenty of runways to speculate what will happen.

Will Bitcoin’s price be greater once all BTC is mined? One line of thought advocates that yes– upon all bitcoin being mined, there will be a heavy deflationary pressure on the cryptocurrency. This is further compounded by factors external to BTC’s programming, such as people permanently losing their BTC in various ways. 

It’s also important to note that we view Bitcoin’s price in terms of USD, which is an inflationary currency. If both are still around in the next century, their price parity will likely be very different. 

The post How Many Bitcoins Are Left? appeared first on CoinCentral.

A popular method to buy Ripple with fiat is to use the GateHub wallet. GateHub is built on the Ripple protocol, so it specializes in XRP exchanges.

In this guide, we’ll explain step-by-step how to buy Ripple on Gatehub, specifically using USD. Although we only cover purchasing Ripple with USD, the platform also supports EUR, CNY, and JPY trading.

To get started, create a GateHub account.

How to Create a GateHub Account

Step 1. Navigate to the GateHub website.

Step 2. Click Sign Up in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Step 3. On the Sign Up page, enter your email and password. Additionally, complete the Captcha as well as read the GateHub Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. If you agree with the policy and terms, check the boxes and click SIGN UP.

Step 4. Next, you’ll receive a Recovery Key. Store this in a safe place to which only you have access. Preferably, you should write it down and keep it someplace secure.

*If you lose your password, the only way to recover your account is with your Recovery Key.*

Step 5. Once you’ve safely stored your Recovery Key, check your email. You should have received an email from GateHub. Follow the instructions in the email to activate your account.

Step 6. GateHub will most likely redirect you to the Sign In page after activating your account. If you aren’t redirected, you can navigate to the Sign In page by click Sign In on the GateHub homepage.

Step 7. Sign in using the email and password you entered when you created your account. You’re now in the wallet.

How to Verify Your Identity on GateHub

Step 8. When you first enter the wallet, you need to choose whether you’re an Individual or Company. You should most likely pick Individual.

Step 9. Before you’re able to deposit USD into the wallet, you need to verify your identity. First, provide your telephone number.

Step 10. You’ll receive a text message to that phone number. Enter the verification code from that text message onto the website.

Step 11 (Optional). Next, enter a GateHub name. Your GateHub name is similar to a username and is what you’ll use to receive funds. It’s like a public address.

Step 12 (Optional). Set a profile picture.

Step 13. Enter your personal information.

Step 14. Finally, provide a Personal ID and Proof of Residency.

Step 15. Wait for verification. This process may take up to five business days. However, for us, it took less than five minutes.

How to Deposit USD to GateHub

Step 16. After verifying your identity, you’ll be on your Home page. Scroll down and click Connect a Gateway.

Step 17. Enter your password and click Unlock.

Step 18. Choose USD.

Step 19. Confirm your Gateway selection.

Step 20. From the Home page, click Deposit/Receive from the My Wallet panel.

Step 21. Then, select Bank. You’ll see instructions on how to wire money to your GateHub account. Follow those instructions.

How to Buy Ripple on GateHub with USD

Step 22. With funds in your account, navigate to the Exchange page.

Step 23. Unlock your wallet.

Step 24. Before exchanging, ensure that “USD” is on the “Spend” side. You can toggle this by clicking the Flip arrow button in the middle of the screen.

Step 25. Enter the amount in USD (or XRP) that you’d like to exchange. The other currency amount will fill in automatically.

Step 26. Confirm that you would like to exchange USD to XRP.

You now own your first XRP and can teach other people how to buy Ripple on GateHub as well. We hope the process wasn’t too difficult. You can check your balance by navigating to your Wallet from the menu on the side.

The post How to Buy Ripple on GateHub | Step-by-Step Guide appeared first on CoinCentral.

Your BTC address is a string of 26-35 letters and numbers that identify your Bitcoin wallet. BTC addresses begin with either a 1 or a 3 and are case-sensitive.

When you want to receive funds, this is the information that you provide to the person paying you. Your BTC address is oftentimes called your wallet address or your public address.

This address is considered public because, unlike the private key that controls your wallet, it’s relatively safe to share with the public.

