Chia is one of the newcomers to the cryptocurrency world with a promise to be clean, green digital token. It has been weeks since its announcement, but it is already creating waves among geeks and cryptocurrency enthusiasts alike. So what is Chia coin, and how does it promise to improve the current crypto market? And how do you mine Chia (XCH) coins? That is what we will discuss here.
In this article, we will discuss about Chia coin and how you can mine Chia coin (XCH) on your Windows 10 PC and what you need to know before you start building your own Chia plot rig. So without further ado, here’s what you need to know about Chia coins and how to mine them.
What is Chia Coin (XCH)?
Chia Coin is a new cryptocurrency based on open source blockchain technology. Unlike ‘Proof-of-Work’ cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Chia mining is based on the amount of hard-disk storage space devoted to it rather than processing power. It is designed to offer a smart transaction platform that its founders believe has the potential to improve the global financial and payments system.
According to Chia Network, the company that develops and maintains the Chia blockchain, this new cryptocurrency will create a digital token “more decentralized, safer and easier to useHowever, the main benefit of the current Chia coin is that it is much more energy efficient than existing cryptocurrencies.
Chia Coin uses less power, as Chia uses the storage space on your HDD or SSD to create coins instead of relying on power-hungry mining rigs running dozens of graphics cards and ASIC miners.
Created by Bram Cohen, inventor of the BitTorrent protocol, Chia uses a new version of the algorithm’Nakamoto Consensus‘ which gave birth to blockchain technology as we know it. It is the second cryptocurrency in the world since Bitcoin using the algorithm, which was created by the pseudonym Bitcoin founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, in 2008. As you can see, the Nakamoto Consensus algorithm was originally detailed for the first time in a Bitcoin white paper in over a decade. then.
How the Chia Coin Works
How the Nakamoto Consensus algorithm works is beyond the scope of this article. But for now, suffice it to say that it uses a variant of the proof-of-work consensus algorithm on a Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) peer-to-peer network to verify blockchain authenticity. Chia puts a new twist on existing algorithms by combining algorithms ‘Proof of Space‘ and ‘Proof of Time‘.
While the former proves that unused hard disk space is being allocated for a specific purpose (chia mining), the latter takes very little time to pass between block creations. This ensures consistent and time-stamped blocks which increases the overall security of the blockchain. The Proof of Space and Proof of Time algorithms must be used in conjunction with each other in order to be used as a consensus method in Chia coin mining.
Also read: How to Buy Dogecoin on Indodax
How to Mine Chia Coin Cryptocurrency
Now, you know that Chia mining is different from the process of ‘mining‘ for Bitcoin and other existing cryptocurrencies. However, like Bitcoin mining, you only need a computer to get started. Note that this tutorial is for Windows users only, and the links here are for Windows related downloads and instructions.
Hardware Requirements
As a beginner, you should have a computer with 250GB+ storage space (preferably SSD) running Windows, Linux, or macOS is all you need for your first experience with mining Chia. Your chances of getting Chia coins depend on the size of your ‘mine’. So, the more storage you devote to mining, the more chances you have to earn.
SSDs for Plotting/ Temporary Directory
SSD is recommended as mining Chia is a very intensive process which will take longer time on HDD. Depending on the technology and interface, SSDs can be 10-20 times faster than mechanical hard drives in terms of read and write speeds. As a beginner, you can choose from the best consumer SSDs but once you get the hang of it, high capacity data center SSDs are the way to go. They are usually faster and more reliable than consumer versions and come with huge storage capacities.
according to Chia’s official blog post by Jonmichael Hands, VP of Storage Business Development at Chia Network,”The Chia team and the community recommend using data center grade SSDs or consumer drives meant for high-end desktops and workstations with high TBW endurance ratings for plotting. If users choose a high-endurance data center SSD, they can plot for up to 10 years before damaging the device during the plotting process “.
HDDs for Final Directory
for drives’Final Directory‘, you can use SSD or HDD. However, they should have a large enough capacity to accommodate all of your plots. It is generally acceptable to use a mechanical HDD for Final Directory as the workload will not be as intensive as Temporary Directory.
However, with HDD prices rising exponentially due to mining Chia, you will be spending a lot of money to buy a large capacity data center HDD with a high MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) rating.
After you finish your mining rig, here is how you plot it on the Chia blockchain.
Step 1: Install Chia Blockchain Software
To download the Chia blockchain software, go to the Chia blockchain installation page on GitHub (or from here ) and scroll down to the operating system section.
You will find a bewildering array of options here, including Windows, macOS, Ubuntu/Debian, CentOS/Red Hat/Fedora, Amazon Linux, Raspberry Pi 4, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and more.
Follow the instructions and click on the relevant link to download the software for your platform. Windows (64-bit) users can download the EXE file directly from the Chia website by clicking link this link.
Step 2: Set up Chia Blockchain
After you have installed the software, open the program and select the option “Create a New Private Key“. If you already have a wallet, use the option “import From Mnemonics“.
If your anti-virus or Firewall is blocking it, ignore the warning and allow access. You can also permanently add Chia Blockchain software to the exception list to avoid conflicts in the future.
This software will create a new wallet for you with a 24 word Mnemonic, as seen below. These words collectively make up your password. Without them, you will not be able to access your Chia wallet. So copy/paste it into a document (in the right order), save it, and also take a readable screenshot. Then, click “Next“.
You will now see the page “Full Node“. this software will sync with the Chia blockchain to include all the latest changes. You will see the amount “syncing” changed right before your eyes.
After the synchronization is complete, the status will change to “syncedSyncing can take hours, depending on your settings and location. This software can run in the background while you are working on other tasks. Do not turn off your computer or shut down your internet connection as the process will then need to be restarted from scratch, resulting in unexpected delay.
Step 3: Plotting Chia Blockchain
Just like real mining, you have to make a ‘plot’ first before mining can start. Here’s how you do it:
To create a plot, navigate to “Plot” in the left sidebar and then click “Add Plot“.
Now you have to choose the plot size [1]. We suggest that you follow the Chia Network’s recommended settings – Plot size = 101.4GiB (k = 32; temporary space: 239GiB). Now select the number of plots [2] depending on the available storage space on your computer.
Each plot requires about 250-270GiB. So for a 1TB SSD, you can only get max 3 plots concurrently (3 x 270GiB = 810GiB). Now select ” Plot in Parallel ” [3] and select delay 10 minutes [4] between each plot that begins.
GiB, TiB, or EiB (Gibibytes, Tebibytes, and Exbibytes) are not the same as GB, TB, and EB. 1GiB = 1024³ bytes, while 1GB = 1000³ bytes. As for k = 32, it refers to the size of your plot. You can double the size by k=33, but Chia network only plans to go beyond k=32 between the years 2026-2031.
So for now, it’s best to use k = 32. Meanwhile, setting ‘Plot in Parallel’ will save time, and the 10 minute delay will allow Chia’s program to move the finished plot from Temporary Directory to Final Directory.
Now scroll down while keeping the other settings at their default values. Finally, select your Temporary Directory and Final Directory, and press the “Create Plot” at the bottom. Plotting will begin soon.
If all goes according to plan, it will take around 8-12 hours to create an active plot to mine Chia. So you can repeat the process about two-three times a day.
Thus the article about What is Chia Coin and How to Mine It on a Windows 10 PC. Hopefully this article is useful for those of you who need it. Thank you for visiting and don’t forget to share it with your friends too.
