Bitcoin Wallets

One of the most important things you will need before using any kind of Bitcoin mining software is a wallet.

Why?

This is because all Bitcoin mining software will ask you for a Bitcoin address that will be used to send your mining rewards and payouts. Once you create or download a wallet you will be able to get a Bitcoin address from your wallet.

There are many Bitcoin wallets, but these are the ones we recommend if you are just starting out:

• Ledger Nano X – Secure Bitcoin hardware wallet for all platforms.
• iOS Wallets – The most popular Bitcoin wallets for iOS.
• Android Wallets – The most popular Bitcoin wallets on Android.
• Desktop Wallets – The most popular Bitcoin wallets for desktop.

Now that we understand mining software and how it helps in the mining process, and you have your Bitcoin wallet and address, let’s look at different software on different operating systems.

Mining Software Overviews

Find the Right Software for You

So which software should you choose?

Let's go over all the most important info for each mining software.

By the end, you should be able to pick the best one for you.

Best Mining Software For Windows

Braiins OS is part of Satoshi Labs and is the creation of the original inventor of mining pools, Marek “Slush” Palatinus. You may also know Marek for his invention of the Trezor, the world’s first hardware wallet.

Unlike many other mining software and operating systems, Braiins is completely free. Satoshi Labs makes money off of Braiins OS by offering you incentives to join their Slush mining pool, although this is not required to use their software.

Supported Hardware

Braains OS+ currently supports Antminer S9, S9i and S9j. Support for Antminer S17 and T17 are coming soon. Thankfully, Braiins OS+ makes the S9 family so much more efficient, that it can extend the life of your S9 ASICs. It achieves this life increase through better minign efficiency, which we will cover next.

Performance

With Braiins OS, you can increase the hashrate of your S9 up to 17+ Terrahashes per second.

Braiins OS+ can also take an S9 on low power mode and deliver 20% better performance than even an S9i.

For aging hardware like the S9 family, this is a crazy performance boost, so we can’t wait to see what Braiin’s will be able to do once they launch support for next gen Antminers like the S17 and T17.

Cost

While there is no up front cost to buying the software, you will need to pay Slushpool dev fees by directing 2% of your hashing power to their pool regardless of which pool you end up mining on. However, if you choose to mine with slushpool for all 100% of your hashing power, that rate drops to 1%.

This is how Satoshi Labs makes money off of Braiins OS.

Features

Braiins OS boasts many features, such as:

• Unlocked SSH
• Autkmatic Updates to the OS firmware
• Device installation on all your devices at once
• Super Fast boot up speeds
• Pre-heating to get mining faster
• Complete fan control

Command Line

For the more traditional, tech-savvy users, Braiins offers a simple but robust command line interface for their mining software in addition to the more common graphical user interface that most people are used to. Both have their advantages, but many are more comfortable issuing commands with a keyboard instead of mouse clicks.

Two-Factor Authentication

According to Slushpool,

Every important change made to a user account requires email verification. We furthermore recommend enabling two-factor authentication using either TOTP mobile app or a hardware token (U2F). For even better protection, there is a possibility to lock your payout address so it can be only changed in future by a signed message from said address.

Slushpool takes the security of your earnings very seriously, which means a robust set of two-factor authentication options are at your disposal.

Technical Support

Braiin’s OS comes with some of the best documentation of all the mining software. If that doesn’t answer you questions you can reach out to Braiins for help or join their telegram.

Implementation of Stratum V2

Braiins OS+ has also implemented its Stratum V2 communication protocol. This protocol offers truly advanced features for power miners such as bandwidth load reductions, hash rate variance control, and hash rate hijacking protection.

It also comes with a nifty Proxy so that you can still use Stratum on other pools even if it isn’t supported by them.

Should You Use Braiins OS?

There is no one more experienced in mining software than Satoshi Labs, so you really can’t go wrong. These guys are constantly innovating, so even if you are running Linux, you won’t be disappointed in choosing Braiins.

That being said, if you don’t plan on mining with Slushpool, be aware that you will essentially pay a 2% fee to Slushpool (in the form of redirecting 2% of your hashing power to them). By mining with Slushpool, that cuts in half and becomes very attractive.

