How to Mine IOTA in 2019 | Beginner’s Mining Guide

The diversity of blockchains that has spawned over the past years has also created a variety of mining protocols. A mining protocol is what allows network users to create a new block and new cryptos or tokens. But, IOTA is a very special asset in this aspect, as you will soon find out in our how to mine IOTA tutorial.

IOTA Overview

IOTA entered the crypto space back in 2015 through an ICO that raised 1,337 Bitcoin, that was around $500,000 at those prices.

IOTA is a unique crypto, as it uses a public distributed ledger that is not based on blockchain or the generation of new blocks. The asset is instead based on a directed acyclic graph technology and the Tangle protocol, which handles the consensus without requiring miners.

The project is overseen by the IOTA Foundation, a non-profit organization that manages development as well as the establishment of strategic partnerships. IOTA is partnered with top companies, such as Fujitsu, Samsung, Bosch, and Volkswagen.

The network doesn’t require blockchain to maintain its security, instead of being comprised of the Internet of Things, a network counting billions of online electronic devices.

The consensus mechanism of the network is managed by the sender. Senders validate the previous two transactions on the network before they go on to confirm their own transactions. This protocol, unlike most PoW consensus-based protocols, was designed to provide more scalability, decentralization, and zero transaction fees.

Also, instead of having slower traffic and higher fees, the IOTA network grows stronger as it has more users, speeding up the transaction process.

As the consensus mechanism is incorporated into the sender’s protocol, IOTA virtually does not need mining.

If IOTA has no blocks, then you are probably asking how do you mine IOTA? Well, from a technical standpoint, you can’t, since all of the IOTA ever made were sold when the coin was released.

In this case, why keep on explaining how to mine IOTA?

Well, there are a few things that you can do to generate MIOTA coins:

• You can run a full node and receive some MIOTA for your services;
• You can use mining platforms (faucets) that second-hand mine MIOTA.

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How to Mine IOTA via Faucets

1. Go to the IOTA GitHub page.
2. Scroll down until you find the operating system list and download the one for your respective computer.
3. After finishing the download, start installing the wallet.
4. You will be asked if you want to run a full or light node. Choose the light node option.
5. Enter your IOTA seed phrase. The seed phrase is proof of your IOTA wallet ownership.
6. Generate seed by clicking the link: https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmdqTgEdyKVQAVnfT5iV4ULzTbkV4hhkDkMqGBuot8egfA
7. Click on the “Attach to Tangle” button, which is set under the 3D barcode.
8. Copy the generated address.
9. Go to the IOTA faucet website. This faucet pays you in IOTA when you mine different coins, such as Monero.
10. Paste the address you copied in the public IOTA address field.
11. Click “Submit.”
12. You may be asked by your PC to grant permission to mine. Grant permission.
13. You are now mining MIOTA.

Withdrawing MIOTA

Click the “withdraw” button, which is set the right of the screen to cash out your mined coins. You will be placed in the payment queue after requesting a withdrawal.

There is no minimum withdrawal limit.

How to Mine IOTA via Full Node

Minimum software and hardware requirements for setting up a node:

• 8 to 12GB RAM;
• 25GB storage;
• dual-core CPU;
• 24/7 connectivity;
• Ubuntu (16 or 17) or CentOS;
• a VPS (Virtual Private Server).

1. Get access to the server (IP address and user password) and log in remotely via command-line (or PuTTY in Windows):

$ ssh [email protected]

2. Enter password. Make sure you have “sudoer” privileges and execute “sudo su” if you do not have “root”.

IRI, IOTA Reference Implementation, is based on Java, so make sure you have Java and Maven installed and JAVA_HOME set.

3. Run

$ bash <(curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nuriel77/iri-playbook/master/fullnode_install.sh)

This command fetches the deployment script that finds system parameters, downloads the necessary software and their dependencies.

