Posts Tagged ‘Primecoin (XPM)

primecoin-xpm-earnings

We already talked a bit about the Primecoin (XPM) alternative cryptocurrency and have mentioned that it has good potential for growth, so it might be a good idea to mine some XPM now and keep them with the idea that the exchange rate will increase along with the interest in this crypto currency over time. At the moment Primecoins can only be mined with the CPU of a computer, so you can combine Primecoin mining on the CPU with Litecoin mining on the GPU on the same system and make some extra profit from that if you are already mining LTCs on one or more computers. You can of course mine XPM on pretty much any computer, but the more powerful the processor is the better and the same goes for the number of cores, the more – the better.

We’ve decided to give it a go with two systems using different processor for 24 hour time period in order to see what profit we are going to make. Both of the systems are mining Litecoin on the GPU, but that does not interfere as long as you set the cgminer processor affinity to just a single core if using Windows. We have decided to use one of the biggest Primecoin pools for the test – ypool, though the pool also offers other alternative cryptocurrency mining options.

The two CPUs we’ve used for mining are:
– Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core 3.3 GHz
– AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Six Core 3.3 GHz

The pool we used for XPM mining is ypool:
– 3% fee
– 1000 confirmations per block

The total earnings for 24 hour period (confirmed + unconfirmed):
– 0.3565483 XPM

The value of the Primecoin mined for 24 hours is as follows:
– 0.04838065 LTC
– 0.00139265 BTC
– ~1.15 USD

A little over $1 USD per day does not seem that much of a profit for the moment, but that is only if you sell the Primecoins now, the wise idea however would be to mine now and save the coins for later, expecting to the exchange rate to go sky high. Anyway, it is up to you to to decide if you want to mine and sell now or mine and save the coins for later.

primecoin-logo

Primecoin (XPM) is a fairly new alternative cryptocurrency that introduces a new type of proof-of-work in peer-to-peer cryptocurrency designs based on searching for prime numbers. Up until now most alternative crypto currencies rely either on SHA-256 like Bitcoin or Scrypt like Litecon for their proof-of-work design and Primecoin brings something new and interesting on the table making it a potential contended for the third place in popularity among coins, though it is currently more like the last one in the top 10. Primecoin’s Prime Number Proof-of-Work has been designed less than a year ago by Sunny King who tried to make a new and interesting alternative crypto coin and he did very well. Primecoin is the first cryptocurrency on the market with non-hashcash proof-of-work, generating additional potential scientific value from the mining work. This research is meant to pave the way for other proof-of-work types with diverse scientific computing values to emerge.

What is interesting about Primecoin is that the currently available miners are only CPU-based, so there is room for improvement going to GPU and then to specialized hardware mining hardware. That is if Primecoin is to follow the path that Bitcoin has already paved and that Litecoin is already following. The fact that Primecoin (XPM) uses different proof-of-work method means that you are not able to mine it the same way as Bitcoin or Litecoin and if there are going to be ASIC miners made for Primecoin they are going to take some time. Not to mention the fact that at the moment you can combine Litecoin and Primecoin mining on a single system – the CPU will mine XPM and the GPU will mine LTC, good combination for some extra profit and full utilization of the hardware you might already have.

Primecoin (XPM) mining pools:
http://ypool.net
http://www.beeeeer.org/
http://candypool.net/
http://xpool.xram.co/

Primecoin (XPM) exchanges:
CoinEgg
Atomic Trade


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