If you spend any amount of time researching the world of crypto mining, the topic of cloud mining and particularly free cloud mining will come up again and again. That’s because people are interested to understand how it works, who’s offering it, whether there are any catches, and how safe it is. Free cloud mining looks like a very appealing option on paper, and it almost seems too good to be true, which is why we thought we’d take a look at the nature of this relatively recent approach to mining. We’ll give you an overview of the basic definitions, look briefly at some of the cloud mining companies out there, and will also compare paid services to free services.
What is Cloud Mining?
Cloud technology is an advance in networking technology. It’s been possible for a long time to connect computers, and it’s also been possible to lease collections of computers to anyone who needs off-site storage or computing power. The difference with Cloud services is the intelligent way in which these setups are managed, so they can scale up and scale down according to user needs, and they have inherently better security features. Pretty much every kind of software service can be migrated to the cloud, so it hardly surprising that eventually, somebody came up with the bright idea of moving cryptocurrency mining into this domain as well. So, the short answer is, cloud mining is crypto mining that somebody else does for you.
The most effective cryptocurrency mining computers are dedicated machines that were designed with mining in mind and nothing else. These machines are necessarily expensive, so packing a room, or more likely whole warehouse full of these energy-guzzling, heat-producing monsters is super-expensive, and thus is only available to those with very deep pockets, like big corporations. To keep costs down mining farms (as they are called) are often located in countries with modest electricity prices and even low temperatures. Iceland has become a popular location for mining machines due to its natural ability to cool them down and an abundance of geothermally generated electricity.
Popularity
Cloud mining for free has become very accessible to the typical person because it means that they no longer need to invest in any specialized expensive hardware, and they don’t have to pay for ongoing costs either. They don’t need to spend a fortune on cooling their equipment, keeping it running, or putting up with the noise of all those fans running 24 hours a day. Free cloud mining effectively outsources all of those problems to someone in a remote location.
Paid Cloud Mining vs Free Cloud Mining
Bitcoin has long been the cryptocurrency of choice for cloud miners because it potentially offers the greatest returns, and it benefits the most from dedicated mining setups. Advocates of free cloud mining will always point to the lack of initial investment required to get up and running, while fans of paid services think that you only get what you pay for.
Paid Cloud Mining: Pros and Cons
Like most online services, cloud mining can be paid for on an ongoing basis. Users sign up for a plan, usually committing to a minimum period, such as two years, and what they aim to do is make more money than the plan costs them.
The power of a mining rig is expressed as a hash rate. This is a measure of how powerful a miner is. The higher the hash rate, the more Bitcoin during a given period of time.
Paid mining plans can be expensive to set up, but if you’re willing to part with the cash, you’ll get a faster hash rate which should enable your investment to turn into profit sooner. Different companies offer different rates of mining at different prices. You’ll need to look at what’s on offer and work out what’s best for you.
So, what kind of costs are we talking about? Even entry-level plans will set you back at least $200, and the tiers head on up from there. For your money, you’re getting the slowest hashing rate, and you aren’t tied in for very long which is precisely what people who are dipping their toes in the water of cryptocurrency mining are looking for. They want to give it a try without being burdened by long-term obligations.
More expensive plans are usually adopted by people who have already decided that crypto mining is something that they want to invest in for the long-term. It may seem a potentially reckless route to take, but it need not be if you do your research. It’s important to only be tied into a company that you know is going to give you a return on your investment and won’t disappear with your cash. Before you sign anything, make sure that you’ve read as much as you can find about the legitimacy of whichever operation you’re signing on the dotted line with.
Free Cloud Mining – Main Considerations
The main thing to think about with free cloud mining is whether it’s worth bothering with it at all. On the plus side, free cloud mining grants beginners the opportunity to test the waters in the cryptocurrency world without having to part with any money. This makes it very appealing to people with no prior experience who may be nervous about their lack of knowledge.
On the downside, one of the first indicators that you may need to be cautious is that when you search for “free cloud mining”, or “cloud mining for free”, a whole sea of suggested sites will appear in the results. This could be cause for celebration, or equally for caution because when there are so many service providers to choose from, it’s almost a given that a proportion of them will be out to scam you. That’s why you should always research any provider that you find online before using them. Although a free cloud mining service may not be asking for upfront cash from you, they may still use the personal information you give them for ‘unsavory’ purposes.
Free cloud mining service providers make money by keeping a percentage of your monthly profits. In terms of bitcoin cloud mining, this can make it difficult for you to make any money because the daddy of all cryptocurrency is also one of the most sluggish to mine. It takes ages because it’s popular and it uses a compensatory algorithm that increases the difficulty of mining it when more people are doing the same.
This makes free cloud mining of bitcoin something of a nonstarter. Any profits that you do make will probably be minimal to non-existent.
As already mentioned, this is an area that has attracted a lot of people with money to invest, and so the sharks are always circling. Always check the history of any company that you would like to invest with. Look for reviews in forums and chat rooms and be suspicious of companies where everything looks a bit too perfect!
Free Cloud Mining Sites
Here are some free cloud mining companies that you may wish to look at, and even though we’re recommending them, don’t skip the due diligence! Make certain for yourself that they can meet your requirements for security and performance.
MinerFarm
MinerFarm is a free cloud mining site with a decent track record. It has earned a good degree of trust, is approachable, and is not difficult to use.
MinerFarm offers cloud mining for free with a healthy 100Gh/s hash rate when you register. Paid plans offer more power, it’s easy to withdraw your money, and customer support is available.
Multimining
Multimining offers free cloud mining at 30 GH/s when you register, and as an additional sweetener if you can convince other people to join then you’ll benefit from their referral program which will reward you with more crypto for your trouble. It’s an established provider of cloud mining for free, and so well worth a look.
EOBOT
EOBOT offers low-cost rather than free cloud mining plans. The company hasn’t been around for very long, but they have started to establish a presence, with mentions in various articles about free cloud mining.
Summary
Cloud mining for free has made cryptocurrencies a lot more accessible than they used to be for ordinary people. As soon as their popularity started to grow, it became more and more difficult for ordinary people to mine cryptocurrencies. But now, with the advent of free cloud mining, accessibility has ceased to be such a big issue. As long as you practice due diligence and always research the background of the companies that you would like to sign with, you have every chance of being able to make a nice passive income from cloud mining for free. Your best defense against sham operations is research. If you can find a good operator then use their free cloud mining offer as a way of testing how good they are and how trustworthy.
Conclusion
Whether you go for free cloud mining or paid, never jump into a contract before addressing the due diligence issue. Look for providers with a solid track record who have adequate security controls at the very least, and excellent security controls for preference. It’s your money after all! There’s no point investing in a company with a fabulous user interface and incredible hashing power if your money goes missing and your credit card is compromised.
We hope you now have a better appreciation of what free cloud mining entails, and that we’ve answered some of your burning questions. There are many different providers, and it’s sometimes difficult to know which one to go with for the best result, but do your research, listen to the opinions of respected voices within the crypto community and eventually, you may even end up becoming one of them too!