Most wallets make your BTC address readily accessible. You can usually find your address by tapping “Receive” or “Receive BTC” in your wallet. Some wallets also have it listed in your account settings.

How to get a BTC address

There’s no shortage of ways to get a BTC address.

The 3 most popular methods are:

1. Setting up an account on an exchange
2. Using an online wallet
3. Using an offline wallet (recommended)

Exchanges

Most exchanges give you a BTC address when you create an account. You don’t need to do any trading to have access to your public address.

Although convenient, it’s not recommended that you use this address for anything more than temporary storage. Exchanges are online which puts your funds at risk for hackers and/or malicious software.

Online wallets

There are plenty of reputable online wallets that you can use to get a BTC address. Exodus and Jaxx are two solid options that not only support Bitcoin but other coins as well.

Coinbase, although known primarily as an exchange, also provides you with a wallet when you use their service.

Once again, there’s an inherent risk in using these platforms because they’re online.

Offline wallets

Offline wallets are the suggested way to get an address to store your Bitcoin. You can either use a hardware wallet like Trezor and Ledger or create a paper wallet for your funds. Because these wallets are offline, you mitigate the risk of being hacked by using them.

Hardware wallets are the most expensive option, but their security and multiple coin support usually make them worth the higher price tag.

Paper wallets are free. To create one, follow the instructions on a website like bitaddress.org and print out the paper wallet it generates. This wallet will include your private key as well as your public BTC address.

The post What is my BTC Address? appeared first on CoinCentral.

Although he didn’t include it in the Bitcoin whitepaper, Satoshi Nakamoto outlined a rough idea of merged mining in a Bitcointalk forum in 2009. Let’s look further into how this innovative mining works, what it means for the projects that implement it, and how you can take advantage as an investor.

How does Merged Mining work?

Every merged mining implementation has an auxiliary chain and a more established parent chain. To work together, both chains must share the same hashing algorithm. We’re going to examine one of the once-popular merged mining pairs, Namecoin and Bitcoin, to explain the process.

In this pair, Bitcoin is the parent chain while Namecoin is the auxiliary chain piggybacking off Bitcoin’s network. Both cryptocurrencies use the SHA-256 hashing algorithm for mining.

Implementation

Parent chain developers don’t need to perform any additional work to implement merged mining. Therefore, the Bitcoin network doesn’t even need to know that Namecoin is mining along with it.

Auxiliary chains, however, need some added development to integrate merged mining. Continuing our example, Namecoin developers updated the blockchain to accept proof of Bitcoin mining as valid on the Namecoin blockchain as well.

Merged Mining Process

Merged mining requires no additional computing power for the miners. As a miner, you mine Namecoin and Bitcoin just as efficiently as you would when mining only Bitcoin. You (or your mining pool) just need to perform the additional set-up to support it.

Here’s how it works:

In our example, you begin by assembling a block of transactions for each chain – Bitcoin and Namecoin. The Namecoin (auxiliary chain) block includes what you’d expect in a standard set of transactions. The Bitcoin block also contains regular transactions. However, it has an additional transaction with the hash pointing to the Namecoin block you just constructed.

After assembling your blocks, you mine. There are a few different scenarios that could play out here:

• You mine a block at Bitcoin’s difficulty level. You finish creating the Bitcoin block and broadcast it to the Bitcoin network. Because the difficulty level at which you mined the Bitcoin block is higher than Namecoin’s difficulty level, you also mine a Namecoin block. You receive both mining rewards.
• You mine a block at Namecoin’s difficulty level. You finish assembling the Namecoin block by inserting the header and hash of the Bitcoin block. The Namecoin chain then accepts this block. It’s able to recognize the additional Bitcoin header and hash as your proof of work because of the development work you did to support merged mining. You only receive the Namecoin mining reward.
• You mine a block between Namecoin’s and Bitcoin’s difficulty level. You experience the same outcome as scenario number two.

Merged Mining Implications

The Good

Small and new blockchain projects have a few good reasons to integrate merged mining. Most importantly, doing so beefs up the security of their network while still being able to operate as a distinct chain. These auxiliary chains also gain exposure by being associated with a more popular blockchain.