4. Install the latest version of IRI with the following commands:

git clone https://github.com/iotaledger/iri
cd iri
mvn clean compile && mvn package

5. Now you will need some static neighbor addresses (minimum 4 and maximum 7 neighbors on basic configuration systems).

Create an ini file to store all command line options:

cat << "EOF" | sudo tee iota.ini

[IRI]
PORT = 14265
UDP_RECEIVER_PORT = 14600
TCP_RECEIVER_PORT = 15600
API_HOST = 0.0.0.0
IXI_DIR = ixi
HEADLESS = true
DEBUG = false
TESTNET = false
DB_PATH = mainnetdb
RESCAN_DB = false
REMOTE_LIMIT_API = "removeNeighbors, addNeighbors, interruptAttachingToTangle, attachToTangle, getNeighbors, setApiRateLimit"

NEIGHBORS =
EOF

6. Send UDP and TCP node addresses to your neighbors one:

#Many neighbors want to use UDP only so you can only note this one

udp://your_ip:14600

tcp://your_ip:15600

7. Search for neighbours on https://discord.gg/GMVXSvM.

Access #rank-yourself and write the command !rank fullnode to join fullnode.

Go to #nodesharing and ask for neighbors there.

8. Once you have your neighbors, add your neighbor’s addresses in the NEIGHBORS value.

NEIGHBORS = udp://address1:12345 tcp://address2:12345 tcp://address3:12345

9. Start IRI with the following command:

java -jar iri-_._._._.jar -c iota.ini #_ is where you put your iri version

How to Mine IOTA: Enabling Nelson

The basic IRI is attached to a structured overlay network of neighbors in the Tangle through a JavaScript wrapper called “Nelson.”

Nelson is a sort of network monitor and manager that discovers peers, negotiates connections, loads balancing traffic, and protects against malevolent users.

Bolero is a similar cross-platform application better suite for Windows users that enables them to spawn the entire full node setting with just one click.

After installation, you will be able to see the URLs at which the peer manager and the Grafana dashboard (monitoring CPU I/O usage) are set.

• Log into the Grafana interface at port 555 and /dashboard/db/iota?refresh=30s&orgId=1 with the default username “iotapm” and the password used during installation. This way you can remotely access node statistics and health metrics through a basic interface, and you will not need to directly access the remote server via ssh.
• In the running ssh console to the remote VPS, run the $ iric command to enter your node’s GUI configuration interface.
• Download the synchronized database (“Get Fully Synced DB”).
• Enable Nelson.

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How to Mine IOTA: Enabling CarrIOTA Field

CarrIOTA is a public load balancer that optimizes node performance and how resources are used on the network. It works as an extra security level, offering protection against DDoS attacks, and it also computes statistics and offers health metrics for an IRI and its neighbors.

CarrIOTA Field also works as an incentivizer by increasing transaction times and thus stabilizing the network. It also makes IOTA token donations on a weekly basis to participants doing Proof-of-Work (the simple Hashcash type PoW, not the one used by Bitcoin).

• From the configuration GUI, enter a unique identifier (any string) and an address to receive the weekly donations.
• Enter the seed in the wallet.
• Copy the generated receiving address.
• Paste the address in the address field in the configuration GUI.
• Enable Proof-of-Work for Field to send attachToTangle jobs to the IRI full node by accessing “Configure Files” and entering “Field.”
• Change “pow” line from “false” to “true”, Ctrl+O to save and Ctrl+X to exit. (alternative command-line function: field --pow --address IOTA_ADDRESS)
• Go to http://field.carriota.com/ and use the provided identifying string to check if the node on Tangle in Field.

IOTA Mining Profitability in 2019

How much you make through an IOTA node depends on various factors, such as the demand on the state and activity level of the network, competition, your server’s configuration, and the price of MIOTA.

By today’s levels, you should be earning anywhere between 12-15 MIOTA for running the node on a monthly basis. At current prices, this would mean a profit of around $4.

Mining IOTA: Conclusion

With IOTA, the “mining” process is not like other cryptos, but in our guide, we have shown you some options on how to mine IOTA unconventionally.

Featured image: blokt.com