Litecoin made a big impression in the market during 2018 so it’s now a well-established cryptocurrency. If you’ve decided to mine Litecoin, which mining pool will give you the best chance of success?

In 2018, the cryptocurrency Litecoin made headlines across the world thanks to its rapid growth. In the US, CNBC reported that it hit a record high that was nearly 1,400 per cent higher than the previous year. Across the globe, Litecoin made major strides throughout 2018 so that it is firmly established within in the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies in terms of market cap. If you want to learn more about Litecoin and mining using pools, check out miningpools.com.

Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and complicated so purchasing them is a speculative move but if you don't speculate, you won't accumulate as the old saying goes so make sure you understand the factors that contribute to the currencies growth or decline and you'll have a better idea of what to expect when you begin buying Litecoin. If you decide to mine rather than buy, what are your options?

Going it alone

If you're going to get involved with this currency, do you do so with or without a mining pool? If you don't use a mining pool, you'll save on fees but you'll need to do all the work yourself. Publicly available pool software is often outdated and inefficient, which might mean that your blocks are often orphaned. The set-up is complicated for most users as you'll be taking care of your own admin, and if you get everything in place, you'll find that you're paid once a month on average, which won't make you a very happy miner. If you have the technical skills, this is something you should consider but there are so many more advantages to using a pool.

Using a mining pool

Mining pools can pay our daily. You'll find your investment easier to set up with the help of a mining pool, so the additional cost of fees is not something that will bother you that much when you're making regular money. Someone else will be handling your money but you'll be making money rather than scrabbling around for a profit so the reward is worth the small risk.

How mining pools work

Let's get an idea of how mining pools work so you can understand their benefits without going into the technical details. If you work in a mining pool, multiple miners combine their Hashing Power, which guarantees them all constant income. Each takes a share of the rewards. Although you're only taking a part of the pie, the pie is bigger than it would be if you mine it yourself. Working in this way is also beneficial because the pools handle the blockchains. If you solo mine, you'll need to keep a copy of the blockchain yourself.

Litecoin Pool

There are a lot of mining pools out there but which are best? Let's begin with one of the oldest and largest Litecoin mining pools, Litecoinpool.org. This is a good pool to use no matter where you're located as there are eight geographically diverse servers. Users also like the lack of fees on both automatic and manual pay outs. At one point back in 2012, this pool controlled 40 per cent of the market but other newer pools have taken some of that market share.

BTC

This mining pool is currently the fifth largest. It's one of the newest Litecoin mining pools, having started as a Bitcoin mining pool in June 2016, and it's one of the most popular because it offers both PPS and pay-per-last-n-shares (PPLNS) payment methods. There are no transaction fees but a 4 per cent maintenance fee is payable on PPS payments and 2 per cent on PPLNS payments.

ProHashing

This is the ninth largest Litecoin mining pool but don't dismiss it because it's smaller than the others mentioned here. As with other pools, Prohashing uses the PPS payment method but unlike its competitors, you can get paid in any coin you like. If you ask to be paid out in Dollars, there are no fees, unless you're asking for a very small payment. There are also no transaction fees, although a flat 4.99 per cent fee is applied.

P2Pool

If you'd like to opt for a smaller pool, why not check out P2Pool? This peer-to-peer mining network, which is completely decentralised, can be joined without the need to register. When each portion of work is completed, you'll be awarded a pool share. When the pool finds a block, all contributors are paid according to their shareholding.

Final word

If you're confident that Litecoin will increase in value over the long-term, get in as quickly as you can. When prices are low the mining difficulty is low and the cost of mining hardware is also lower than at other times. The truth is that there's not that much difference between each mining pool so select one with servers close to your location, which will help maximise your mining rewards, and choose one with low fees to minimise your expenses.