Additionally, miners are heavily incentivized to participate as they receive extra income at no additional cost or power. And, because miners usually trade between the two coins to keep what they favor, there’s a boost in liquidity for both cryptos.

The Neutral

Parent chains fall victim to some blockchain bloat with the addition of auxiliary chains. The hashes that the auxiliary chain adds to the parent chain’s transaction tree are small, but they do take up space. As long as coins like Bitcoin are successful in implementing second-layer scaling solutions, this bloat shouldn’t become an issue.

The Bad

Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Integrating merged mining requires additional development work on the auxiliary chain. When switching over from another mining protocol to merged mining, you need to hard fork. Another hard fork is necessary if you ever want to switch away from merged mining.

Miners and mining pools also have some work to do if they want to reap the benefits of mining two chains. Although merged mining doesn’t require additional power, it does require more maintenance work. In mining two blockchains, you have twice the connections to serve and twice the distribution channels to maintain (if you run a mining pool). Some groups may not find the added upkeep worth the extra coin.

Investor Insights

Overall, merged mining provides more of an advantage to miners than it does to investors. However, when combined with other information, merged mining could be a telling sign of a promising project. Here are some past and future examples:

Namecoin – No Long-term Guarantees

Namecoin, effectively a decentralized domain registry, was the first coin to have merged mining with Bitcoin. Once a top 10 cryptocurrency by market cap, it’s dropped significantly to a spot in the high 200s. It serves as a great example of how a project can slowly fall by the wayside – even when tied to cryptocurrency’s most powerful network.

Even though a significant number of mining pools support Namecoin merged mining, the coin hasn’t seen much adoption in its five-year history. Development is also not as active as similar projects. This fall from grace goes to show that just because a cryptocurrency includes merged mining that doesn’t necessarily mean the fundamentals warrant an investment.

Dogecoin – Immediate After Effects

Early in Dogecoin’s life, the community decided to integrate merged mining with Litecoin. They found that with the original mining mechanism in place, the network would run out of significant mining rewards within the year. With no changes, miners wouldn’t have an incentive to mine, and the network would be susceptible to a 51% attack.

Almost immediately after switching from Proof-of-Work to Auxiliary Proof-of-Work, the Dogecoin price rose from about $0.0002 (~0.00000041 BTC) to around $0.00047 (~0.00000115 BTC). That’s over a 180 percent increase in BTC price over just a couple of weeks.

Although just one data point, it shows that a project that switches to merged mining could be a profitable short-term investment. There are a few reasons why this may be true.

First, the additional network security brings immediate confidence to the community. Also, tethering to a more well-known coin provides more exposure to lesser-known cryptocurrencies. It’s like a quick marketing boost. Finally, merged mining adds liquidity to both chains as miners trade to keep the coins they prefer.

Elastos – Potential Sleeper Pick

Elastos is a blockchain-powered Internet that integrates merged mining with Bitcoin.

Elastos is collaborating with NEO and Bitmain as the G3 of China. It’s rumored that Bitmain will dedicate a portion of the company’s hash power to mining Elastos. For those of you that don’t know, Bitmain controls some of the largest Bitcoin mining pools. So this support is a positive indicator for the Elastos price.

With this in mind, it seems as if the Elastos price should have firm upward pressure once mining begins. However, analyzing the project as a long-term (greater than one year) hold requires a deeper dive into the fundamentals.

Final Thoughts: Is Merged Mining Worth It?

Merged mining is an excellent option for young projects looking to grow without fear of a 51% attack. From an investment standpoint, a project’s decision to implement merged mining could cause an immediate jump in price. Although, this price boost may not last.

No matter how it affects the price, merged mining is something to be aware of as an investor, a miner, or even just a crypto enthusiast. With the ever-increasing threat of 51% attacks, switching to merged mining could very well be a trend that we start to see more of as we grow as an industry.

The post What is Merged Mining? Can You Mine Two Cryptos at the Same Time? appeared first on CoinCentral.

Refer to our Ledger Nano S Setup Guide if you’re confused on how to start.

