So, you want to mine BitGreen, but don’t know where to begin? This post is for you.

Proof Of Stake & Masternodes

First of all, welcome to the exciting world of proof-of-stake and masternodes! Mining with proof of stake is easy, and you can do it from any computer — without special hardware. BitGreen has a downloadable software wallet which allows you to use your coins as collateral to generate mining rewards. You have two options: staking and masternodes. Staking is the best option unless you have the 2,500 BITG required to create a masternode. As a general guideline, you’ll want a minimum of 100–200 BITG in your wallet for staking.

Before you begin, you should first understand how BitGreen and other POS/Masternode coins are created (or ‘mined’). Approximately every 60 seconds, a new BitGreen block is generated and mined. This process requires both a proof-of-stake miner and a masternode. Each time a new block is generated, 15% of the block reward goes to the proof-of-stake miner, and 85% goes to the masternode. This means that each block requires both a staker and a masternode to use coins as collateral for generating each block reward. The graphic below shows how a new POS/Masternode block is mined:

Proof-Of-Stake/Masternode Mining

How To: Proof-Of-Stake Mining

To begin proof-of-stake mining on your computer or laptop, you’ll need to download the BitGreen wallet. If you are new to Qt wallets, you can find the full guide to setting up your BitGreen wallet here.

Download the wallet, and open bitgreen-qt. Inside the wallet, click the ‘Receive’ tab, and then click ‘Request Payment’ to generate a new wallet address. You can generate as many addresses as you’d like — they will all lead to your wallet. Send your BITG to an address generated in your wallet. An ideal size for staking is 100–400 BITG. Make sure to send your coins in a single transaction. To stake, you must keep your wallet unlocked and connected to the network at all times. Send coins to your wallet address. It may require 20 confirmations or more before you begin staking. Be patient. Look for the BitGreen logo in the lower right corner of the wallet. It will turn green once you are actively staking.

BITG Staking Active

Check the staking status by hovering your mouse over the illuminated BitGreen logo in the lower right corner of your BitGreen wallet. Alternatively, you can type “getstakingstatus” in the wallet’s Debug console. Click the ‘Tools’ to find the Debug console.

The most efficient way to keep your BitGreen wallet online for staking is to use a Virtual Private Server. Read the article “How To Deploy A Proof-Of-Stake Mining Server” to learn how to deploy your first VPS.

How To: Masternode Mining

A BitGreen masternode requires 2,500 BITG as collateral. Masternodes have a high collateral requirement and receive the majority of the block reward. Masternodes have additional server hosting and set-up requirements, and may require technical knowledge to configure and maintain. I reccomend learning how to host your own masternodes, as it is cost-efficient and hosting services can be unreliable.There are two options for setting up your masternode:

Option 1: Host your own masternodes. This is the most secure and cheapest way to run masternodes. This will require you to fund an account on a hosting service (Vultr.com), deploy & configure your servers, and regularly monitor and update your masternodes. You can find a guide for setting up a proof-of-stake VPS here. Managing and deploying masternodes requires some technical knowledge of Windows, Linux, and blockchain. Be prepared to spend hours learning and troubleshooting unless you are already a proficient in networking and programming. It is more secure, but it has proven difficult for the average cryptocurrency user. If you’re prepared to manage your own nodes, you can find a masternode setup guide here.

Estimated Price: <$5 per month, per node

Option 2: Use an automated masternode setup service, such as GIN Platform (https://p.ginplatform.io/#!/). Automated masternode hosting services are easy to use, and don’t require any technical knowledge to configure and deploy your masternode. This is the easiest option, but it is slightly more expensive than hosting your own nodes.

Estimated Price: $15+ per month, per node

Masternode Hosting: It’s worth the cost savings and knowledge you’ll gain by hosting your own masternodes. You can contribute to network consensus and governance if you’re ready to learn about blockchain. Automated hosting provides an easy option for those looking to spend less time managing nodes.