How to mine Monacoin: Suprnova + ccminer [Nvidia]

In this guide we will walk-through how to mine Monacoin with Nvidia GPUs. Monacoin (MONA) has been a great cryptocurrency to mine and either hold or convert to another coin. As things stand today, Nvidia GPUs have the edge mining the Lyra2REv2 algorithm.

In this guide we will be mining Monacoin (MONA) with Nvidia GPUs and mining it from the mining pool Suprnova.

Mining Monacoin with ccminer – What you’ll need

In order to start mining Mona with ccminer for Nvidia CUDA you’ll need to have a few things squared away. In order to use this guide, you’ll need:

• A GPU Mining Rig (with Nvdia GPUs) running Windows or Linux
• A Monacoin wallet to deposit your mined MONA into

Following the popular 6 GPU mining rig guide we published, many people asked for a Monacoin mining walk-through. We moved it to the front of the list for coin-mining guides but there are many more to come.

Step 1: Download and install ccminer

ccminer for Nvidia CUDA was a project that began, stalled, and was then forked a few times. The specific version of ccminer we are recommending at this time is the tpruvot fork, version 2.2.2 or version 2.2.3. As the name specifies both Nvidia and CUDA in it’s full name, you’re correct in assuming that ccminer is only compatible with Nvidia graphics cards. The directions below are for installing version 2.2.3.

1. Navigate to ccminer (tpruvot) on github
2. Download the version appropriate for your platform (Windows or Linux)
   • for compiled Windows binaries, download the version appropriate for your hardware and OS (x86 or x64)
   • if you are running Windows and want to compile ccminer yourself, it is the most recent ZIP archive
   • for Linux download the most recent .tar.gz archive
3. Uncompress the archive you downloaded in a convenient location (such as the desktop)
4. If using Linux or compiling your own Windows binaries, do so now

Step 2: Review a batch file for starting ccminer

You can start mining with ccminer a few different ways. We’re going to go with our preferred route which is to create a file that will launch the miner with our settings specified inside it. On Windows these are called batch files and have a .bat extension. As we continue forward, we’ll be working with a .bat file. For those on Linux, the directions are the same, but you’ll be saving a .cmd file that will perform the same function.

Our batch file for mining Monacoin at Suprnova

This is the batch file that we use to mining MONA at Suprnova. There is a single line in the .bat file that launches ccminer. It specifies the program to be run (ccminer) and a few setting to ensure the Monacoin mining activity can be monitored (by you). Suprnova handles the deposit of your MONA into your personal wallet on their website. We’ll cover that in a minute. Here’s the .bat file that we are currently using to start mining. Scroll to see all of it’s contents if necessary.

ccminer-x64.exe -a lyra2rev2 -o stratum+tcp://mona.suprnova.cc:2995 -u gpu0.miningrig01 -p notOurPassword

The first mention in the file is simply identifying the program which will be started when the file is double-clicked. The program and the .bat file need to be in the same directory for it to correctly launch. We are on Windows and using the 64-bit version of ccminer, so our’s is ccminer-x64.exe.

The minus signs indicate variables or settings that will be supplied to the miner when it starts. Whatever directly follows a minus sign and setting is value for the mining software to use. Let’s go through each in this file.

These settings are the bare minimum, but they may also be all the settings you need. One thing worth noting is the -a setting. ccminer can mine many different cryptocurrencies, not just MONA, and not just cryptocurrencies based on the Lyra2REv2 algorithm. A list of all settings, algorithms and cryptocurrencies you can mine with ccminer are available in the README.txt file that accompanies the mining software.

Step 3: Create an account at Suprnova

We’re using the MONA pool at Suprnova in this tutorial. Suprnova requires an account. Setting up an account and specifying your mining rig or rigs is straightforward. When signing up you will be asked to supply a PIN. A PIN is a simple code (much like an ATM pin) that will be required when updating certain settings. It adds an additional bit of security to your account. The steps you need to take are:

1. Navigate to mona.suprnova.cc
2. Hover over the Guest link (top-right corner) and click the Sign-Up option
3. Create a user name and password, supply an email address and a PIN
4. If logged out, log in to mona.suprnova.cc
5. Navigate to My Account > My Workers
6. A worker represents a mining rig and makes it easy to monitor what is happening with each mining rig. Create a worker for the mining rig you wish to mine MONA with naming it something unique/memorable.
7. Create a password for the worker (do not use a password that you use elsewhere)
8. Click the Add New Worker button to add the worker
9. We recommend checking the Monitor Worker checkbox now
10. If you are configuring multiple mining rigs, continue adding them using the same process
11. Still logged in to Suprnova, navigate to My Account > Edit Account
12. Under Payment Address, enter your Monacoin wallet address
13. Set an Automatic Payout Threshold if desired
14. Enter the PIN you created when registering
15. Finally, click the Update Account button to save your changes

Note: One thing we’ve found is that Suprnova often requires you to supply your username and password when updating account or miner settings. When it does so, it often redirects you back to the mining dashboard. It’s common on their pool for whatever reason. More security is better than less, we guess!

Step 4: Configure the miner with your settings

Settings to mine Monacoin at Suprnova

This is the last step. All we now need to do is to configure the batch file we reviewed earlier to reflect your Suprnova account settings. Here’s how:

1. In the folder containing ccminer, create a file named something sensical, such as start_MONA_suprnova.bat (or whatever your prefer). Again, if your are on Linux, your file extension will be .cmd as opposed to .bat.
2. Open the new file you just created in a text editor. .
3. Copy the entire line below that starts with ccminer
4. Paste it into you file making the following changes:
   • change ccminer-x64.exe to the ccminer executable for your platform if it is different than 64-bit Windows
   • set LOGIN to the username you created on Suprnova
   • update WORKER to the worker the name you created on Suprnova for this mining rig
   • change PASSWORD to the password you selected when creating your account on Suprnova
5. Save the file

ccminer-x64.exe -a lyra2rev2 -o stratum+tcp://mona.suprnova.cc:2995 -u LOGIN.WORKER -p PASSWORD

Step 5: Start mining

At last, it is time to mine some MONA!

Mining Monacoin (MONA) with ccminer on Nvidia GPUs

1. Double-click the batch file we just edited in Step 3 (we named it Start_ETH-only_nanopool.bat)
2. A window will appear showing ccminer’s progress as it connects to Suprnova’s mining pool and starts mining. In Windows it will look like the image above.
3. That’s it, you’re mining Monacoin from Suprnova with ccminer!
4. Now let’s check our progress on Suprnova. Visit mona.suprnova.cc in a web browser.
5. If you’re not logged in, do so by hovering over the Guest link and clicking the Login option.
6. Navigate to the Dashboard page where you can monitor your mining.

It’s unfortunate, but we’ve found Suprnova’s Dashboard pages to be a bit buggy. Sometimes they don’t update as you’d expect. We’ve measured the performance of mining at Suprnova, however, and their UI’s shortcomings aren’t reflected in mining performance.

Having issues? There’s only a few things that can really go wrong. They include:

• One or more values were incorrectly set in the .bat or .cmd file
• Something is wrong with your mining rig
• Suprnova is down (visit mona.suprnova.cc to verify their site is up and running)
• If your miner looks like it is mining, but the Dashboard on Suprnova isn’t updating, it is almost certainly their dashboard, not an actual reflection of the mining progress.

Next steps

• Learn more about ccminer – There are many additional settings you may be interested in. Review the README file that came with the ccminer to see the variety of algorithms and cryptocurrencies that it can mine, as well as other advanced configuration settings.
• If you’re not already doing so, learn how to overclock your video cards to increase your mining hashrate.