How to Send Ethereum from a Ledger Nano S

Step 0. Using a USB cord, connect your Ledger to a computer and enter your pin code.

Step 1. Next, open the Ledger Wallet Ethereum app on your computer. The app may tell you to unlock your Ledger.

Step 2. Open the Ethereum app on your Ledger. If it’s missing the Ethereum app, you can download it from the Ledger Manager.

*NOTE: Even with the Ledger’s Ethereum app open, the wallet app on your computer may still show a message stating that you need to unlock your Ledger. More likely than not, this means that you need to switch your Browser Support settings. To do this, navigate to Settings -> Browser Support on your Ledger, and switch the selection to “No.”

Step 3. If presented with the option between Ethereum and Ethereum Classic, choose Ethereum.

Step 4. Your computer should now be showing your wallet. Here, you can see your account balance and transactions.

Step 5. Click the up arrow at the top of the window to send Ethereum.

Step 6. Enter the amount of Ethereum you want to send and the address that you want to send it to. Additionally, click the camera icon next to the “Send” button to scan a QR code for the address.

Step 7. Ledger automatically sets the gas limit for your transaction. The gas limit is how much you’re willing to spend on a transaction to make sure it goes through. To change your gas limit, click on “Advanced Mode” in the lower left-hand corner.

*NOTE: Unless you’re an advanced user, we recommend you keep the default gas limit. It’s high enough that a miner will pick up your transaction but is still set at a reasonable price.

Step 8. Click the “Send” button. Your wallet balance will show the change and your transaction will appear in the “Last Operations” section.

Additional Ledger Nano S Guides

Now, you should be able to successfully send Ethereum from your Ledger Nano S to any other address. Check out our additional guides below:

Ledger Nano S Setup Guide

How to Transfer Bitcoin to a Ledger Nano S

How to Transfer Ethereum to a Ledger Nano S

How to Transfer ERC20 Tokens to a Ledger Nano S (Using MyEtherWallet)

How to Send Bitcoin From a Ledger Nano S

How to Send ERC20 Tokens From a Ledger Nano S (Using MyEtherWallet)

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The post How to Send Ethereum from a Ledger Nano S appeared first on CoinCentral.

If you missed our Ledger Nano S Setup Guide, you can follow it here.

How to Transfer Ethereum to a Ledger Nano S

Step 0. As always, you first need to connect your Ledger to your computer and enter your pin code.

Step 1. Open the Ledger Wallet Ethereum app on your computer. You’ll probably see a message to unlock your Ledger.

Step 2. Open the Ethereum app on your Ledger. If you don’t have the Ethereum app on it, download it from the Ledger Manager.

*NOTE: If your computer app is still telling you to unlock your Ledger even though your Ledger’s Ethereum app is open, you probably need to switch your Browser Support settings. On your Ledger, navigate to Settings -> Browser Support, and switch to “No.”

Step 3. If this is your first time using the Ethereum wallet, you’ll have to choose between the Ethereum and Ethereum Classic chains. Because we want to receive Ethereum, choose that chain.

Step 4. Now, you’re in your wallet. It’s here that you can see your balance, last operations, and make transactions.

Step 5. Click on the down arrow at the top of the window to receive funds.

Step 6. Now, you should see a QR code and a string of numbers and letters. This is your address. In most scenarios, you’ll use the HEX address, not the IBAN one.

Step 7. Finally, copy/paste that address, or scan the QR code, into the designated spot in your funding source.

Step 8. Transfer your Ethereum.

Step 9. Depending on network congestion, your account balance and transaction history should update within a few minutes.

Additional Ledger Nano S Guides

Congratulations! You’ve officially sent Ethereum to your Ledger Nano S. If you’re interested in learning more about your wallet, check out our guides below:

Ledger Nano S Setup Guide

How to Send Bitcoin From a Ledger Nano S

How to Send Ethereum From a Ledger Nano S

How to Send ERC20 Tokens From a Ledger Nano S (Using MyEtherWallet)

How to Transfer Bitcoin to a Ledger Nano S

How to Transfer ERC20 Tokens to a Ledger Nano S (Using MyEtherWallet)

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