How to use a smartphone for crypto mining? Assuming that you already are knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies, you must have also heard about cryptocurrency mining even if you do not know what exactly it is.
It is actually the process of validating a transaction made on a blockchain before it is added as a new block.
It is done by solving a complex mathematical puzzle which needs a lot of computational power and energy.
The participants are called miners and the first one to crack the puzzle is rewarded with a new coin or transaction fees.
Therefore, you may think quite naturally that crypto mining needs powerful computers, which is quite true.
However, the good news is that you can even use your smartphone now to mine cryptocurrencies.
It may sound a bit strange but it is true. Now you may wonder whether or not crypto mining on smartphones really works.
You may also have a lot of other common questions in your mind regarding the feasibility of mining crypto coins by using a smartphone.
It is these questions that will be answered in this article.
Yes, crypto mining does work on smartphones, though there are a few good reasons that you should stay away from getting involved in it.
The most significant reason is that crypto mining with a smartphone is not as effective and productive as compared to the traditional crypto mining process that uses advanced software and hardware.
Given the current state, crypto mining on smartphones will surely not give you the amount of profit which will be worth the time and effort you will put into the process.
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How to Use a Smartphone for Crypto Mining?
The popularity of crypto has been on the rise since its inception and, as a result, more and more people are investing in the crypto market and also mining new coins.
However, mining crypto coins is quite an expensive affair.
Crypto mining needs high-powered equipment with advanced GPUs or Graphics Processing Units and a lot of energy to solve complicated mathematical equations which results in encrypted strings that represent the crypto coins or tokens.
The miners can sell these coins for fiat money.
Now, a modern smartphone also comes with powerful hardware and sophisticated GPUs which has made it a hot topic for discussion – whether or not it can be used to mine crypto coins.
Typically, mining crypto coins with a smartphone may prove to be an easy way to make money because these devices are not as expensive as a traditional miner.
Users also do not need to know the complex science behind crypto mining to make it work.
All that is required is a proper phone and a few free apps that are available easily in the Google Play Store.
Still, people are apprehensive of using their smartphones for crypto mining for a few specific reasons as follows.
The most significant reason is that, in spite of being quite powerful, the smartphone users cannot compete with the other miners who have proper mining equipment that is way more powerful, rendering the smartphones useless.
Another major reason is that most people believe that crypto mining is typically an industrial activity.
These major firms use sophisticated software and ASIC mining machines that increase their profit margin significantly.
However, smartphones can still be used for crypto mining if you know how exactly to use them.
For example, just like in traditional mining, you can also join mining pools while using your smartphone to mine crypto coins.
This will increase your computational power and your winning chances significantly.
But then, your profits will also be shared among all the participants in the particular mining pool and you will also have to pay some fees to the pool admin for managing software effectively.
Therefore, it is good to be aware about smartphone crypto mining, which is also effective today, albeit on a much smaller scale as compared to traditional crypto mining techniques.
Mining Pool or Solo Mining
There is a significant difference between solo mining and using a mining pool when you mine crypto on your Android phone.
As it is, mining crypto on an Android phone is not an easy task and it will be even more difficult if you go for solo mining.
You will have little computational power to crack a mathematical puzzle, which, mind you, is extremely complex.
Statistically, every Bitcoin comes with a 64-bit address. This address is generated cryptographically by the miners and for that matter they need to use their private and public keys.
Given that the currency unit of Bitcoin is limited to 21 million only, it will take a couple of months for you to generate even a small Bitcoin fraction if you use your Android phone for solo mining.
On the other hand, when you join a crypto mining pool, which is a group of miners hosted by servers, you have more computational power, as mentioned earlier.
No matter who in the mining pool cracks a transaction, everyone participating in it is rewarded.
This increases your chances of winning rewards as well, though by only a small fraction.
Also, there are a few specific apps created for crypto mining with an Android phone, which, when used will need you to join a mining pool essentially.
Therefore, be sure that you are using the right app and following all its requirements.
Expert tip: When you select a mining pool, research well to find the best one and focus mainly on a few particular aspects.
First, you should consider the size of the mining pool. Bigger the size, more regular will be the payment.
Next, consider the fees to be paid to the mining pool. This should be minimal so that it does not eat away your profits.
Finally, consider the reward method followed by the mining pool.
Most mining pools follow the PPS or Pay Per Share method where a fixed amount is paid when a share of a block is submitted.
However, there may be a few mining pools that follow the score-based payment system where only a weighted part of the share is paid when submitted.
Crypto Mining Apps
You will come across quite a few apps developed for crypto mining on an Android phone.
When you download these apps you will not need to invest in expensive equipment for crypto mining.
These apps will allow you to join a mining pool as well.
However, these apps will need you to register an account first on their website in order to download and use them.
