SCDO Q&A - SCDO Mining Edition

Question 31: How can ordinary users participate in SCDO Mining?

Answer: Anyone can participate in Mining by running the SCDO mining node software. The general steps are as follows: First, download the SCDO node program from official channels (official website or GitHub) and install it on your computer.

Then, start the program, synchronize the blockchain data and** create a miner account**. When creating an account in the SCDO network, you can specify which shard the account belongs to, which determines which shard you will mine on.

**Next, configure the mining hardware (such as GPU) and start the mining command, and the node will begin participating in the PoW computing competition. SCDO’s mining **supports multiple platforms, common Windows and Linux operating systems can run node software, and allow CPU or GPU to participate in the calculations.

For beginners, the official provides detailed Mining tutorials and a one-click startup script, making the process relatively easy.

In summary, as long as one has basic computer operating skills and meets the hardware requirements, anyone can become an SCDO miner, contribute to the network’s block security, and earn rewards.

Question 32: What hardware and software requirements are needed for SCDO Mining?

Answer: In terms of hardware, while CPU can participate in SCDO Mining, to achieve better efficiency, it usually requires a graphics card that supports OpenCL/CUDA.

The officially recommended minimum configuration is a GPU similar to the NVIDIA GTX 1060 level.

As the network difficulty increases, the GPU configuration also needs to be upgraded, and high-performance gaming graphics cards or professional computing cards have more advantages.

**In terms of memory and storage, running a node requires several GB of memory and at least several dozen GB of hard drive space for blockchain data.**In terms of software, it is necessary to install the node/Mining software released by SCDO.

The software is compatible with Windows and Linux, including full node functionality and Mining module.

Additionally, a stable internet connection is required to maintain communication synchronization with the network, as well as the latest graphics card drivers and necessary libraries (such as CUDA Toolkit). The SCDO mining algorithm is ZPoW, which primarily utilizes GPU computing power, so the CPU requirements are not high, but the GPU drivers and software environment must be configured correctly.

After installing the software, you can start by specifying the wallet address, mining threads, and other parameters through the command line or configuration file. In general, a computer equipped with a mid to high-end GPU and a good internet connection can meet the basic requirements for SCDO Mining.

Question 33: Is the mining process of SCDO complicated? Does it require specialized skills?

Answer: Compared to some early cryptocurrencies, the mining process of SCDO has been simplified in design, making it more user-friendly and not requiring a very professional technical background.

After downloading and installing the node software, most parameters have default values. Beginners can basically run Mining by configuring the wallet address, shard selection, miner name, etc., according to the tutorial.

The official and community have provided one-click startup scripts and GUI tools to help users quickly engage in Mining. For those who are not familiar with the command line, a graphical Mining program developed by the community can be used, where you can start by entering your wallet address and clicking a few buttons. It is important to note that if multiple GPUs are running simultaneously, you may need to manually set parameters such as the number of threads; also, after upgrading your graphics card or driver, ensure to recheck compatibility.

But overall, SCDO Mining** does not require programming skills** and does not involve complex mining pool protocol configurations (if mining solo).

Users can quickly see the process of submitting computing power and finding nonce in the node log by following the guide. When your node successfully mines a block, the wallet will receive the corresponding rewards. The community also has forums and chat groups where miners can seek help if they encounter problems.

In summary, SCDO Mining** has a low threshold**, and can be started with basic learning; the level of expertise required is much lower than that of participating in early PoW projects.

Question 34: What is the block reward and issuance mechanism of SCDO?

Answer: SCDO adopts a token issuance mechanism similar to Bitcoin - issuing token rewards to miners by generating new blocks through Mining, with a limited total supply cap. In terms of block rewards, the SCDO genesis block reward is 6 SCDO per block, which will decrease after a certain period.

According to official settings, every time 3,150,000 blocks are mined (approximately every 4 years), the block reward undergoes a deflationary adjustment: the rewards for the previous several phases are 6, 4, 3, 2.5, 2, 2, 1.5… pieces, gradually decreasing. Ultimately, the total supply of tokens across the network is fixed at 300 million SCDO.

Block time is approximately 20 seconds, so theoretically around 180 blocks are produced in one hour. There is no pre-mining in the issuance mechanism, and all SCDO coins are mined and distributed by miners block by block. When a new block is generated, new coins are awarded to the miner who discovers the block, and the transaction fees contained within that block also belong to the miner.

