Cryptocurrency mining always inspires the imagination of tech addicts in developing new algorithms to secure networks, creating mining pools, and also finding new ways of building mining rigs.
In this article, we will check the mining possibilities for the Raspberry Pi. You will learn how you can turn it into a mining machine and what coins you can mine with it.
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Can you mine crypto with a Raspberry Pi?
In fact, you can. Mining with a Raspberry Pi is an amazing option for crypto enthusiasts that want to try something different as a hobby or that are just getting into mining and have a low budget.
Whatever is the case, you will need a few more than just the sole Raspberry Pi. In case you are looking for budget options to start mining and stumbled here, it pays off to first learn what a Raspberry Pi is.
The Raspberry Pi is a single-card computer the size of a credit card (or even smaller, depending on the model). When it is connected to a monitor, mouse, and keyboard, the RPi functions like a desktop computer.
All RPi models have a microSD card slot. It is on the microSD card that you will install the card’s operating system.
In addition, the Raspberry Pi has Power supply input, USB inputs for connecting peripherals (mouse, keyboard, USB stick), HDMI input for connecting to a monitor or TV, P2 output for connecting speakers or headphones, Ethernet connector and connectors for display and camera.
To mine cryptocurrencies, you need a Raspberry Pi 3 or 4. Check below the most popular models:
Other things you will need to turn your Raspberry Pi into a crypto miner include:
- 8 GB (or larger) microSD card (see best Raspberry Pi microSD cards) with a fresh install of Raspberry Pi Lite OS or Raspberry Pi OS with Desktop.
- Power supply/Keyboard/Mouse/Monitor/HDMI Cable (for your Raspberry Pi)
Some other items you can use are optional:
- Solar Panel Power Bank with USB-C
- Raspberry Pi Cluster Case with Heatsinks and Fans
Other optional items include heatsinks and a fan for your Raspberry Pi, but these are highly recommended, as this way you can ensure the durability of your rig.
Can You Make Profit Mining With A Raspberry Pi?
It is very hard to achieve any profit mining with a Raspberry Pi. Let’s think about why:
A Raspberry Pi 4 (the best model) can generate 108 hashes per second. The hash rate represents a way to measure the Raspberry Pi’s performance or processing power.
Using CryptoCompare’s mining calculator, it is possible to check that 108 H/s can mine approximately 0.00005127 XMR per day. At $154 per XMR token, that nets you $0.07156 a day.
Monero was chosen for this demonstration because it is one of the few cryptocurrencies which can be mined with any degree (even if infinitesimal) of success using the Raspberry Pi.
However, these calculations assume that you are not paying for electricity. If you do not have solar panels on your roof, you’re likely paying your electricity provider at least 5 cents per kWh.
Since the Pi consumes between 10 and 15 Watts of power, you will actually pay more for electricity each day.
In conclusion, you can earn 20 cents monthly from mining Monero only if you don’t pay for electricity. If you pay for electricity, you will end up losing 30 cents each month.
It is not profitable to mine with a Raspberry Pi unless you can get your energy for free (solar-powered, etc.), but it might be a fun experiment if you have one of those devices laying around.
If you just started learning about mining cryptocurrencies, there is a small chance you stumble upon old guides teaching how to mine bitcoins with RPi (there are some still floating around).
If RPi has difficulty to mine altcoins like Monero, it definitely can’t mine Bitcoin. Bitcoin, currently, can only be mined with ASIC.
Mining With Raspberry Pi
It is impossible to try and mine alone if you are using a Raspberry Pi. As already discussed, the device is not powerful enough for mining. To get any degree of success in this enterprise, you necessarily have to join a mining pool.
In case you do not know, a mining pool is a collective effort among miners. Instead of competing among themselves to be the first to validate a new block, miners join forces by sharing computing power.
When the pool successfully mines a new block, each miner gets rewarded proportionally to how much power they supplied.
This is what you will have to do to have any chance of validating blocks with your Raspberry Pi.
Monero
The most common thing to do with an RPi in terms of mining is joining a pool that validates blocks in the Monero network.
Monero is an already established coin with an unquestioned value of exchange (although it fluctuates like any volatile coin).
If you get to mine a good quantity of Monero, you can enter the speculation game (wait for it to increase in price and then exchange for other coins that might increase even more, etc.) if you’d like to, or you can simply use this money to get yourself nice things.
As already mentioned, though, an RPi will be more of a fun exercise than a way of generating passive income. Don’t get your hopes too high on this enterprise.
