Good evening fellow P0x'ers; coming at you is another edition of my "Happy Hashing" series -- posts dedicated to home crypto mining, for enthusiasts and semi-pros alike. Or maybe you just like to fool around and experiment with your BitAxe/NerdQAxe++/Avalon/whatever SHA-256 miner you're working with. At any rate, today I will be examining eCash (XEC) mining.

Because eCash uses the same proof-of-work (POW) algorithm that Bitcoin uses, the SHA-256 algo, any Bitcoin miner is compatible. Also like Bitcoin, eCash has a 10-minute target block time. The total block subsidy is 3,125,000 XEC but eCash has a split reward system implemented. This is done so that part of the mining reward funds the network's future developments. Here's the breakdown:

• Miner Reward 58% - 1,812,500 XEC goes to the miner (or pool) who validates the block
• Development Fund 32% - 1,000,000 XEC goes to the eCash Global Network Council, which utilizes the share for protocol development/infrastructure
• Staking Rewards 10% - 312,500 XEC goes to Avalanche stakers who provide additional security to the network

In case you were wondering, the Development Fund helps keep the network self-funded and free from any future outside venture capital. This is done in the name of decentralization. The funds help developers upgrade the network as it grows, supports the official Cashtab web wallet (more on this later), merchant adoption, and stablecoin development.

So, what's the best way for one to get into eCash mining?

First, you want to make sure you have your wallet setup (if you don't already). The aforementioned Cashtab is the official web wallet for XEC and is a good one to start with. Next, you'll want to point your ASIC to a solo mining pool. I tried out LetsMine.it and had success connecting to it. That's it; you're now ready to mine some XEC. 

The current network hashrate, as of this writing, is 53.41 PH/s so if you're working with a 1.2 TH/s miner, you're still playing lottery odds. Every 10 minutes, the odds of hitting a block are about 1 in 44,508,333. Keep in mind these numbers are for solo mining; if you do pool mining, you'll receive more consistent (albeit much lower) rewards. 

In the end, it's up to you how you want to direct your hashing power. I like to experiment and play around with different altcoins, all the while having hash power reserved for BTC solo mining. Because, let's face it, that's truly the blockchain you want to confirm a block on!

Anyways, hopefully this information was helpful. If it wasn't, I don't know what to tell you. Any crypto mining is all about hash power. For us home miners working on the tiny terahash scale, we're just small fries in the grand scheme of things. Keep it real! Keep those ASICs humming!

The original Bitcoin faucet is long gone, but there are still ways to collect some free crypto if you invest some of your free time:

• Sign up here on Publish0x, if you haven't already, to earn free crypto for reading & writing content

• Join Cointiply and roll the faucet every hour, view PTC ads, take surveys to earn free Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, or Dash

• Downoad the Bitcoin Cash Giveaway to collect some free BCH sats, paid out weekly

• Check out Yescoiner to easily collect some satoshis; no nonsense -- just solve a captcha. Low payout, slow drip here

• For rewards in XNO, DOGE and BTC, check out TipNano app

• Visit Stacker.news and earn some sats by posting interesting content and commenting what others share

• The most off-the-wall faucet is Crypto Junkie, offering payouts in various cryptos to Final Autoclaim & Faucetpay [UPDATE 3/22 - CRYPTO JUNKIE APPEARS TO BE DOWN]

• If you're DCA'ing your Bitcoin stack, try River for zero-fee recurring BTC buys & earn 3.5% Bitcoin interest on deposited USD

• Slice is a Google Chrome browser extension that allows you to earn BTC for browsing, paid via Lightning Network

• Another great crypto-powered blog site is read.cash, fueled by Bitcoin Cash (BCH)