Mining crypto is no longer an option, so invest instead!

Mining for cryptocurrency is the process of solving complex mathematical problems. Miners are essentially the foundation of many cryptocurrency networks, as they devote their time and computing power to solving those math problems, thereby providing the network with "proof-of-work (PoW)." Aside from that, miners are in charge of creating new Ether tokens, as they receive Ether rewards for successfully completing a PoW task. PoW is based on fundamental properties of the hash function, which is an "encrypted" piece of data derived procedurally from some arbitrary input.

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As many people outside of the blockchain community are aware, a crash in the cryptocurrency markets has made the last few months extremely difficult for anyone whose financial well-being is linked to the currencies. As of June 15, the price of Ether had fallen by roughly 70% year on year. At the same time, a lesser-known factor—a tectonic shift known as "the Merge"—is set to end Ethereum mining entirely, affecting up to 1 million people.

Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrency networks by market value, both use proof-of-work to record transactions, in which so-called miners devote computer resources to solving difficult math problems in order to add blocks of transactions to a public ledger. Miners are rewarded with cryptocurrency payments. Bitcoin mining, which generally requires specialised equipment, has become industrialised, and as mining has moved to data centres, regular people's participation has essentially been eliminated. Ethereum mining requires graphics cards, and gaming PCs have them, so there are amateur miners. 

Proof-of-work is a competition to make computers work hard, which consumes a lot of energy. One of the primary criticisms levelled at cryptocurrencies is the environmental toll it imposes. Since Ethereum's inception, its developers have been planning a transition to an alternative model known as proof-of-stake. People would set aside, or "stake," a certain amount of Ether, the Ethereum blockchain's cryptocurrency, to win rewards for running software that properly batches transactions into new blocks and checks the work of other validators. Proof-of-stake could reduce the Ethereum network's power consumption by 99 per cent. It would also put miners out of work, which would be a significant blow given the capital investment required to set up operations. Although no official date has been set, the Merge is expected to take place in August. It's already been pushed back several times, and many miners are hoping it will happen again.

With the future of the mining world up in the air, most miners are looking to sell their mining equipment, and invest their cryptocurrency in other things. Crypto can be used to trade or invest in real estate and other NFTs, which can then be sold later for a profit. Certain cryptocurrency platforms also allow you to store cryptocurrency in your wallet, which will generate interest without you having to do anything. For example, Swyftx Earn lets you earn interest on eligible cryptocurrencies stored in your Swyftx trading wallet, and you can claim the interest instantly on whichever cryptocurrency you store. Swyftx Earn also offers a tiered model of interest, and these rates decrease at each tier, so you can store cryptocurrency in your wallet based on the amount of interest you will receive. 

As the world of cryptocurrency evolves, you must evolve with it. Instead of investing more in mining, you can switch to trading or other investments, or even just store your crypto to earn interest with Swyftx Earn.