This means that when you want to stop mining or even switch pools, you will have to unregister your account and delete the app from your smartphone completely.
There are lots of such apps available in the Google Play store but two of the most popular ones are Bitcoin Miner and MinerGate.
MinerGate Mobile Miner, which promises low power consumption and increased performance and is used by more than 2 million active miners all over the world to mine Bitcoin.
However, do check it on Google because crypto mining with it is banned by Google.
However, you can track your mining process remotely and cash out coins that you have earned by using this app.
This mobile app supports a number of Altcoins apart from Bitcoin such as Dash, QuazarCoin, MonetaVerde, Monero, and DigitalNote.
Apart from that there is also a wallet built in the app where you can store the coins you have earned as mining reward.
Bitcoin Miner which is one of the first and most popular apps that ensures high performance by running in the background.
It works with two different mining pools namely, PPLNS or Pay Per Last N-Shares and SMPPS or Shared Maximum Pay Per Share.
You can join any of them and even switch between the pools at any time.
It has an intuitive interface that is easy to use and, even though it is named Bitcoin Miner, you can use it to mine several other types of crypto coins.
No matter whichever app you use to mine crypto on your smartphone, the amount of profit you may earn will largely rely on how frequently the device is mining crypto coins actively.
Cloud Mining Apps or Platforms
If you are into cloud mining, you will need to use specific apps or platforms to make the best use of the processing power of our smartphone to mine crypto coins.
There are several cloud mining services and apps that you can choose from but here are some of the most popular and commonly used ones.
ECOS: Multiple Services
If you are looking for a cloud mining platform that offers multiple services ECOS is one to go with.
Their services include crypto exchange, wallet, cloud mining, and providing tools for portfolio management.
Their smartphone app can be used on iPhone and Android phones to track mining operations as well as buy and sell crypto coins on their exchange.
Stormgain: All in One App
Stormgain is an all-in-one app that also offers a lot of varied services including Bitcoin cloud mining.
It also offers a lot of different mining contracts for different prices.
When you use this specific app you will not have to use any of your own resources while mining Bitcoin or during buying, selling, or exchanging crypto coins on its exchange.
Bitdeer: Cloud Mining and Merchant Contracts
There are several cloud mining plans offered by Bitdeer mining platform for different types of crypto coins including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Zcash, and Filecoin.
Apart from the cloud mining contracts it also offers merchant contracts to those particular miners who have their own mining systems and want to sell their hash rate to other buyers who are interested.
Usable on iPhone and Android, this app is easy to use and allows managing your mining operations and revenue remotely from any part of the world.
BeMine: Useful Features
This is a cloud mining platform that comes with good and useful features such as a profit calculator that will allow you to have a rough estimate of the profit you can make from cloud mining and four distinct cloud mining contracts with varied hash rates.
It also offers mining contracts for several ASIC mining machines. It is easy to use, quick to get signed up and create an account.
Remember, these are not the only cloud mining apps available out there.
Research well and choose one that suits you the best and meets all your needs in the best possible way.
Mobile Based Crypto
When you want to use your mobile phone to mine crypto coins, you may not be able to mine any and every type of crypto coin successfully.
In fact, to be prudent and successful, it is better to focus on those particular crypto coins that are designed specifically for mobile devices.
There are a large number of crypto coins that have come up of late that are literally called the mobile-based crypto coins.
The good thing about these specific types of crypto coins is that they promise users free coins when they simply log into the mobile app of the projects and click a button every day or every few hours. Simple.
You can even earn more free coins if you refer the app to our family or friends.
You can also earn more rewards if you take part in other special roles.
However, you should be well aware of these special coins when you choose to mine them and conduct a thorough research on them.
This is important because most of the mobile-based crypto coins come with a similar whitepaper and with elaborate roadmaps, which is quite suspicious.
Typically, these special crypto coins do not offer any tangible value.
They simply act as a serotonin boost for the users to complete the necessary tasks quickly.
The most worrying aspect about these coins is that the free coins offered as rewards are normally not listed on the crypto exchanges.
Apart from that, the development teams behind these mobile-based crypto coins are typically and completely anonymous.
The apps of these specific coins are also known to capture a significant amount of user data.
Therefore, when you make your selection, rely on the old saying that always holds true – If something is too good to be true, probably it is.
Still, if you are okay with these worrying aspects, here are some projects that you can choose from.
However, be informed that all may not be good. Therefore, make sure that you read the whitepaper of each of these mobile-based crypto coins.
Pi Coin: The Pioneer
This is the native crypto coin of the Pi Network. It boasts to be the first digital coins that can be mined by using a mobile phone.
It is powered by Pi and serves its mission to create a comprehensive crypto coin and a smart contract platform for the users.
