Hello and welcome to Abra Tusz’s PKT mining guide. In this guide you will learn how easy it is to deploy scalable PKT mining machines using Akash Network’s decentralized cloud. Don’t let that first sentence intimidate you. Not only is it easy to deploy a mining machine, it can be profitable too!
By the end of this guide, you will not only be competent enough to deploy a PKT miner, but you will also have the confidence to deploy any type of web app on Akash, be able to teach others to do the same, and explain to them why they should (the simplest reason is that it’s a lot cheaper!).
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents. It looks like a lot, but it’s just broken down into tiny, digestible parts. If there is one area you are struggling with, feel free to jump right to it.
Introduction
Akash Network is a decentralized cloud compute platform, which means that it unlocks computing capabilities for anyone around the world who has the Akash token. It is the first blockchain solution of its kind.
There are various reasons to use cloud compute, the most obvious being that it is more cost-effective, scalable, and efficient than setting up physical infrastructure.
By that same reasoning, there are many reasons to use Akash Network’s cloud compute, the most obvious being that it is more cost-effective, accessible, and censorship-resistant than any current available options.
Already, many people around the world are turning to Akash Network for their cloud compute solution. If you have been paying attention to Akashlytics, you will notice a huge uptick in daily AKT expenditures and active deployments. Why? One likely reason is that on August 20th there was a livestream hosted by Akash Network.
The topic of this livestream was “How to Mine PKT Faster on The World’s First Decentralized Cloud” Since this livestream, there was a 51% increase in Akash Deployments from August 20th to August 30th.
“What’s going on?”
One reason for this growth is that people are mining PKT, a bandwith-hard proof-of-work coin that let’s people sell their unused internet bandwith to others. It is still in the early stages, so now is a great time to jump in while mining rewards are high.
If that sounds interesting to you, follow along as we explore how to easily set up a PKT mining node on Akash Network. It’s easy to do and only takes about fifteen minutes to complete the whole process.
What to know before you start
Before doing any of the following steps, it is highly recommended that you become familiar with using Keplr Wallet.
Keplr wallet is a browser-based wallet that enables you to store, stake, send, and receive tokens. In this guide we will use Keplr to create a new address for the Akashlytics deploy tool. Keplr wallet is the foundation for everything that you will do with AKT, so it’s best to get familiar with it.
Setting up the Wallets
Set up a PKT Wallet
There are various ways to set up a PKT wallet, depending on what operating system you use. In this guide we will be using the command line, which is available to everyone.
The command line is a tool that lets us talk to the hardware and software of our computer using text instead of a mouse.
I will do my best to outline all of the steps for Mac users, Window users, and Linux users, but in case of any issues, here is the relevant documentation:
Download the Wallet
MacOS and Linux
Download one of the most recent packages available for Linux or MacOS from pktd releases page.
MacOS
1. download pktd-v1.3.1-macos.pkg
2. install pktwallet and other utilities by clicking on the package icon in the Finder
Linux
1. download one of the following packages:
pktd-v1.3.1-linux.deb (Debian or Ubuntu),
pktd-v1.3.1-linux.rpm (Fedora or RedHat),
pktd AUR package (Arch linux or Manjaro),2. install pktwallet and other utilities by clicking on the appropriate package icon or running an installation command
Windows
1. Download the most recent zip archive suffixed with -windows.zip available from pktd releases page
pktd-v1.3.1-windows.zip
2. Go to the Downloads directory
3. Unarchive the content of the zip file
Continue to follow the instructions below but,
In place of pktwallet, type ./bin/pktwallet.exe
In place of pktctl, type ./bin/pktctl.exe
I do not have a Windows computer, so here is a video guide from bigheart2050 about how to install the pktwallet using windows. you only need to watch until 14:32 to learn how to create the wallet.
Now that we’ve downloaded the pktwallet, let’s create a wallet for ourselves.
Create a Wallet
BE SURE TO SAVE YOUR SEED PHRASE IN A SAFE PLACE, AS YOU DID WITH YOUR KEPLR WALLET SEED PHRASE. NEVER SHARE IT WITH ANYONE!
To create a new PKT wallet
1. Open the terminal
MacOS
Press CMD + Space, type ‘terminal’ into the search box, press Enter
Linux
Type ‘terminal’ into the search box. Click on the application called ‘terminal’.
Windows
Use the search feature, search for ‘Windows Powershell’, click on the ‘Windows Powershell’ result
2. Create a Wallet using the command line
pktwallet --create
Follow the instructions on the command line.
YOU WILL RECEIVE A SEED PHRASE. STORE IT SOMEWHERE SAFE. DON’T REVEAL IT TO ANYONE.
Now, your wallet is created and you can interact with the blockchain.