For more info on mining pools and how to pick one, see our compplete guide on mining pools.

Best Mining Software for Linux

Every system has its flaws, and the best solutions to how to fix those flaws often come from the users of the system. Enter Hashr8, a Bitcoin mining operating system developed by miners for miners.

As you’d expect, Hashr8 has fixed many of the flaws we covered in the introduction. But the developers have also added some additional bells and whistles to their OS.

What Hashr8 Can Do Now

To combat the inefficiencies of other mining systems, Hashr8 constantly monitors the performance of your rig and automatically restarts it when there’s an error. It also comes with a handy mobile app that notifies you of any changes and allows you to control your mining system remotely when you’re on the go.

What Hashr8 Can Do Soon

On the horizon, the team behind Hashr8 plan to add automated mining based on which cryptocurrencies are currently the most profitable to mine. Users will also be able to optimize the settings of their rig, adjust their power consumption, manage an entire mining farm from the app, and download performance reports for each individual mining rig.

In other words, there’s a lot to be excited about!

What Are the Benefits of Hashr8?

Now that you have a basic overview of Hashr8, it’s time to look at some of the specific benefits of using this mining operating system over the alternatives on the market.

Remote Management

The app (which is available for both iOS and Android devices) that comes with Hashr8 allows you to control multiple mining rigs from your phone.

First of all, it’ll notify you the moment there’s a low hash rate, or when any parts overheat or malfunction. But the app also allows you to control which cryptocurrency is being mined, which wallet you’re using, and what your numbers look like. Finally, you also have the option to overclock your mining rigs.

Easy Installation

Another advancement the team behind Hashr8 has made is on the installation front.

Newbies no longer have to dread a complicated installation process. This one’s plug and play. Simply go to the Hashr8 website, download the disk image, and connect it to your rig via a flash drive.

It’ll automatically configure the installation based on the hardware in your rig. You also have the option to add overclocking and firmware with the configuration presets that are included.

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Incredible Support

Since Bitcoin mining is such a rapidly evolving space, any service providers have to adapt their systems to serve their customers.

Hashr8 already supports over 650 different miners and mining pools, so chances are the one you’re using is covered. Your mining rig itself is likely also supported, as Hashr8 is compatible with most CPUs, GPUs, and ASICS and covers mining for multiple kinds of coins.

How Much Does Hashr8 Cost?

As mentioned, you can choose between three different packages when you sign up for Hashr8.

Here are your three options:

1. Home Miner is free and allows you to run three mining devices at the same time.
2. Pro Miner costs $2 per month for every mining device after the first three.
3. Corporate Miner gives you a dedicated account manager, additional configuration and integration options, as well as a discount when you use more than 300 mining devices.

Each option comes with 24/7 customer service and support if you need help with Hashr8.

How to Install Hashr8 in 8 Steps

Decided whether or not you want to try out Hashr8? Then it’s time to look at how to install it. Fortunately, it’s as easy as eight simple steps.

Here’s how to install Hashr8:

1. Go to the Hashr8 website and click “Login” in the top right corner and then “Register” to create an account.
2. Log in to your new account and click “Download” on the left-hand side of the dashboard to download the installation file.
3. Transfer the installation file to a flash drive or external hard drive so you can connect it to your mining device.
4. Click “Rigs” on the Hashr8 dashboard menu and then choose “Add Rig” to add your mining device.
5. Fill in all the required details, such as name, description, password, and the number of GPUs, then click “Save.”
6. Click the name of your rig once it has been set up, then click “System Info” and copy the information under the “Rig Token” section.
7. Open the installation file on your flash drive or external hard disk and paste the information you just copied to into the document named “token.txt” and save.
8. Plug your flash drive or external hard disk into your mining rig, turn it on, and wait until it’s registered as online on your Hashr8 dashboard.

That’s it, you’re not ready to mine!

Quick Tip

Using mining software is not the fastest way to get bitcoins.

Try an exchange below for the fastest way to get bitcoins.