Current mining pools don’t have native support to Raspberry Pi. Even though this device kept up with older computers, it is now too aged. So, you will have to do some workaround.
First, create an account at Minergate and download its software. Minergate has over 3 million users joining forces to mine Bitcoin Gold, Zcash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Monero.
Now, boot your RPi. If it is the first time you are using it and need help, this guide should come in handy.
For people using Raspberry Pi OS with desktop, now you need to open a Terminal (Ctrl+T). Using a Raspberry Lite, just log in normally.
When the terminal is open, run the updates and install what’s necessary:
- sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y
- sudo apt install git automake autoconf libcurl4-openssl-dev libjansson-dev libssl-dev libgmp-dev
- cd cpuminer-multi
- After that, compile the mining code using the three commands below:
- sudo ./autogen.sh
- sudo ./configure
- sudo ./build.sh
Now, type the below command on the terminal, but replace YOUR_EMAIL with the address you used to create your account at Minergate.
./cpuminer -a cryptonight -o stratum+tcp://xmr.pool.minergate.com:45700 -u YOUR_EMAIL
5 Best pools to mine with Raspberry Pi
Since you will mine Monero and you need to enter a mining pool, let’s check which are the top five mining pools for Monero.
We already taught you how to mine using MinerGate, which is one mining pool. The process for other pools is very similar, and finding out how to set everything up is pretty simple.
If you are located in Australia, check out this article.
MineXMR
As the name already gives, this mining pool is especially set up for Monero miners. MineXMR has the highest number of active miners, so it is granted that you can join and help validate new block. The pool hashrate is 977 Mh/s according to the site, but 988.3 MH/s according to Poolwatch.
This pool is so attractive because the minimum payout is 0.004 XMR, a condition that makes daily payouts very common.
- Pool fee: 1%
- Payout Scheme: PPLNS
- Minimum Payout: 0.004 XMR
SupportXMR
SupportXMR is another popular mining pool fully dedicated to mining Monero. It has a lower fee than MineXMR, but has much less users. It still is a very stable option, and along with MineXMR, it concentrates most of the Monero network of miners.
- Pool fee: 0,6%
- Payout scheme: PPLNS
- Minimum payout: 0.1 XMR
Nanopool
Nanopool isn’t completely focused on Monero, but also allows users to mine Ethereum, Zcash and other coins. That way, you can use your account at Nanopool for other purposes later, so you don’t get stuck with an account that you use only for this almost recreative goal of mining with a RPi.
- Pool fee: 1%
- Payout Scheme: PPLNS
- Minimum Payout: 0.11 – 10 XMR
C3Pool
C3Pool is a Chinese-based pool, but you can use it from anywhere in the world. When you enter its site, you will see everything written in Chinese, but you can quickly change to English in the corner of the page where you can see a globe icon (there is a dropdown button). It isn’t very used to mine Monero probably because it isn’t as stable as other options, but the 0 fees is very attractive.
- Pool fee: 0%
- Payout Scheme: PPLNS
- Minimum Payout: 0.003 XMR
Monero Ocean
Monero Ocean is very known but not a great number of miners are on it. However, it is still a great option for beginners for the ease of use and the lack of fees. Also, minimum payout is extremely low, so you can see yourself cashing out frequently (if you move from the Raspberry Pi and start mining with an actual computer, of course).
- Pool fee: 0%
- Payout Scheme: PPLNS
- Minimum Payout: 0.003 XMR
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We don’t recommend that you try to mine other coins with Raspberry Pi. There simply isn’t any profit involved, so it would be a waste of effort.
The method to mine with Monero with the device is already known online, and that is why we brought it here.
However, it is not profitable to mine with a Raspberry Pi in 2021. Even if you manage to mine a few cents in Monero, you won’t be able to cash that out because there is a minimum you can withdraw, and the RPi would take years to reach that minimum.
Setting up an RPi as a mining device has more teaching and fun purposes than anything else.
For example, if you are a teacher, you can use this activity to teach a bit of coding to students. If you are a parent, you can use it for the same purposes with your children.
If you are looking to mine for real, forget about the Raspberry Pi. Even with a CPU or an old GPU, you can get better results by getting into a mining pool and sharing your computing power.
If you don’t want to mine but still want to help blockchains in validating transactions because you are a crypto enthusiast, you can buy coins that work with Proof of Stake protocols, and help to secure the network by holding the coins. The process is detailed here.