Launch the Wallet
Now, let’s launch the wallet in order to make sure that everything is configured properly.
3. Use the following command:
pktwallet
At this point, you will begin communicating with the blockchain from your local machine!
4. Make sure you are up to date by looking for this output and paying special attention to the height statement
1608294386 INF headerlogger.go:64 Processed 1 block in the last 24.82s (height 702781, 2021-08-21 13:26:01 +0100 CET)
compare it against the height of the most recent block mined at https://explorer.pkt.cash/
5. Get an Address
Leave the pktwallet running with all of the numbers coming in, and open a new terminal tab in the terminal using:
Mac
CMD + T
Linux
CTRL + SHIFT + T
Windows
CTRL + T
After your new tab is open, type the following command:
pktctl --wallet getnewaddress
Now the command line will give you an address, it should start with pkt…
save this address somewhere where you can access it easily, we will use it again later.
However, if you lose your address, don’t worry, you can see it again using
pktctl --wallet getaddressbalances 1 1
In the interest of troubleshooting and monitoring our results, I highly recommend that for each mining node you deploy, you use a seperate pktaddress. This enables you to compare different configurations and optimize your mining performance.
Done! You have successfully used the command line of your computer to interact with a blockchain and create an address! Congratulations.
Additional Information
While here we only use the command line for a few simple commands, the command line is useful for a wide variety of tasks such as automating processes, navigating to harder to reach places of our hard drive, and more.
In general using the command line is more efficient and effective for doing large tasks, such as moving all .txt files to one location. We can also create an Akash deployment using the command line!
Set Up a Separate Keplr Wallet (for security reasons)
First, ensure that you have Keplr installed and have AKT deposited into a wallet (this will be referred to as your main wallet), if you have not yet completed this step, follow this guide.
1. Using Google Chrome or Brave Browser, access your Keplr plugin.
In Google Chrome, click the puzzle piece -> click on Keplr.
In Brave, click the three horizontal lines, and click on ‘Extensions’ in the drop down menu -> click on Keplr.
Insert your password to access your wallet.
Now, we are going to set up a new Keplr wallet in order to maintain as secure a workflow as possible.
2. Click on the person icon in the top right.
3. Click add account, follow the instructions, and be sure to store your mnemonic seed carefully.
Add the New Wallet to your Address Book
1. Click on the akash address in your new wallet, it should start with akash…, this will copy the address, as confirmed by the green notification on the top.
2. Click the menu icon in the top right, select address book.
3. Add a new address using the top right button, give it a memorable name, I use AkashDeployTool
Paste the address you just copied into the address box.
5. Transfer at least 5.15 AKT to your newly created wallet.
Click send
6. Open the address book and select your newly added address, type the amount of funds you want to send, and click the “send” button. Choose your gas fee and accept.
After that, click the send button to send the funds to your newly created wallet.
Now, we are ready to deploy a server!
This guide covers the easiest possible way to deploy a PKT mining node using AKT, as such using the command line is out of the scope of this guide. For anyone who is interested in deploying a PKT mining node using the command line, please visit: https://forum.akash.network/t/mining-pkt-is-as-easy-as-1-2-3/864. If you use Linux , creating Akash deployments from the command line is the only option available to you.
Deploy a Mining Node!
1. Download the Akashlytics Deploy Tool
Note for MacOS users: You may receive a warning when trying to open the application.
To resolve this: open your System Preferences application, click on Security and Privacy, and then click “Open Anyway”.
Insert your computer password and then open the Akashlytics application again.
2. Link your recently created wallet to the Akashlytics deploy tool
When you open the Akashlytics deploy tool, you will be prompted for your mnemonic. Insert the mnemonic of the wallet you just created, input a password, and you will be able to access the main dashboard.
On the main dashboard you should see your current balance, which will match the amount that you sent to your newly created wallet, you will also see a button that says create certificate.
3. Create a certificate
Let’s create a certificate now for a very small fee. One wallet only ever needs one certificate. This certificate allows you to interact with your deployments. Accept the transaction. It should go through quickly.
Deploy a server
Now, comes the fun, and rewarding part! Let’s deploy our server.
Now that we have a certificate and funds in our wallet, we are able to go ahead and easily deploy a server.
1. Create a Deployment
Click +CREATE DEPLOYMENT
If you have all green check-marks, as you should, you can go ahead and go to the next step, which is choosing our template.
2. Select your Template
Our template enables us to set up the kind of deployment we want.
For now, we will select “empty” and then click next.
You can already see how easy it would be to launch a wordpress site, or a gaming server using Akash. The possibilities are endless.
Now, let’s go onto configuring our manifest.
