With Bitcoin (BTC) mining largely out of reach for beginners and Ethereum (ETH) soon planning to switch over to PoS (Proof of Stake), Ravencoin appears to be one of the greatest alternatives for GPU miners. Ravencoin (RVN) is one of the few Proof of Work coins that is focused more on the ASIC resistance. This helps protect its network from centralization and provides a fair mining solution for everyone. Anyone with a decent amount of hashrate can mine Raven.
Previously we’ve made a guide on Ravencoin mining. That was long before when Raven was using X16R hashing algorithm. But that algorithm no longer serves its purpose (ASIC-resistance). In May 2020 Ravencoin introduced a new hashing algorithm in a network upgrade known as KAWPOW.
The new consensus mining algorithm KawPoW is like ProgPoW and is a slight variation of X16R. Followed by X16R and X16Rv2; KawPoW is the third Ravencoin algorithm implemented to protect its network against ASICs. Today, you can mine this coin with any NVIDIA or AMD graphics card.
Here in this quick beginners guide we’ll show you how to mine Ravencoin on Windows and Linux with either NVIDIA or AMD GPUs. Before we show you the best miners and mining settings for KawPoW hashing algorithm here is a quick introduction to Raven.
Ravencoin – RVN
Ravencoin is a forked version of Bitcoin that was created to help facilitate the transfer of assets. It was launched in 2018 without a pre-mine nor a pre-sale via an ICO.
It is an open source project and a fair launch Proof of Work coin that is specialized in asset transfer. Being built on a fork of the Bitcoin code it shares many similarities and it incorporates several aspects of Bitcoin network and other Proof of Work coins.
Like Bitcoin, Ravencoin also has a fixed supply. In Bitcoin the supply is fixed to 21 million BTC. Whereas on Raven there will be 21 Billion RVN coins (21,000,000,000 RVN) in circulation. Other than hard cap on supply the number of coins getting released is also quite similar to that of Bitcoin.
The RVN network has also coded block reward halving which occurs approximately every four years similar to Bitcoin. The current block reward of RVN network is 5000 RVN. This will cut to 2,500 RVN when the network undergoes its first halving event in January 2022.
Other than this the PoW system of Ravencoin differs from that of Bitcoin and other top mineable coins. RVN network uses an ASIC resistant hashing algorithm known as KawPoW. This algorithm makes it easier for anyone to mine RVN using their GPUs.
Now before we see how to mine Ravencoin here we’ll answer some common questions.
Should I mine RVN?
Should I keep mining ETH or is it worth mining RVN?
It is up to you. For most NVIDIA and AMD graphic cards ETH remains the most profitable coin. So it makes sense to mine ETH. You can convert ETH into RVN if you want. If you are someone who takes profit everyday then mine ETH. If you want to spec mine then RVN is the best choice considering the upcoming halving event.
Can I mine ETH and RVN simultaneously using the same GPU ?
Sure, you can but we do not recommend doing so as your profits will tumble. Moreover you’ll encounter random GPU crash and out of memory errors.
Is Ravencoin CPU mineable?
CPU mining Raven is is not profitable and not worth doing.
Can I mine from my gaming laptop?
Sure, you can. Make sure you have a minimum of 4Gb VRAM graphic card. Else you’ll get errors like this: CUDA Error: out of memory (err_no=2). Not enough GPU memory to place dag you cannot mine this coin with this GPU. ‘KawPoW not supported on device: NVIDIA GeForce GTX.
Which graphic card is the best one for mining Ravencoin?
While you can mine RVN with both NVIDIA and AMD graphic cards, the most efficient and effective ones are NVIDIA GPUs. Particularly the RTX series are more profitable. Anyways make sure to check mining profitability calculators to find out your potential revenue before you start mining Raven.
Alright! Here is how to get started with Ravencoin mining. This is a beginners guide on mining Ravencoin on Windows and Linux. Here we’ll not cover mining on Rave OS, Hive OS, Simple Mining OS and other mining operating systems as most beginners won’t have that ready.
How to mine Ravencoin (RVN) – KawPoW
To start mining you’ll need to pick 3 things. 1. Wallet to receive payments 2. Mining software that is capable of mining KawPoW algorithm and 3. The mining pool.
We are assuming that you have a graphic card with atleast 4+ GB RAM installed with latest GPU drivers.
Note: While downloading the miner or wallet your OS might block it stating that it contains virus. Or your browser may not allow you to download the miner. This warning is false positive. Just add exception and proceed with the download.