As time goes on, the block rewards decrease until they are fully mined, at which point miners’ earnings will mainly come from transaction fees. This issuance mechanism of SCDO ensures that the token growth rate gradually decreases, and the supply tends to be fixed, which is beneficial for the long-term value stability of the token.

Question 35: Does SCDO mining have a halving mechanism? When will the reduction happen?

Answer: Yes, the mining rewards of SCDO follow the “halving mechanism”, similar to Bitcoin’s halving every four years, but the specific values decrease according to a predetermined scale rather than precisely by 1/2 each time. According to the white paper, the mining rewards are adjusted approximately every 3,150,000 blocks (about 4 years).

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Based on a block generation speed of 20 seconds: the first halving is expected to occur approximately 2 years after the mainnet launch (around 2023, when the reward drops from 6 to 4), and subsequently, a reduction will occur approximately every 2 years. By the time the last halving is completed, there will have been about 8 adjustments, possibly taking more than 16 years, at which point the vast majority of the 300 million tokens will have been mined.

**The reduction mechanism means that over time, the new supply of **SCDO gradually decreases, tightening market supply. This deflationary model helps maintain the scarcity of the token and incentivizes miners to join the network early to receive more rewards.

However, the reduction in production will also lower miners’ income, so miners need to rely more on transaction fees as a supplement. In summary, the SCDO reduction mechanism is similar to that of Bitcoin in terms of cycle, but the steps are smoother, ensuring a stable transition in the token release curve.

Question 36: What other earnings can miners obtain besides block rewards?

Answer: In addition to the new coin rewards generated by each block, miners can also earn transaction fees as revenue. When a miner packages a block, all the transaction fees (Gas fees) paid in that block will belong to that miner. This portion of the revenue depends on the number of transactions in the block and the Gas price for each transaction.

**At the current stage of SCDO, due to the very low transaction fees and the growth of transaction volumes, the proportion of fees to the total income of miners may not be high. However, with the increase of network applications and more transactions, even if the block reward is gradually halved, the fee income will gradually become an important source of return for miners.

In addition, as early participants, miners can benefit from holding the mined SCDO coins long-term, as the token **** price increases also represent profit. Although price fluctuations are uncertain, if one is optimistic about the project’s prospects, the value of the mined coins may appreciate.

**However, it is important to note that the price is not guaranteed, and the main revenue comes from block rewards and transaction fees themselves. SCDO does not have additional mining incentives (such as foundation subsidies) or MEV income, etc. Currently, the composition of miner revenue mainly consists of new block rewards + transaction fees of the current block.

Therefore, miners should assess whether the returns from these two parts can cover the electricity costs and equipment expenses when considering their investment.

Question 37: How is the mining difficulty of SCDO adjusted?

Answer: The SCDO network maintains a stable block time of around 20 seconds through a difficulty adjustment algorithm. The specific mechanism is similar to Bitcoin but with improvements, as SCDO has multiple shards and multiple algorithms. Each shard chain dynamically adjusts its mining difficulty value based on the recent block interval. If blocks are produced too quickly, the difficulty will be increased; if block production slows down, the difficulty will be decreased to bring the average block speed back to the target value. Similarly, under the multi-algorithm framework of ZPoW, each computational task also has an independent difficulty parameter, and the network adjusts its difficulty based on the frequency of finding blocks with that algorithm. Overall, the difficulty adjustment of the entire SCDO network is more frequent and refined.

Bitcoin adjusts its difficulty every 2016 blocks (approximately every 2 weeks), while SCDO may smoothly adjust every few blocks or within a fixed time window to respond promptly to changes in hash power.

Due to sharding parallelism, the system needs to ensure a stable block interval for each shard while balancing the collaborative efficiency of multiple shards. Therefore, the difficulty adjustment algorithm is quite critical in SCDO. Observations from actual operation indicate that SCDO’s difficulty adjustment can effectively adapt to fluctuations in miners’ computing power, ensuring stable network operation.

For miners, when a large amount of new computing power is added, the difficulty will rise rapidly to maintain competitive difficulty; conversely, when computing power decreases, the difficulty lowers to ensure that blocks are not significantly delayed or idling. This way, the block production and economic issuance of the entire SCDO network remain balanced and orderly.

Question 38: Can SCDO be mined using CPU?