Configure the Manifest
“When deploying on Akash, miners define the deployment services, data centers, requirements, and pricing parameters, in a “manifest” — a configuration file that may end in .yml or .yaml. This configuration file follows the YAML standard and is very similar to Docker Compose files. The file is written in a human-friendly language called Stack Definition Language (SDL). This SDL file is a form to request resources and declare deployment attributes.” —Colin Lowenberg, Akash Forum
1. Copy and paste the .YAML file from the link.
Here is the link for the .YAML file we will be using. Download or copy the file and paste it into the empty manifest.
2. Change some settings for the optimal configuration
You’ve already input everything you need to start a mining node, but now let’s go through and make some small changes to optimize the configuration.
The PKT team recommends that you constantly experiment with different configurations to find what works best for you. This is what I have found is best. In your own configuration, you can remove the # parts, those are comments that don’t affect the code. They are there to help you understand what you’re doing.
version: "2.0"
services:
miner:
image: chandrastation/pkt_on_akash:v1.0.0
env:
# remember to input your own wallet address, the one we generated
# above
- WALLET_ADDR=<PKT_Wallet>
# it is important to optimize your pools, this is the best
# current configuration
- POOL1=http://pool.srizbi.com
- POOL2=http://pool.pktpool.io
- POOL3=http://pool.pkt.world
- POOL4=http://pool.pkteer.com
- POOL5=http://pool.pktco.in
expose:
- port: 3000
as: 80
to:
- global: true
# in this section we can edit our mining configuration
# Changing the number of units changes the amount of CPUs you will
# use 10, the optimal number for mining PKT.
profiles:
compute:
miner:
resources:
cpu:
units: 10
# another akash community member found that reducing memory and
# storage
# saves costs without effecting performance
memory:
size: 512 Mi
storage:
size: 512 Mi
placement:
miner:
attributes:
host: akash
signedBy:
# it's not recommended to change the 'anyOf:' line because that
# signifies
# that we only want to use certified cloud providers
anyOf:
- "akash1365yvmc4s7awdyj3n2sav7xfx76adc6dnmlx63"
pricing:
miner:
denom: uakt
amount: 1000
# changing the count will change the amount of machines we use, for
# example: if we want to scale up our mining operation we simply
# edit the count, but the max I have been able to deploy at a time
# is 2
deployment:
miner:
miner:
profile: miner
count: 13. Select your lease provider
After submitting our updated manifest, if there are available leases, our transaction will go through and a list of providers will be displayed.
Select any of them, and your mining machine will be online.
Congratulations! You are now helping to decentralize the internet by mining PKT using Akash’s decentralized cloud. From here you can experiment and find out what works best for you, optimize your configuration, track your results, and sell your PKT in the PKT trade chat!
Track the Results
Great! Now you are mining. What next? Well, unless you don’t care about where your AKT is running off to, you can just let it be and watch your PKT pile up.
But, if you want to figure out exactly how much money you are making (or losing), it’s best to track your metrics!
What to know before you start
If you want to track your data, the first thing you need to know is how to get the data to track:
- To find out your overall address balance, insert your address into the search bar of the pkt.cash explorer.
- To find out more detailed data, such as hourly mining performance, use the pkt.world explorer.
Premade Spreadsheet
Here is the speadsheet I made to help you track your mining profitability.
0. Click File -> Make a Copy
Now, let’s insert our data into our spreadsheet.
1. Add the Date / Time data in cell A2
2. Add the price data
a. Input the price of AKT / USD in column B(price data from coingecko)
b. Input the price of PKT / USD in column C (price data from pktprice.toygaitatzis.com)
Note: The daily price of PKT is highly variable. If you look at the pktprice website, you will see that the given price is calculated from OTC (over the counter) trades, because PKT is not yet on centralized or decentralized exchanges.
4. At the bottom of the spreadsheet, change to the PKT Mining Data tab
5. Fill in all of the colored cells
The spreadsheet will do the rest!
If you need help, look to the cells with borders around them. Just hover your mouse over them and a note will pop up to help you.
Making Sense of the Numbers
In column K, you can see profit, this is a pure dollar amount.
If it is green (positive), you will earn money if you sell that period’s mined PKT at that moment.
If it is red (negative), you are currently mining at a loss, which means you would have been better off selling your AKT and purchasing PKT than mining in that period.
The profitability of mining PKT will vary day by day.
Next, we have Profit Margin, calculated by dividing our gross profit (revenue minus cost) by revenue. The closer this number is to 100%, the better you are doing.
Profit Margin lets us see how much we are earning per PKT mined. Using this metric we can see if our efforts in this period have been worth it — if we have earned more money by using AKT to mine PKT than we would have by simply selling AKT.
