Mining

Mining is essentially the process of using your computer to help verify and secure a cryptocurrency network, in our case, it is the Cirquity network. By doing this, you will be rewarded with CIRQ. If you want to learn about cryptocurrencies, mining is a great place to start!

There are currently a few different ways in which you can start mining Cirquity:

Desktop mining

XMRig

XMRig uses separate miners for CPU and GPU, you need to download a CPU and GPU miner separately and run two separate instances on your computer.

  • Download and install on Windows

    XMRig has separate miners for CPU and GPU. You can download them from here:

    Note: You will need to download and run two separate instances if you want to mine with your GPU and CPU at the same time.

  • Download and install on Linux

    You can directly use the pre-built binaries for XMRig CPU. Download the xmrig-*-xenial-amd64.tar.gz file here.
    Run the file using ./xmrig.

    XMRig needs to be compiled for NVIDIA and AMD. Instructions for compiling are linked below(Ubuntu):

  • Download and install on Mac

    Needs to be compiled. Instructions here.

  • XMRig Setup and Configuration

    CPU XMRig Configuration

    1. Unzip the file and extract the files into a new folder (Make sure your anti-virus doesn't delete the files)
    2. Open the config.json file with Notepad
    3. Find and change the following lines:
      1. "algo: "cn-lite"
      2. "url: "[pool address]"
      3. "user: "[wallet address]"
      4. Instead of [wallet address], simply paste your Cirquity wallet's address. Make sure to keep the "!
        • If you don't have one yet, you can find out how to create a wallet here
      5. In place of [pool address], you'll need to choose a pool to mine towards. You can learn more about them here. Make sure to keep the "s!
      6. Save the file and:
        • start xmrig.exe if you're mining with your CPU,
        • xmrig-amd.exe. if you're mining with an AMD GPU,
        • or xmrig-nvidia.exe if you're mining with a NVIDIA GPU.

    Remember: if you want to mine with both your CPU and your GPU you must have both programs open at the same time!

    That's it! You should be mining away now! :)

Solo mining

Solo-mining Cirquity means that you, alone, try to find the next block.
It is extremely hard, and not recommended - try our other guides if you want a more steady flow of CIRQ.
Solo-mining is limited to only your CPU.

If you're sure you want to solo mine, let's continue.

  • Setup and running

    Make sure you have cirquityd and miner, both can be found in the latest release.

    Note: If they aren't there, you'll have to compile it yourself:

    Ensure cirquityd is running and fully synced.

    Windows

    Go to your folder that has miner.exe in it and start a cmd prompt.

    • This can easily be done by moving to the cirquityd.exe directory in Windows Explorer, then typing cmd in the search bar and hitting enter.

    Linux / OSX

    You may be able to right click on your directory and "Open in" Terminal

    • When it opens, type:
      miner --address cirq... --threads 4 --scan-time 1 --log-level 3

    • Replace cirq... with your Cirquity public address.
      We recommend setting the --threads option to half of how many you have. So if you have 12 threads in your CPU, set it to 6.

      Example:

      miner --address cirqgEvJZj3bkP7Pwu8hrvhxPojoeVpJSg5sV9CU58oNLJWqJ3usg3kNNxb9ucX8Y5Spjwm1PBLRZ4QGEcn93LAdaWcTU9mQZaG --threads 4 --scan-time 1 --log-level 3

    Congratulations, you are now solo mining Cirquity from your CPU.

  • Important notes

    • cirquityd must stay running for the miner to mine Cirquity.
    • Be patient. Finding a block may happen within the first few hours of mining. It also may take a week. Or it may never happen.
    • If you accidentally close out cirquityd you can restart the miner by hitting Ctrl+C on your keyboard, then re-entering the miner command given above.
    • You may have to adjust the amount of threads based on your PC's capabilities(half of how many your CPU has is recommended).

Pools

Unless you want to solo mine, which is unfeasible for many people, you will need a pool to mine towards. Make sure to choose the one closest to you!

To view a list of pools, check out the explorer

  • Definition of fees

    Rather simple; the pool operator will take a percentage of the reward of the block found for himself.

    Example:

    • the fee is 0.1%
    • the block reward is 30000 CIRQ
    • 30000 x 0.1% = 30

    Therefore, the pool operator will take 30 CIRQ for himself.

  • Definition of different types of methods

    These will be found on the pool website; if not specified, it is most likely proportional.

    • Proportional (share-based)

      A proportional pool carries no risk to the pool operator as miners are simply paid out when a block is found. No blocks, no payout!

      With a proportional pool the risk is all on the miners if it takes longer than expected to find a block then the miners earn less. On the flip side, if the pool is lucky (they will all average out the same eventually) the miners get more.

      Example:

      • A block is found after 100,000 shares
      • You submitted 1,000 of those shares (you have 1% of the pool's total hash power)
      • There’s 30000 CIRQ per block

      Quite simply you will get 1% of the block = 300 CIRQ.

      Now if the pool has a bad round (a round is the time taken to find a block) and it takes 200,000 shares to find a block (twice as long) and you have submitted 2,000 shares (as you’ve been mining twice as long), you still only get 1% of the block = 300 CIRQ

      This can also work in the miners favor too, as if it takes half the time (50,000 shares) to find a block and you submitted only 500 shares - again 1% - 300 CIRQ.

      Basically, you always get a percentage of the block and you win/lose depending on the “luck” of the pool.

      The drawbacks to a proportional pool are that there is often a fee, although some pool operators rely on donations only, and you will have to bear the variance of the block times and luck unlike a PPLNS pool.

      Also they are susceptible to “pool hoppers” where PPLNS pools are not.

    • PPLNS (Pay Per Last *n* Shares)

      PPLNS does not pay out per block found, rather it pays based on the number of shares you last submitted, and helps to dissuade pool hoppers.

      How it works:

      • You start mining with a PPLNS pool.
      • Rather than paying you out based on the number of shares you submitted since you started mining/the last block was found, it will pay depending on how many shares you submitted in a period of time, called the window, which is an estimate of the time in which the pool in question finds a block.
      • So, after you start mining, it will take a few hours for you to earn your normal earnings - and since the effect of pool hoppers is lessened, you may make comparatively more than other methods.

      Basically, you get paid based on

      • the number of shares you submitted (how good what you're mining with is)
      • and how long you have been mining.

Have questions or need help?

Check out our Discord to get in touch.

Last updated on 10/13/2020 by Deeterd
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