Answer: Theoretically, it is possible. The ZPoW algorithm of SCDO is designed to be CPU-friendly, reducing the overwhelming advantage of GPUs over CPUs. This means that even with only a CPU, it is possible to find a valid solution and mine a block. However, in reality, as the total network hashrate increases, the success rate of pure CPU mining will be relatively low. GPUs still have certain advantages in parallel computing (especially when multiple GPUs work together), so most miners will use graphics cards for mining.

Under the current network difficulty, a regular CPU may have a computing power difference of more than an order of magnitude compared to a mainstream GPU. Therefore, the probability of a CPU mining a block alone is very small, and it mainly supports network transaction verification and exploratory mining. However, in the early stages of the network or on shards with lower computing power, CPU miners may have a chance.

**Overall, CPU Mining can serve as an introductory test or be used to support the network, but to continue generating profit, at least one qualified GPU is still needed. At the same time, it is also possible to consider utilizing idle CPU power to contribute as part of the mining machine’s computational power. The original intention of SCDO is to keep the threshold as low as possible, so future optimizations to improve the CPU profit ratio are not ruled out, but currently, GPU mining remains the mainstream method.

Question 39: Is there an SCDO mining pool that can help small miners with Mining?

Answer: Since SCDO uses the PoW mechanism, there are no protocol barriers to forming mining pools. Currently, there are already some third-party mining pools in the community to support SCDO Mining (although they are not as well-known as Bitcoin or Ethereum, enthusiasts can set them up themselves).

The role of a mining pool is to allow many small hashrate miners to come together to mine and share profits, thereby increasing the probability of an individual miner obtaining stable income.

After small miners join a mining pool, even if their own computing power is insufficient to mine blocks independently, they can periodically receive rewards from the mining pool based on their share of computing power. Of course, mining pool operators usually charge a certain percentage as a fee. Users should pay attention to the reputation and technical reliability of the mining pool when making their choice.

**It is worth mentioning that in the early stages of the SCDO project, in order to encourage decentralization, it may promote individual independent mining rather than excessive reliance on mining pools. However, as the network develops, the emergence of mining pools is a natural result. The steps to participate in mining pools usually involve using the mining ports and account settings provided by the pool (the pool may require filling in the wallet address as the account).

**If public mining pools are temporarily unavailable, small miners can also consider building small mining pools together with like-minded individuals to share computing power. In summary, there is a possibility of mining pools for SCDO, which provides small-power miners with a smoother income path, but the degree of centralization of mining pools also requires community attention and prevention.

Question 40: What is the difference between SCDO Mining and Bitcoin and other PoW mining?

Answer: SCDO Mining differs from classic Bitcoin Mining in many ways:

1) Different Algorithms: Bitcoin uses SHA-256 hashing, completely competing on computing power; SCDO uses ZPoW, with more diverse computing types, different hardware requirements, and CPUs can also participate.

**2）**Hardware Differences: BTC Mining now almost exclusively requires specialized ASIC miners, while SCDO primarily uses general-purpose GPUs, allowing regular computers to participate, which means a broader participation base.

3) Block Time: BTC averages 1 block every 10 minutes, while SCDO generates 1 block approximately every 20 seconds, resulting in more frequent block generation and faster transaction confirmations.

4) Reward Mechanism: Both have a halving deflationary model, but BTC has a total supply of 21 million and rewards are halved every 4 years, while SCDO has a total supply of 300 million and gradually decreases production. The initial block reward of 6 coins is slightly lower than BTC’s 50 BTC (in the early stages), but SCDO has a faster block generation, resulting in a higher overall annual output.

**5）**Energy Consumption and Environmental Protection: BTC Mining consumes a lot of electricity, while SCDO is relatively more energy-efficient (but the total energy consumption depends on the overall network computing power scale, just that the hardware utilization rate is higher).

6) Mining Difficulty: BTC difficulty adjusts every 2016 blocks, while SCDO adjusts more smoothly and continuously; moreover, SCDO has multi-shard parallel mining, making the overall architecture more complex.

**7）**Degree of Decentralization: Theoretically, SCDO has achieved a broader decentralized mining by limiting hardware advantages, while BTC has seen power concentration in a few mining pools due to the industrialization of mining machines. In summary, SCDO mining has a lower threshold, faster speed, and more complex mechanism, but its fundamental concept is still akin to that of Bitcoin: maintaining on-chain security through proof of work and issuing new coin rewards to miners.