• Bits of Gold

  • Crypto exchange based in Tel Aviv
  • Buy with card, cash or bank transfer
  • Supports Bitcoin & Ethereum
• Rain

  • Exchange for Saudi Arabi, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrin, UAE
  • Rain is based in Middle East
  • High buying limits
• WazirX

  • Crypto exchange based in India
  • Deposit INR with IMPS & UPI
  • Low fees and many coins
• eToro

  • Start trading fast; high limits
  • Easy way for newcomers to get bitcoins
  • Your capital is at risk.
• Luno

  • Best for Nigeria, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia
  • East to use interface
  • Trusted exchange
• Coinbase

  • High liquidity and buying limits
  • Easy way for newcomers to get bitcoins
  • 'Instant Buy' option available with debit card
• Bitbuy

  • Exchange based in Canada
  • Very high buy and sell limits
  • Supports Interac & wire
• Coinberry

  • Crypto exchange based in Canada
  • Very high buy and sell limits
  • Supports credit & debit card, Interac, wire
• Coinsquare

  • Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange
  • Very high buy and sell limits
  • Supports bank account, Interac, wire
• eToro

  • Supports Bitcoin, Ethereum & 15 other coins
  • Start trading fast; high limits
  • Your capital is at risk.

  This ad promotes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK Ltd.) & USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU protections & not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal.

Should You Use Hashr8?

Hopefully, you’ve found this Hashr8 review useful and are now able to make an informed decision as to whether or not you want to use it for your mining.

Hashr8 is a new mining software company. It’s mining software made by miners, for miners.

To combat the inefficiencies of other mining systems, Hashr8 constantly monitors the performance of your rig and automatically restarts it when there’s an error.

It also comes with a handy mobile app that notifies you of any changes and allows you to control your mining system remotely when you’re on the go.

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Best Mining Software For MacOS

Hive OS is a dashboard which allows miners to monitor and control all of their ASICs and GPUs from one centralized location.

Centralization is a scary word in crypto but in this case it’s great. Instead of having to monitor miners with different programs, it’s now possible to keep track of everything using Hive’s beautiful, one-stop dashboard.

Hive OS supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bcash, Monero and many other coins.

Whether you have three rigs or a thousand, Hive OS can easily integrate with all of them. Installation is easy as Hive OS automatically detects mining rigs and adds them to the dashboard.

HEADS UP!

Mining or buying bitcoins? You can't do either without a Bitcoin wallet.

Our guide on the best bitcoin wallets will help you pick one.
Read Our Wallets Guide

Tracking Metrics with Hive OS

As a full feature dashboard Hive OS, like Hashr8, allows miners to track a number of different metrics. That includes but is not limited to,

• Hash rate
• Online status
• GPU errors
• Pool configuration
• Electricity usage
• Team activity

What’s great about Hive is that all of this information can be accessed from anywhere in the world. That means that you can manage a mining operation from anywhere, you don’t have to be physically connected to the miners. You can even use Hive OS to update ASICs (all at one time, it’s not necessary to update them individually) or restart a GPU if it has frozen.

Quick Tip

Mining is not the fastest way to get bitcoins.

Buying bitcoin is the fastest way.

Besides updating their rigs Hive OS allows miners to do the following,

• Change which coins are being mined. Bitcoin or BCH, Ethereum or Ethereum Classic, you can switch on the go if one coin becomes more profitable than another. You can use our profitability calculator as well.
• Change miner configurations all at once, there’s no need to painstakingly change individual settings.
• Change mining pools.

No matter what coins you’d like to mine Hive OS has you covered. They support more than 500 different currencies as well as 85 different mining rigs. To increase the efficiency of your miners Hive OS has firmware that can boost hash rates as well as cut down on energy usage by as much as 25%.

Pricing

Hive OS is surprisingly affordable at $2 per month per ASIC. For larger operations Hive offers discounts to any business with more than 500 miners. It’s also possible to receive Hive for free if you purchase the Hive firmware upgrade for your rigs.

There are a couple of other discounts available. If you deposit three months worth of funds into your account Hive will give you a 30% bonus on your purchase. You have to make the deposit all at once but otherwise there are few restriction on what it takes to qualify. There is also an additional 3% bonus if you make the deposit using a stablecoin like USDT or TUSD.

ETH Mining Pool

For Ethereum miners Hive hosts its own mining pool which they claim is one of the most profitable anywhere. Hive mentions that due to their worldwide servers their pool is secure, efficient and also has a high payout. As of publication the expected daily earnings are $1.35 (0.00794 ETH) per 100 MH/s.

