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_{This is my participation in the contest sponsored by @steemitblog: Steemit Crypto Academy Weekly Update #5 [ March 8th, 2021 ]. Homework Post for @besticofinder [Sri Lanka]: Introduction to Cryptocurrency Mining - Part 2 | Steemit Crypto Academy | Lesson 5. I invite all Steemit.com users to join. @juanmolina @betzaelcorvo @corinadiaz}

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Introduction

A prior decision must be made before investing in a mining platform. Mainly it is the costs for operation and maintenance that must be evaluated, compared to the return on investment. Bearing in mind that every cryptocurrency is subject to crashes without warning, I would recommend beforehand to seek sufficient advice about crypto trading to decide which cryptocurrency to mine.

I have noticed, that the mining process consists of hardware technology with enough power to operate 24/7. I understand that in a blockchain the consensus nodes have the property of substituting each other in cases of failures, system crashes, power outages, Internet crashes, among other factors that may affect the mining process. In such a sense, a miner must bet on a good connection and sophisticated equipment with which he can provide an effective service, as well as, obtain the expected profits.

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Cryptocurrency Mining

• Effects of mining on the environment

The mining process demands a large amount of electrical energy, and it is estimated that bitcoin mining uses enough energy to supply electricity to entire cities. Similarly, heat emissions to the environment derived from the use of effective cooling systems, including industrial air conditioners can release into the environment incredible amounts of CFS which bring ecological consequences and contribute to the global warming effect, leading the authorities of the countries to have to intervene in the seizure and regulation of bitcoin machines around the world, even banning mining activity in countries like China, which is considered the cradle of cryptocurrency.

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• Use case:

There are decentralized platforms that offer services to extend the GPU resources of the associated equipment. I once heard mention of a service platform called NOIA network, which attributed power to the GPU and allowed to do some mining with a cloud service. Even so, it was specified that the PC involved had to have a number of features to qualify for the service. I understand that some users tested the offered model and the results were encouraging. I also knew the case of a company called "GoChain" which relied on super platform technologies offering cloud services that improved GPU processing power with low power consumption greatly reducing the effects of overheating and hence, the environmental impact.

However, I mention the above two cases only to point out a user experience related to a power and storage space maximization cloud service, since, in the case of mining itself other performance factors must be taken into account which will be specified by the service provider. Still, I heard from some users who relied on the aforementioned technology to practice from their personal computer some smaller scale mining by subscribing their CPU as a consensus node and earning passive rewards by contributing their computer's resources.

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Cryptocurrency Cloud mining

Cloud service offerings seek to enable the customer to opt-in to a given product from anywhere, 24/7 and with some guarantee of security; conditions that they might not be able to achieve using the GPU capacity of their personal-use equipment.

In the case of Cloud Mining is the service offered by a company (Cloud Mining), which has mining technology, allowing the customer to obtain the benefits of mining from their personal equipment without the need to invest in hadware. The mining process consists of dedicated mining on a specific cryptocurrency, for example bitcoin, this means that a computer can mine only one cryptocurrency at a time.

It corresponds to a high-powered data center which distributes its capacity and resources among users who choose to subscribe to the service providing access to crypto mining remotely and without having to offer their machine as a consensus node. You simply buy hash power, since the company is in charge of doing the mining work, as well as, carrying the tasks of hardware maintenance, technology upgrades, service payments, etc.

Advantages and disadvantages of cloud mining

Advantages

• No mining experience is required as others will do it for you.
• You don't have to invest in hardware because the data center has the technology.
• You don't have to pay for maintenance services, electricity, air conditioning, cooling systems, and other services.
• Your equipment does not require large storage power or data processing, since everything is stored in the cloud.

Disadvantages

• There are risks of scams or exploitation by the company when the user does not have knowledge of mining.
• Customer is limited from acquiring knowledge and learning mining, as the company takes care of everything.

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Best cloud mining platforms.

The paid service is exclusive on a specific cryptocurrency for a specific time, instead, if you had your own knowledge and hardware you could make decisions about mining any cryptocurrency for as long as you yourself have available.

The most quoted mining companies differ mainly in the ability to provide answers. Some offer less expensive fees or less amount of cryptocurrencies to start trading.

According to the web query, I managed to find out that the mostly mentioned companies in the cloud mining area are:

• Miner Gate
• Criptolux
• Hashflare

_{All prominent in Bitcoin and Ethereum mining mainly.}

• CCG mining
• Genesis mining

_{Recommended for Ethereum}

• Eobot

_{Mostly requested for mining alternative currencies that represent a lower cost investment than bitcoin or Ethereum}.

Comparative analysis:

Mining centers are secret sites located in places around the world to which no one has physical access or knowledge. Therefore, you will only be able to evidence their computational power and hash speed when you buy the service, which becomes proportional to the investment, i.e. the amount of encryption obtained and the duration of operations is related to the amount of money you have paid.

The main differences established between the service companies are related to: User-friendly interface tools, 24-hour connection, tariffs and cancellation mode.

From the rest cloud mining is a passive process where you just have to wait for the time set in the negotiation waiting to get the highest possible profit in cryptocurrency.

Some cryptos such as:

• Dash
• Monero
• Zcash

They are quoted for alternative mining since the rates vary considerably with respect to bitcoin and Ethereum, given its versatility the process allows to obtain a greater amount of tokens in less time. Which once in the possession of the investor he could trade and make use of the fluctuation to obtain a higher profit.

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Conclusion

The cloud mining process is tailored to the customer who does not want to invest in hardware or has limited knowledge in the area of mining. Mining becomes a complex process as it has its benefits for the investor but also has its detractions and risks. Any activity that leads to excessive consumption of resources or environmental impact will be questioned or subject to review by the human conscience, the high electricity consumption as well as the emission of heat and CFC agents are one of the major disadvantages of mining. Although cloud mining is adaptable to customers with little or no experience, it will always be recommended to consult a financial advisor before investing in any crypto-financial service.