I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.
See all posts Frank GogolHow to Mine ETN
Updated on April 10, 2024
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Written by
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Rohit Mittal
Reviewed by
Rohit Mittal
Rohit Mittal is the co-founder and CEO of Stilt. Rohit has extensive experience in credit risk analytics and data science. He spent years building credit risk and fraud models for top U.S. banks. In his current role, he defines the overall business strategy, leads debt and capital fundraising efforts, leads product development, and leads other customer-related aspects for the company. Stilt is backed by Y Combinator and has raised a total of $275M in debt and equity funding to date.
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At a Glance: Electroneum (ETN) is the native coin of the Electroneum blockchain, created by a UK-based company. It is a fork of the privacy-focused Monero blockchain. Electroneum aims to facilitate fast and affordable international money transfers. The project is mobile-first and includes the AnyTask freelancer platform. The Electroneum blockchain uses a unique consensus mechanism called proof-of-responsibility, where node operators prove charitable giving to continue operating. Electroneum can be “mined” through simulated mobile mining on the app or by running a node with specialized mining software on a computer.
There are thousands of cryptocurrencies in existence. One of these is ETN crypto or Electroneum. Electroneum is the native token of the Electroneum blockchain owned and operated by Electroneum Pty Ltd in the United Kingdom. One way to get Electroneum crypto is to mine it. Read on to learn how to mine ETN.
What is Electroneum (ETN)?
ETN currency is the native coin of the Electroneum blockchain. The Electroneum blockchain was created by a group of developers in the United Kingdom who formed Electroneum Pty Ltd.
The Electroneum blockchain is a fork (based on/copied from) the Monero blockchain. Monero is a privacy-based blockchain designed to prevent anyone from tracing its users’ account balances or transactions.
Electroneum is unlike many other public blockchains in that Electroneum Pty Ltd has centralized control over the development of the blockchain. This control is mainly in the form of moderation of validators, to prevent any malicious validators from successfully attacking the network.
Validators (or nodes) are the specialized computers that handle the mathematical computation to operate a blockchain.
The goal of Electroneum is to allow fast and cheap transfers of money across international borders, like numerous other cryptocurrencies in existence.
Electroneum Innovations
Electroneum is mobile-first, meaning it is designed to work well with smartphones.
An innovative aspect of the Electroneum project is its anytask.com freelancer platform. AnyTask is a variation on existing freelance work platforms like freelancer.com and fiverr.com.
AnyTask links people who need digital tasks done (such as writing and creating digital branding) with professionals with the skills to do them. AnyTask allows people to pay and get paid with ENT currency.
Electroneum Blockchain Consensus
The Electroneum blockchain uses a consensus mechanism which the developers call proof-of-responsibility.
A consensus mechanism is a way for all the computers that support a blockchain (called nodes) to agree on a single state for all accounts on the blockchain.
The goal of a consensus mechanism is to make it either very expensive or very difficult (ideally both) for any node to trick all the other nodes by adding fraudulent transactions to the blockchain. With a good consensus mechanism, nodes do not need any kind of policing or central control to prevent fraud.
The most popular consensus mechanisms are proof-of-work and proof-of-stake.
Proof-of-work requires nodes to race each other to be the first to submit valid transactions to the chain and get rewarded for it. A node (or group of nodes) wanting to trick all the other nodes into accepting a fraudulent transaction would need to have more computing power than half of the rest of the network.
On a small network, this can be achieved with a powerful enough computer. On a large network, such as the Bitcoin blockchain, it is practically impossible.
Consensus is what makes blockchains secure.
Electroneum Proof-of-Responsibility
Electroneum uses a so-called proof-of-responsibility mechanism. It is based on node operators proving that they use block rewards for charitable giving.
As long as operators provide this proof they can continue to operate the Electroneum blockchain. According to the Electroneum company, it is intended to reduce inequality.
In reality, proof-of-responsibility is not a consensus mechanism in the strictest sense. This is because Electroneum Pty Ltd directly controls what nodes can join the network and how they can behave.
This kind of direct monitoring (called moderation) runs counter to the idea of decentralized security that other consensus mechanisms promote.
On other blockchains, no such centrally-granted permissions or control are necessary. Anyone on Earth with an internet connection can set up a node on, for example, Ethereum or Bitcoin. They do not need anybody else’s permission.
Consensus mechanisms prevent the nodes from ever being able to fraudulently change Ethereum or Bitcoin transactions.
What is Electroneum Mining?
Electroneum ‘cloud mining’ or ‘mobile mining’ is a simulation of the rewards from actual proof-of-work block rewards.
Users of the Electroneum smartphone app can opt into mobile mining. In exchange, they receive a steady income of the equivalent of about US$3 in ETN crypto per month from the Electroneum company.
Smartphones do not have the computing power to handle proof-of-work consensus, even for a small blockchain. Mining in the Electroneum app is just a simulation. It is more like a reward program for users of the app.
Actual validators (nodes) that operate the Electroneum network need to run on computers to handle all the transactions on the network. These validators are chosen by Electroneum Pty Ltd.
Only operators permitted by the company can operate a node on the blockchain. These node operators (or groups known as pools) receive mining rewards in exchange for the computing service they provide to the blockchain.
Different Ways to Mine Electroneum
There are different ways to mine ETN cryptocurrency. You can mine by yourself using your smartphone, or you can try to increase your income by using your computer to join a mining pool.
Solo Mining
The only option for solo mining on Electroneum is either simulated mining on the mobile app or to get permission from the Electroneum company to set up your own node. For most people, the only realistic option is to use the Electroneum app.
Mining Pool
Electroneum Pty Ltd controls who can operate a solo node on the Electroneum blockchain. The only way to quickly begin mining is to join a pool. You don’t need permission to add your computer’s processing power to an Electroneum pool, because the pool as a whole already has permission to operate as a node.
How to Mine ETN
‘Mining’ ETN using the app is very different from real mining by running a node. Mobile mining on the app has no real connection to the computing operations that operate the blockchain. It is very easy, but the rewards are low.
Running a node, or a validator, however, means directly contributing computing power to the blockchain. It is much more difficult to do, but the rewards are also potentially higher.
Below are step-by-step instructions for how to mine ETN.
Mining Electroneum Using a CPU
- Set up an Electroneum wallet where your block rewards will be sent
- Download and extract compatible mining software such as xmr-stark
- Enter the address of the mining pool you want to join
- Enter your wallet address
- Start mining.
Mining Electroneum Using a Mobile Phone
- Download the Electroneum App from the Google Play Store
- Register an account
- Select the Miner tab
- Tap Start Mining.
What Do You Need to Start Electroneum Mining?
The equipment you need to start Electroneum mining depends on which path you choose on how to mine ETN. If you choose to mine ETN using a smartphone, all you need is an Android device with an internet connection.
If you choose to mine on a computer, you will need to download and set up mining software on your computer then join a mining pool. You can mine on an ordinary PC, but you increase your income if you have more computing power, such as with a GPU (graphics processing unit) installed.
Read More
- How to Make Money with Cryptocurrency
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- How to Transfer From Coinbase to Coinbase Pro
- How to Transfer from Coinbase to Binance
- How Does Cryptocurrency Gain Value?
- How to Read Crypto Charts
Final Thoughts
ETN currency is the native coin of the Electroneum blockchain. Electroneum Pty Ltd. controls who can operate a node on the network, and actively monitors the blockchain to remove suspicious transactions. There are two ways you can decide how to mine ETN. You can simulate mining ETN on a smartphone or mine for real by joining a mining pool with your computer. Mining on a computer is more complicated but potentially more profitable.
Frank Gogol
I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.