Lastly, we have Return on Investment (ROI). We calculate our ROI by subtracting our PKT mining earnings (total PKT mined * median PKT / USD price) by the USD value of the AKT we spent (total AKT spent * median AKT price) and then dividing it by the USD value of the AKT we spent. In this formula I use median price because average price would be affected by the amount of entries in that time period.
Return on Investment will help us to understand if we would have more money by keeping our AKT and selling it at the median price, or if we earned more $$ having mined PKT using the AKT we used. This will vary depending on the long term price range of PKT and AKT.
Now we have all of the tools we need to track our investment as well as modify our spreadsheet. Before we go on, here are some wise words from a pkteer:
General comment about mining, yields and PKT price. When mining PKT, it’s prudent to monitor and optimize for profitability, of course. You will want to buy/rent your mining hardware/server for the best price, and ensure it is generating the highest Ke/s to maximize yields. Some CPUs are more compatible with PacketCrypt than others and can produce varying results. HOWEVER, yields and PKT price are variables that are constantly in flux and can impact “profitability” on a daily basis. While it is of course advisable to focus on profitability, is best to have a longer view on mining profitability on a monthly or quarterly basis. When having a longer view you can ensure you are accumulating PKT in advance of major price appreciations or miner capitulation events. This is different than trying to spin up servers to be profitable every hour of every day and comparing hourly profitability against the current PKT price. For example, miners who were “mining at a loss” in late 2020 at $0.002 ultimately became very profitable months later. Alternatively, hourly penny-pinching will never be a long term mining strategy for success. — Jesse B (Admin of PKT Cash Chat)
Now let’s find out how to sell our PKT if we wanted to.
Selling the PKT we earn
Currently, PKT is not listed on any centralized or decentralized exchanges. It is only available OTC (over the counter), so we have to find a person who wants to buy our PKT. In all OTC situations, BEWARE OF SCAMMERS, and always use the predefined method with approved people.
Let’s see how we can do that:
1. Join the PKT trading group
2. List your sell order in the following format
WTS xPKT @ $0.0y
but replace the ‘x’ with the number of PKT you want to sell, and the y with the amount of money you want to sell it for.
Once agreed on price and currency (USDT, USDC, BTC, ETH, LTC, etc) start chat with escrow. Escrows will have the word “escrow” next to their telegram name. It is best to click on the escrows TG handle from this pinned message, and message the escrow to make sure it’s the correct name. If in doubt, ask the escrow to post in the public chat to confirm they are real.
PKT is sent to escrow. Once escrow confirms receipt of PKT, payment can be made direct to seller. Check and recheck to confirm tx ID (if crypto) or deposit (if fiat).
Once confirmed receipt of payment from seller, escrow will release PKT to buyer, less escrow fee from buyer and seller (paid in PKT).
Conclusion
Congratulations! Now you know everything you need to know about how to earn money mining PKT on Akash Network! But, don’t stop there. The possibilities with Akash are as endless as the internet is big. If you have a website, consider deploying it on Akash Network. Share the love! Spread knowledge about Akash and teach others what you know. Together let’s build a better internet!
More Resources
- Akash Network
- About PKT
- How to get and store AKT
- Mining PKT on Akash Telegram Group
- Selling PKT Telegram Group
Relevant Terms
Cloud Computing: The renting of hardware and software that someone else hosts and maintains in order to run web applications.
Akash Network: A decentralized cloud computing network that uses AKT (AKash Token) as a medium of exchange.
Keplr Wallet: Keplr wallet is an easy to use wallet that enables users to securely store, transfer, and stake their cosmos-based cryptocurrencies.
Akashlytics: An analytics site that tracks Akash use metrics.
Proof-of-Work (PoW): One solution to the byzantine general’s problem in which CPU power is used to solve cryptographic puzzles. Solving these puzzles is known as mining.
PKT: A bandwith hard proof-of-work blockchain that seeks to utilize unused internet bandwith (in the same way that Akash seeks to utilize unused computing power) to create a decentralized mesh network, thereby making the internet more accessible and reducing reliance on Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Announcement Mining: Announcement mining is the most accessible method to mine PKT. It enables anyone with excess bandwith to solve puzzles and mine “announcements”. These announcements act as proof that the mining node has bandwith and is willing to share it with the network.
Block Mining: Block mining is a more intensive form of mining PKT, in which a mining pool uses a ton of bandwith to gather up all of the available announcements, thus solving a larger puzzle and receiving rewards from doing so, which are then redistributed to the announcement miners.
Return on Investment (ROI): A commonly used metric used to calculate the overall profitability of an investment.
Profit Margin: A commonly used metric that helps us measure the health of our endeavor by making it clear how much money we earn compared to our costs.