The minimum payout for the pool is 0.1 ETH and currently the pool charges no commission fee. There are three servers available. One in Russia, one in Europe and one in North America.

Quick Tip

Using mining software is not the fastest way to get bitcoins.

Try an exchange below for the fastest way to get bitcoins.

• Bits of Gold

  • Crypto exchange based in Tel Aviv
  • Buy with card, cash or bank transfer
  • Supports Bitcoin & Ethereum
• Rain

  • Exchange for Saudi Arabi, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrin, UAE
  • Rain is based in Middle East
  • High buying limits
• WazirX

  • Crypto exchange based in India
  • Deposit INR with IMPS & UPI
  • Low fees and many coins
• eToro

  • Start trading fast; high limits
  • Easy way for newcomers to get bitcoins
  • Your capital is at risk.
• Luno

  • Best for Nigeria, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia
  • East to use interface
  • Trusted exchange
• Coinbase

  • High liquidity and buying limits
  • Easy way for newcomers to get bitcoins
  • 'Instant Buy' option available with debit card
• Bitbuy

  • Exchange based in Canada
  • Very high buy and sell limits
  • Supports Interac & wire
• Coinberry

  • Crypto exchange based in Canada
  • Very high buy and sell limits
  • Supports credit & debit card, Interac, wire
• Coinsquare

  • Canada's largest cryptocurrency exchange
  • Very high buy and sell limits
  • Supports bank account, Interac, wire
• Independent Reserve (AU/NZ)

  • Low fees with instant AUD deposits
  • EFT, POLi, Osko & SWIFT
  • Top cryptos, tax reports, local support & OTC desk
• eToro

  • Supports Bitcoin, Ethereum & 15 other coins
  • Start trading fast; high limits
  • Your capital is at risk.

  This ad promotes virtual cryptocurrency investing within the EU (by eToro Europe Ltd. and eToro UK Ltd.) & USA (by eToro USA LLC); which is highly volatile, unregulated in most EU countries, no EU protections & not supervised by the EU regulatory framework. Investments are subject to market risk, including the loss of principal.

The Hive OS Mobile App

One of the great things about Hive OS is that they have a mobile app that allows you to execute all of the same functions and monitor all of the same metrics as the dashboard. With some recent updates the app also appears to function well, based on user reviews.

In the Google Play store the app has 4.4 review score and although there is not yet an Apple iPhone app, Hive has indicated that they plan to release one soon.

Coin Statistics

One of the cool things about Hive OS is that even if you’ve not yet signed up for the service you can get an idea of who is using it. On the Hive statistics page there is a bunch of relevant data that miners may be interested in. For instance as of publication:

• 54% of all Hive OS mining is for Ethereum and 9% is Bitcoin
• The Radeon RX 570 4GB is the most popular AMD miner and the P106-100 6GB is the most popular NVIDIA miner. For Bitcoin the Antminer S9 Hiveon is the most popular model

The Hive OS Advantage

If you’re in the business of cryptocurrency mining Hive OS can offer a real advantage in terms of efficiency, setup speed and ease of use. The centralized dashboard is well thought out and beautiful to look at. What used to be difficult is now easy with essentially plug and play mining for Ethereum, Bitcoin and hundreds of other coins.

Whether you’ve already got the equipment or you’re considering a new investment, Hive OS is definitely worth checking out as an all-in-one mining dashboard.

Hive OS is a dashboard which allows miners to monitor and control all of their ASICs and GPUs from one centralized location.

Viruses in Mining Software

Be aware that a lot of mining software may try to steal your bitcoins. Be sure to read reviews on any software you download.

Also:

Make sure you are downloading from the actual site and not a copy-cat site.

Using Tor with Mining Software

It’s also worth noting that you can use Tor to route your traffic through to remain especially anonymous while mining.

Cash Out your Coins

Once you have this setup and are mining, you may need to cash out some of your coins in order to pay off your expenses such as electricity.

For this you can use Buy Bitcoin Worldwide to find a Bitcoin exchange in your country, whether that be the USA or elsewhere!

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