GPU and CPU Accelerated Mining of Cryptocurrencies and their Financial Analysis

When Bitcoin's price skyrocketed then cryptocurrencies dragged the world's attention. Since then "Cryptocurrency Mining" has became a buzz word for computer geeks as well as for those who wanted to add a new source of income. "Mining" is a process of solving computational problems using hardware which results in obtaining rewards in the form digital currency. Large number of people who could afford a personal computer, started getting attracted towards mining, which resulted in formation of "Mining Pools". Mining Pools are an explicit example of teamwork where miners share their efforts to mine cryptocurrencies. This paper throws light on some of the key concepts of mining such as hash rates, pool analytics and various mining software. A complete financial report is enclosed in this paper which discusses the profitability or non-profitability of various cryptocurrencies and hardware by considering various attributes like pool fee, electricity costs, and revenues excluding the cost of hardware. This paper is an outcome of practical mining of several cryptocurrencies on GPUs and CPUs (non-custom hardware) which results in contextually slower mining as compared to high-end miners. Proposed data will guide novice miners to start mining.