Back again for another beginners how-to guide for hobby mining enthusiasts. This is the 4th in the series, please check out the others if you enjoyed this one or if there are other coins you're interested in mining.

Before I begin there are a couple of things to remember; Firstly unless you have an extensive mining setup you're unlikely to get rich (or break even) and Secondly I take no responsibility for any issues you run into if you try this at home (be smart download mining software at your own risk).

This is for informational and fun purposes only; I don't claim to be an expert. If you're reading this and you are more experienced and spot any issues, by all means point it out in the comments and I'll try make the necessary updates.

So let's begin, this week we'll look at the mining of VTC (Vertcoin). The ethos of this coin, which is a descendant of Bitcoin, is to maintain (where reasonably possible) the peer-to-peer transaction functionality of Bitcoin, but with greater decentralization by aiming the mining aspect towards being ASIC resistance, which means hobby miners with a mid-level PCs can get involved and support the network, with a chance at getting something for their time and effort. The team for VTC is reasonably small being a community driven project, although there are upcoming advancements in the pipeline with the development of their own algorithm Verthash hopefully coming later this year (an update on the progress, as of the end of 2019, can be found here https://medium.com/vertcoin-blog/vertcoin-development-update-2019-6c69a651f637).

Step 1: The Wallet

The first step here is to get the wallet, for VTC it is worth using the main wallet found here: https://vertcoin.org/download-wallet/. Once you've downloaded and installed make sure you give it time to catch up on the blocks. While it does that please move on to the next step.

Step 2: The Mining Software

Arguable one of the easiest miners to use out there is the one developed by the VTC team the One-Click Miner (OCM). This was recently re-vamped to tidy it up somewhat and does exactly what it says on the tin, mines at the click of a button with minimal technical input required. Sadly with the revamp the options for running a local node etc have gone which is a shame.

Go ahead and click on the latest available version (Beta 6, at the time of writing) and download the zipfile to a secure location. Once unzipped you'll like see just one item in the folder.

If you don't see then then it is likely your antivirus software has intercepted it and put it into quarantine. To avoid this go into your antivirus and add an exception for the folder when you intend to unzip the miner (and all subfolders).

Double click on the application and you will be prompted (if it is the first time setting up) to create a password. Make sure you store this in a secure password location so as to avoid getting locked out of the miner at a later date.

Step 3: The Pools

The OCM doesn't need you to go find pools because it already does this all for you.

Step 4: Mining

So once you've added your password that is pretty much it click on "Start Mining!" and you're away. Congratulations you're mining VTC!!

However, we'll add a few other steps here to get a payout address for the wallet etc.

1 - Going back to the wallet click on 'File' and then 'Receiving Addresses'

2 - Click New

3 - Type in a label for this address (this is what will show up in your transactions as they appear in your wallet)

4 - Click OK (then once back on the main screen right click the new address and select copy address)

5 - Back on the main OCM screen (once you have received some coins under the spendable balance) click on send coins

6 - Here you can paste your new VTC wallet address into the 'Receiver Address' box

7 - Then add your password (for the OCM's built in wallet) and hit Send

Your mining stats display on the main wallet page of OCM with expected earning hashrate and current pending payout listed. It really couldn't be easier to mine than this. You do not need to leave your VTC wallet open all the time but I recommend opening it every few days so it can catch up on the blocks (also back it up regularly File>Backup Wallet).

Additional note:

I've been informed there is multi-language support and all languages supported for the OCM, in case that is a stumbling block.

If you want to check your profitability on other coins/algorithms then go ahead and look at either:

Hope you enjoyed the guide, good luck y'all!

Donations Welcome (VTC):

39yj21xDrJrn3d1NJGBYyjgUiNhnUgBwmJ