You will have to download the Pi Network app that runs on Android and iPhone devices.
You have to play any one of the four roles available to get the newly minted coins of which the simplest one is to validate your presence every day by simply confirming that you are not a ‘robot.’
Other roles are also equally good but these will need you to validate new users or refer other users to the network.
The good thing about this particular mobile-based crypto coin is that it looks quite legit, at least on the surface, since its development team comprises two Stanford PhD holders who are not anonymous.
Also, the whitepaper of the coin is concise and contains clear information regarding the project, its objectives and working process.
Bee Network: Easy Accessible
This mobile-based crypto seems to be an anonymous edition of the Pi Network. However, it does not have any association with it.
This coin can be accessed easily by anyone and it offers a decentralized ecosystem to the users.
The Bee Network app is also available on Android and iPhone that allows the users to earn free coins by simply completing a few specific tasks on the platform such as clicking on the button every day.
It also supports referring new users to the network just as Pi Network and allows the users to earn more BEE coins in the process.
AntCoin: Social Media Sharing and Privacy Centered Advertising
The AntCoin is the native crypto of the Ant Network that is designed to offer the users a social media sharing and privacy centered advertising network. It benefits both the creators of the contents as well as the viewers alike.
The good thing about this network is that it uses a mobile-based mining system but does not require any energy and that is why it does not cause any harm to the environment.
All you need to do to use this coin is download the Ant Network app and register an account.
However, the whitepaper of this project is pretty vague, the developers are absolutely anonymous, and this coin with no privacy policy is not listed on most crypto markets.
Once again, this is not an exhaustive list and not in any particular order.
There are lots of other coins out there for you to use.
Working Process
People usually have a lot of questions regarding the working process of crypto mining using a mobile phone.
Ideally, there is no difference in the fundamental concept of crypto mining where you are rewarded with new crypto coins when you perform a particular task.
It is validating transactions performed on a blockchain network but when you use your mobile phone and specific apps for it, things become even much easier than the traditional crypto mining process.
This is because you can also earn coins for free if you refer new users to a specific network, and validate your presence and more.
Typically, you can use your smartphone just as any standard miner for that matter which will work in the same way but may work well for a few specific types of crypto coins and on particular platforms as mentioned above.
However, to make the process work in your favor, it is recommended that you do not go for solo mining while using your smartphone.
There are two specific reasons for it such as:
- One, crypto mining on a smartphone will put a huge amount of stress on the device which will shorten the life of the devices and also damage the hardware.
- Two, the rewards you may get may not be worth the time, effort, and power you put into your venture.
Typically, mining for Bitcoin through your smartphone solo will produce only a penny after a year, that too, disregarding the wear and tear of the device and the cost of electricity!
This is because smartphones have only a small fraction of computational power of a standard computer, irrespective of what is advertised.
Therefore, it is quite clear that solo mining crypto on a smartphone will not be a profitable option especially for those crypto coins such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others that use the PoW consensus mechanism.
Moreover, you will not get any dedicated mining app that will support solo mining on a smartphone because Google does not support crypto mining but supports tracking mining operations remotely.
Sideloading
Sideloading crypto mining apps on your phones is a good option since most major apps are not supported by Google for crypto mining.
You can do this simply by circumventing the official Google and Apple app stores to install software.
However, you should do this at your own risk because these apps are not vouched for safety and security since these may not be checked and verified for existence of malicious codes in them.
However, sideloading is the only way to do away with the challenge posed by Google by banning official channels and apps to mine crypto coins by using a smartphone.
For safety reasons, when you sideload an app, make sure that you also download other software programs like F-Droid, which is a Free and Open-Source Software or FOSS that is specially designed for the Android devices.
You can search for different options of miners on this FOSS that can be used on your smartphone for crypto mining.
Sadly, there is no such option available for the iOS devices because Apple is very strict about the type of software that can be installed in the devices.
Therefore, there is no easy repository option that will allow installing any and every software in an iOS device without jail-breaking it.
Bitcoin Mining on Smart Phone
Mining Bitcoin on a smartphone can be difficult because there is a limited success possibility due to huge growth in the number of miners on the network.
Also, there are large mining firms involved in it which reduces the success rate of the mobile crypto miners even further.
It may take anywhere between several months to a year to mine even a small fraction of this highly coveted coin.
You will need to have an incredible amount of hash rate in order to mine Bitcoin successfully on your Android phone.
This is extremely vital for solving the crypto puzzles that were specified previously.
Therefore, you will have very little to no chances of mining any new Bitcoin with your old smartphone that you have been using for years now.
Therefore, to start with, you should ensure that you have a powerful Android smartphone that will support mining Bitcoin on it.
In order to help you with your search, here is a list of some of the major and most powerful smartphones that are available in the market as of now, in no particular order.
