I was approached recently by a college student who wanted to
make money using the “free” internet and “free” electricity in his dorm room. Of course, these are included in the cost of
tuition, but to the student, they are a usable commodity.
My suggestion was to use both of these to power a computer
to mine DOGEcoin, which could passively run in the background solving the algorithm
that unlocks the electronic currency.
You could mine other coins as well, but DOGEcoin Is well known and, in my
opinion, less risky.
If you take a computer and add a single Radeon graphics
card, (assuming it had an adequate power supply), it could hash the algorithm
at 700 KH/s (Kilo-hash per second).
There are plenty of primers on how to build a “mining rig”, but the
numbers after what we are after first.
This means that you can download a DOGEcoin wallet, and join
a mining pool where you add your hashing
power to the pool to get more coin faster.
At 700 KH/s, we can see the annual income (from http://www.coinwarz.com/calculators/dogecoin-mining-calculator
)
Keep in mind I did not calculate the hardware cost, and I am
using a low figure.
If we build a machine that can power two graphics cards, (i.e.,
2 Radeon r9-280’s), the Hashrate should double, netting you approx: $690 annually
if you are continually mining.
If you go all-out, and build an “open mining rig”, it can
hash at upwards of 2500KH/s and return $1,235 annually.
Before you say – “Wait, that is not enough”! Consider a few things. First, the coin value may go up, and
appreciate several hundred dollars by year end.
Second, once you are passively mining, the computer just sits in a
corner, and you log into it remotely via the Internet (no additional monitor,
keyboard, and mouse required).
During winter and summer breaks you can bring the rig home,
and let it mine until you bring it back to school.
Over four years of college you can generate an income of
almost $5,000 dollars (less hardware cost and appreciation). This can be an excellent extra income, as
well as making you fluent in Crypto-currency!
FYI – the DOGEcoin community is very active and involved,
raising DOGEcoin to fight cancer, and rewarding good behavior with “tipping”. The reddit community is very active and good
reading before you start building your mining rig! http://www.reddit.com/r/dogecoin
Should you find this useful, consider sending me some
DOGEcoin!
Tip address: D8WyP99ro3QbeeLferEEfeGEByifwFCQvn
