# Monetizing a website with cryptocurrencies Monetization is a very vast subject on the web. Ads can be put inside games or under an article. They can be intrusive or not. They also can be **blocked**. So, what’s the point and what is the future of ads on the internet? Well, even if annoying sometimes, ads are a good way to maintain a website alive at no costs. But today, is it still enough? I’m sure a lot of people reading this blog have Adblock or alternatives turned on **by default**. Maybe you don’t even know if I have ads or not! It is also possible that you like what I do or write. How could you support me by blocking my ads ? ## What is a crypocurrency ? Cryptocurrencies are **virtual moneys**, that have many advantages such as being **decentralized**, **cheap**, **secured**, **fast**, etc. It’s a good alternative to real money. To obtain valid coins, you have to **mine** them by telling your computer to resolve complex mathematical expressions. And you get **rewarded** for such task. Of course, you can also **buy** them, like any other currencies. Mining coins requires good **GPU** because it’s a very heavy computation task. ## Mining Monero through the browser Recently, ThePirateBay (TPB), a well-known piracy website, just experimented a new way of getting revenues : mining **Monero** through the browser. Monero is a cryptocurrency, like bitcoin, but this crypto is different since it can run inside a webpage. TPB then used **CoinHive**, a set of tools to mine Monero directly from the browser! So, what to think about this technique? The following points will be subjective. ## Pros and cons - Mining cryptocurrencies is **less intrusive** than ads : nothing visual appear on the website, all is done in the background and you will barely notice it. *But keep in mind, we still don’t really know how much you can earn with this technique.* - **Inform your user about what is going on**. If he discovers that you are mining without him knowing, it could be **the last time** he goes to your website. - Some could say that mining is an intensive work and that it could slow down the computer. In fact, you can **manage the rate of mining**. It even adapts to your **current** CPU usage. And ads are memory consuming too (sound, images, …) - Mining is interesting for game. Game are already CPU intensive tasks. Also, it's webpages where users spend a lot of time, so it's really worth it. In conclusion, I’d say it’s a **promising** feature to monetize websites. However, you must no use it **abusively** as your users will never go back to your website. Don’t forget to let them know and allow the feature to be **disabled**. And you, what do you think about that? How much do you win? Are your users satisfied? Let me know in the comments!