- ROG Phone 5 from Asus – This is probably the most powerful and competent Android smartphone to mine Bitcoin. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5 nanometer chipset powers this mobile phone to mine coins. Most importantly, it comes with a powerful and big 6,000mAh battery. This means that there will be no significant decline in the battery power to affect the daily usage.
- OnePlus 8T – This is a bit older model but comes with robust hardware that will allow performing most tasks easily. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor built on an advanced 7 nm technology. It is equipped with up to 12 GB of RAM combined with a UFS 3.1 internal storage that optimizes its performance and offers a more fluid user experience.
- Xiaomi Mi 10 – This is also a powerful smartphone equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 CPU, up to 12 GB of RAM, a UFS 3.0 internal memory, and a 4780 mAh battery. It has powerful tech support to allow mining crypto coins with it.
- iQOO 3 – If you are looking for an affordable smartphone, the iQOO 3 is the one you should go with. The specs of this phone is top class however, which include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 CPU, 12 GB of RAM, UFS 3.1 internal memory, and a 4400 mAh battery. Apart from the battery, all other elements of this mobile phone will make Bitcoin mining convenient.
Even if you manage to mine some coins with your smartphone, never ever expect to become rich suddenly.
If you want to make more profits, you should choose to mine other crypto coins and not Bitcoin. You can later on exchange these coins for Bitcoin.
In order to enhance your mining profitability and chances to earn rewards, you may also use mining pools instead of solo mining Bitcoin with your smartphone. And, you already know the reasons why.
While choosing a crypto mining pool consider its size, the charges, and its payout type.
Here are a few good and trustworthy mining pools that you can choose from. All of them usually have a simple sign up process and charge low fees.
These are:
- AntPool
- Kano
- BTC.com and
- Slush Pool.
Ideally, it is good to choose a large and Pay per Share crypto mining pool so that you are paid frequently and at a good rate.
As for the fee, it should vary within 0% to 3%.
Also, make sure that you download Bitcoin Miner from the Google Play Store for mining Bitcoin with your Android smartphone.
The apps will generate cash once it is downloaded and starts running on your phone.
Apart from the Bitcoin Miner, there are also a few other good apps that you can download and use on your Android smartphone to mine Bitcoin. These are:
- Binance Inc App, which is suitable for Android 4.2 and higher phones
- Storm Play, which is from StormX Global and allows experimenting and earning crypto incentives from products of different firms
- Sweatcoin, which tracks completed fitness sessions and actions and allows collecting money by turning them into coins
- Coin Club, which offers real-time information and characteristics of crypto investors and investment groups worldwide and awards the members with tokens
- Alien Run, which is a game compatible with Android 3.0 and iOS 8.0 or later but allows earning Bitcoin at the same time
- Free Bitcoin, which offers Satoshi rewards every hour in your BT wallet
- Blockchain Game, which allows earning Bitcoin by playing arcades and transfer them to your Bitcoin account automatically
- BTC SAFARI, which is a Bitcoin faucet miner program that can produce as many as 400 Satoshi once in every 15 minutes and
- Kryptex, which generates Bitcoin and other crypto coins and converts them into real money.
Now, you are ready to mine Bitcoin with your mobile phone.
FAQs
Here are a few FAQs on mobile crypto mining by using smartphones.
Is it legal?
Well, it depends on the browser and the device type. For example, on-device crypto mining is not allowed by Apple using iOS and Android hardware.
Google too does not support mining crypto on mobile devices. It simply allows the apps to manage mining crypto remotely.
There is a difference between the two.
Why did Google delist the mining apps?
Though the reasons for delisting are not specified, it is assumed that crypto mining uses a lot of power and puts the hardware, process and other components of the device under extreme stress.
It also generates a lot of heat and drains the battery fast.
Why are there still a few mining apps found in the Google Play Store?
Well these apps typically allow monitoring your mining process remotely and/or cash your reads out either on your computer or in the cloud. .
Is it possible to sideload the other mining apps found on the internet?
Yes, you can, but you should not because these sideloaded apps may be loaded with malware since there are no strict guidelines that the third party developers need to adhere to.
Is there any risk?
Of course there is. Typically, smartphones do not have the processing prowess as traditional mining equipment to mine coins in a meaningful manner. It may take a long time.
This will add to the real cost which may be more than the rewards.
Also, malware usually takes control of the processor of a mobile phone rather than borrowing a supercomputer to mine crypto.
Conclusion
As this article points out, it is comparatively quite easy to mine crypto on your mobile phone but you will need a proper app for it and make it work in the right way to win rewards.
Improper use may affect the performance of the device and may even destroy it.
I have special interest in crypto and intend to help common people to gain knowledge about the digital asset as well as its potential. Follow Me at Linkedin.
