In today's crypto world, many people forget that this is supposed to be an alternative form of money that can be transacted freely across the globe without someone being in the middle like a bank. Well, the truth is that there are people in the middle of the transactions, and those people are miners for proof of work networks, and validators or witnesses on delegated proof of stake networks. These people put computers to work to verify these transactions as being real, so there isn't any funny business on the chain with token supply, but they also make sure that your funds end up in the right place. That's pretty much the long and short of it.
Many people think that crypto is more of a cash grab casino than an actual industry. Well, I am here to tell you that there is huge amount of infrastructure behind these blockchains, and they NEED people like YOU to help them stay up, running, and most of all secure! So, if you have a favorite project, instead of just leaching rewards from the ecosystem to build your fiat gains, how about actually help provide this infrastructure to help the blockchain succeed in it's mission.
Do What You Can With What You Have
I am one that believes in using what you have to the best of your abilities. Use your already existing tools to get the job done. For me, I focus on providing support for 3 different blockchains. I do this with my existing computers (2021 Macbook Air M1 and an old 2015 Macbook Pro), a little mini USB ASIC miner, and then finally a VPS.
This is all hardware I already have so I put it to work. I have another desktop computer with a half decent CPU and GPU in it that I will eventually get back to work, but it is down at the moment for reasons I haven't figured out yet. But when I do figure it out, then I will get it put to work!
What Chains I Support and Why
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Well, with Dogecoin, the reason I mine it is I have the hardware to do so. Although it's nothing but a tiny USB ASIC miner (Futurebit Moonlander 2), it still supports the chain with a little bit of hashrate that I get turned into a little bit of DOGE.
Dogecoin is also merge mined with Litecoin on the Scrypt algorithm, so miners of these coins are supporting both chain, this gives more security behind both! I have a choice on my mining pool for which coin to pay out, but with this little thing, it would take a LONG time to reach a minimum LTC payout and it only takes a few days to hit my DOGE minimum payout. Plus, it's just DOGE and well love the DOGE!
Monero (XMR)
Monero is probably my favorite coin in the space these days because of several reasons. Once because of it's privacy by default, meaning that prying eyes and institutions can't see your financial activity or how much you have! For me, it's the kind of privacy. Not just because of it's privacy feature, but also because anyone can mine it with a good ole CPU! So if you have a nice gaming rig, or some older machines laying around, put them to work and mine some XMR! The more full nodes and miners on the network, the better off the chain will be!
I will soon be adding more machines to the Monero network in the way of full nodes that carry a copy of the blockchain, and more mining rigs that will trade hash power for that sweet sweet private freedom money.
Hive Engine (HIVE's second layer smart contract platform)
And then there is good ole Hive-Engine. I run a witness node that helps support the security and in a way, the decentralization of Hive's second layer. I started running a Hive Engine witness when the witness structure was still in testnet. Once we went live, I was actually the first one to hit a block on the Hive-Engine mainnet!
I currently support this side chain by running my witness node via a VPS on a very reputable provider. I really wish I could do this from home, but after some more recent updates, it is basically required to have both an IPv4 and IPv6 address, and my home fiber internet only has IPv4 options available for now. If that changes, I will be running my witness from home, as it should be! VPS providers insert a centralized point of failure. When you have a bunch of witnesses on the same providers, that can cause a problem if those providers get taken down, or decide they don't want you as a customer anymore.
I am considering launching a Hive witness in the near future if I can still do that with just an IPv4 address. I am still trying to reach out to my ISP to see when or if they will ever be adding IPv6 addresses to our network or not.
So What's The Point?
If you use these blockchains and want to see them survive in the long run, you should really consider trying to do your part in providing infrastructure to these chains. The more miners, validators, and witnesses that are running, the more secure these chains are going to be against some kind of institutional attack. It doesn't matter at all that they attack the exchanges, as that is the only play they have. So cut the governments and institutions out of it by earning your crypto instead of buying it from a centralized KYC exchange! Instead of coins, buy equipment and pay for the power to run it, and then you get fresh coins in exchange!
That's the crypto way!
Until next time...
Be cool, be real, and always abide!
Many of my cryptocurrency related articles as well as trading articles can also be found on my crypto research site, Coin Logic.
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Disclaimer:
The information in this trade journal is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Please consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.