As far as we know, cryptocurrency isn’t physical money (I hope you know that) and that makes cryptocurrencies decentralized.
So if you want to get some Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, you need to use algorithms and for that reason – you should read this blog post.
Before You Start Mining
Crypto coins and currencies don’t get issued by governments, banks, or other financial institutions.
And because of that, blockchain is needed – it’s needed to provide the validity of each cryptocurrency’s coins.
In case, you’re not sure what’s blockchain, then think of a growing list full of records that are actually called blocks, and the blocks are both linked, (block-chain, get it?) and secured by cryptography.
And to mine and get cryptocurrencies, they’re able to make use of many algorithms, more specifically, mining algorithms – also called hashing algorithms because a hash is a number that was generated from a string of text and it’s kinda impossible to generate the same number with another string of text.
This Algorithm Mines Bitcoin.
To be honest with you, there are so many mining algorithms that you could write a book about them.
Because of that, I want to share with you six popular ones and explain them, so you know what to get from these guys.
Here they are:
- SHA-256
- Ethash
- Scrypt
- Equihash
- Cryptonight
- X11
Let’s dive deeper into each one of them.
1. SHA-256
You might wonder what do those letters and numbers mean?
The three letters “SHA” stand for “Secure Hash Algorithm” and thanks to that we can assure that SHA-256 belongs to the SHA-2 family.
Oh, and the number “256” is the number of bits. 256 bit is the same as 32 bytes, it’s a part of the blockchain process.
Apart from the numbers, this is a really popular mining algorithm. It was even used to mine the biggest cryptocurrency – Bitcoin.
Other cryptocurrencies that can be mined with this algorithm may include:
- Joulecoin
- Bytecoin
- Devcoin
- Ixcoin
- Terracoin
- 21Coin
- Battlecoin
- Namecoin
- Unobtanium
- Bitcoin
- Peercoin
2. Scrypt
Compared to the previous algorithm we discussed SHA-256, Scrypt is quicker and more simple, also, the name of the algorithm is more simple.
The scrypt mining algorithm has been around since September 2011 and was first used for mining Litecoin and Dogecoin.
Just like SHA-256, Scrypt is also used to mine a number of cryptocurrencies and they are:
- Litecoin
- Dogecoin
- Potcoin
- Gulden
- Feathercoin
- Midas coin
- Ekrona
- TagCoin
- Bitmark
3. Equihash
There’s one big reason why Equihash has made it on this list of popular mining algorithms and I’m going to reveal it to you right now.
Equihash simply gives you the option to mine cryptocurrency on your standard computer and that makes it comfortable.
Also, there’s a list of cryptocurrencies you can mine with the Equihash algorithm:
- ZenCash
- Bitcoin Gold
- Komodo
- ZClassic
- Zcash
- Zcoin
4. Cryptonight
Similar to Equihash, this mining algorithm can be used on a standard computer with an ordinary CPU.
And as you expected, you can mine a few cryptocurrencies using this algorithm:
- Monero
- Bytecoin
- Dashcoin
- DigitalNote
5. X11
Mining algorithm X11 is special for one thing.
X11 gained its popularity by being the safest one. It’s safe because the algorithm is based on multiple rounds of different hashes.
And with this algorithm you can safely mine:
- Dash
- Karmacoin
- StartCoin
- XCurrency
6. Ethash
The name might give off that this algorithm has something to do with Ethereum (a cryptocurrency) it’s because Ethash was developed by Ethereum.
Ethash mining algorithm which is GPU memory intensive can be used to mine:
- Ethereum
- Ethereum Classic
- KodakCoin
- Ubiq
Congratulations! Now you know who the big boys are in the mining algorithm world.
Thanks For The Read
We hope you enjoyed learning which are the biggest mining algorithms out there and what crypto coins you can mine using these algorithms.