1. Ravencoin wallet
You can download the official Raven core wallet from https://ravencoin.org/wallet/. RVN core wallet is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. But do note that downloading and syncing this wallet takes too much time. For this reason stick to light wallets.
You can use wallets like Trust wallet, Exodus and Raven Electrum wallet which is also available Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and IOS. Other than that you can also use your Ledger Nano or Trezor wallet for receiving Raven payments.
If you don’t wish to use a wallet then you can also mine directly to an exchange account. Just make sure to check the minimum threshold on mining pool and the minimum required for deposit. You can mine RVN directly to your Binance address.
2. KawPoW Miners
The Raven cryptocurrency uses a KawPoW mining algorithm which is ASIC-resistant. So only GPUs can mine this coin. Both AMD and NVIDIA are capable of mining KAWPOW algorithm. But we recommend NVIDIA as they are the most profitable ones. Anyways below you can find the miners for both the hardware’s.
For NVIDIA we recommend T-Rex miner and for AMD we recommend TeamRedMiner or NBMiner.
NVIDIA
- KawPoW Miner – https://github.com/RavenCommunity/kawpowminer/releases (Open Source)
- T-Rex Miner – https://trex-miner.com/
- GMiner – https://github.com/develsoftware/GMinerRelease/releases
AMD
- TeamRedMiner – https://github.com/todxx/teamredminer/releases
- NBMiner – https://github.com/NebuTech/NBMiner/releases
Note: KawPoW Miner is the only miner in this list that is open source. This software uses CUDA technology to mine Ravencoin. Rest all are closed source miners and they do perform well. Only TeamRedMiner is exclusively optimized for AMD cards. NBMiner on the other hand supports both the graphic cards.
3. Ravencoin mining pools
Third step is choosing the mining pool and connecting the miner to the pool. Here in this following post you can find the list of Ravencoin mining pools. Choose the one that you feel most comfortable with. For this guide we’ll be using 2miners mining pool and T-Rex miner.
How to Mine Ravencoin on Windows
NVIDIA
Download the miner from above link. As we said already Windows might keep blocking the miner and your Antivirus will detect the miner as virus. Its false positive. So just add exclusion and continue downloading the software.
Once downloaded extract it and navigate to the file.
Here we are using T-Rex. Anyways most mining softwares comes with the batch file ready. All you have to do is change the address.
If you are looking to mine on ravenminer pool then edit ravenminer.bat file. Since we are using 2miners pool right click the RVN-2miners.bat file.
Here is your miner configuration:
t-rex.exe -a kawpow -o stratum+tcp://rvn.2miners.com:6060 -u RPDJacQCcQF5n4tcmzkTjfwGDYkwESowrA.rig -p x pause
All you have to do is change the highlighted address with your own RVN wallet address. Once done save changes and double click the file. You are now mining Ravencoin.
AMD
The procedure is same for AMD. Download the miner and extract it. Within the folder you’ll find the batch files. Right click >> edit and change your wallet address. Once done click save and start mining.
Here is the batch file:
teamredminer.exe -a kawpow -o stratum+tcp://rvn.2miners.com:6060 -u YOUR_WALLET_ADDRESS.RIG_ID -p x pause
Linux:
Download the Linux version miner and extract it. For example download T-Rex-linux-cuda-tar.gz and extract it to a folder named T-Rex.
Navigate to the folder either by cd command “~$ cd ./Desktop/T-Rex or by manually opening it in the terminal.
To start the miner input the following command. Use settings as follows but remember to change the mining pool and wallet address.
./t-rex --algo kawpow -o insert_mining_pool_URL -u insert_RVN_wallet -w RavenRig -p x
That’s it. You are now successfully mining Ravencoin.
Tracking your mining stats and getting rewards
To track your mining stats visit the mining pool where you are mining. Go to dashboard section and enter your Raven wallet address. It will display your hashrate, shares and rewards earned.
On most mining pools there is a minimum payout threshold. On 2miners the minimum threshold is 50 RVN. Whether it is your exchange address or wallet address; only once you’ve reached the minimum payment the pool will send the reward to your address. So be patient when you are expecting rewards.
Note: If you are getting CUDA error or if the miner window closes automatically then add pause at the end of the batch file to find out the actual issue. For best performance OC the memory clock speed and lower the power limit. If your miner keeps crashing often then make sure you are not overclocking too much.
Hope it helps.
