Ethereum moved to proof-of-stake in September 2022, permanently shutting down its mining operations. Bitcoin, while technically still mineable, now demands industrial-scale ASIC farms and electricity rates below $0.05 per kWh to turn any profit. For the average person sitting at home with a GPU or a decent desktop CPU, those 2 doors are closed.
But mining itself is far from dead. Several proof-of-work blockchains still reward individual miners who show up with the right hardware and reasonable power costs. Here are 5 cryptocurrencies that remain genuinely mineable in 2026, along with what you actually need to get started with each one.
1. Monero (XMR) — The CPU Miner’s Best Friend
Monero runs on the RandomX algorithm, which was purpose-built to favor standard CPUs over specialized hardware. The algorithm generates random programs and executes them in a virtual machine that stresses every part of a general-purpose processor, from the L3 cache to branch prediction and floating-point units. Building a specialized chip to beat a good CPU at RandomX essentially means building another CPU, which is why consumer processors remain competitive on this network.
Since May 2022, Monero has operated on a “tail emission” model where every block pays a fixed reward of 0.6 XMR, with new blocks arriving roughly every 2 minutes. This means there is no future halving event that will suddenly slash miner income. The supply grows at a small, predictable rate forever.
AMD Ryzen processors consistently outperform Intel chips on RandomX due to their larger L3 caches and superior memory bandwidth. A Ryzen 9 7950X can produce around 20 kH/s, which at electricity rates below $0.10 per kWh can generate a modest but real daily profit. Monero mining will not make you rich overnight, but as a way to accumulate a privacy-focused asset using hardware you may already own, it remains one of the most accessible entry points in crypto mining.
The go-to mining software is XMRig, which runs on Linux, Windows, and macOS. For pools, MoneroOcean charges 0% on XMR payouts and intelligently switches to the most profitable RandomX-compatible coin at any given moment, paying everything out in XMR.
2. Kaspa (KAS) — The BlockDAG Innovator
Kaspa is not a traditional blockchain. It uses a BlockDAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) architecture built on the PHANTOM GhostDAG protocol, which allows multiple blocks to be created in parallel and all of them to be incorporated into the network’s consensus history. While Bitcoin processes roughly 1 block every 10 minutes and discards competing blocks entirely, Kaspa produces blocks at a rate of 1 per second and wastes almost no mining power on orphaned blocks.
The practical benefit for miners is significantly reduced luck variance. Even smaller operations see more frequent micro-rewards compared to Bitcoin, because the high block rate distributes payouts more evenly across participants.
Kaspa uses the kHeavyHash algorithm. ASIC miners from Bitmain, IceRiver, and others now dominate the network, and GPU mining is no longer competitive for KAS. The Antminer KS5 Pro delivers around 21.5 TH/s and represents the current high end of Kaspa mining hardware. Profitability is tightly linked to electricity costs. At industrial power rates of $0.04 to $0.06 per kWh, efficient ASICs remain profitable. At typical residential rates above $0.12 per kWh, most setups lose money.
A major development on the horizon is the Toccata hard fork, scheduled for mid-2026. This upgrade introduces native KRC-20 tokens, smart contract programmability, and zero-knowledge proof verification. If on-chain activity grows as a result, transaction fees could become a meaningful supplement to block rewards for miners.
3. Litecoin (LTC) + Dogecoin (DOGE) — Two Coins, One Machine
Litecoin and Dogecoin both run on the Scrypt algorithm, and this shared foundation enables something called merged mining. A single Scrypt ASIC pointed at a compatible pool earns both LTC and DOGE simultaneously from the same work, with zero additional electricity cost for the second coin. This is not a theoretical feature. It is the standard way virtually all Scrypt miners operate in 2026.
Litecoin’s current block reward is 6.25 LTC following the August 2023 halving, with the next halving expected around 2027. Dogecoin, on the other hand, pays a fixed 10,000 DOGE per block with no halving schedule at all, meaning that DOGE mining income remains constant over time regardless of network age.
The Antminer L9 (17 GH/s) is the mainstream Scrypt miner for 2026. At $0.07 per kWh, a single unit can earn approximately $4.63 per day in LTC and $10.63 per day in DOGE, against roughly $6 per day in electricity. That works out to around $270 per month in net profit, with hardware break-even in the 18 to 26 month range depending on purchase price. GPU and CPU mining are not viable for either coin. Scrypt ASICs replaced them about a decade ago.
The combined LTC plus DOGE revenue is what makes Scrypt mining economically work in 2026. Mining Litecoin alone, the math barely holds up for most operations. It is the Dogecoin bonus stream that tips the balance into profitability.
4. Ravencoin (RVN) — Built for GPU Miners
If you own a mid-range or high-end GPU and want to mine a coin that was specifically designed to keep things fair for consumer hardware, Ravencoin deserves a serious look. Its KAWPOW algorithm (a variant of ProgPoW) deliberately exploits GPU-specific hardware features that ASICs cannot efficiently replicate. This is not an accident; it was an intentional design choice to resist mining centralization.
Ravencoin was launched in January 2018 as a fork of the Bitcoin codebase, but its purpose is different. The network is built for real-world asset tokenization, letting anyone create and transfer custom tokens representing securities, real estate, collectibles, gaming items, or digital goods. Creating an asset costs 500 RVN (which is burned), providing organic demand for the coin beyond speculative trading.
The current block reward is 2,500 RVN, with a halving expected in 2026 that will reduce it to 1,250 RVN. You need a GPU with at least 4 GB of VRAM, though 6 GB or more is recommended for stability as the DAG file grows over time. Popular cards include the NVIDIA RTX 3060, 3070, and 3080, along with AMD’s RX 6700 XT and 6800. An RTX 4090 can achieve approximately 62 MH/s at stock settings.
KAWPOW is known for running hot and drawing significant power, so undervolting your GPU is strongly recommended. Reducing core voltage can cut energy costs by 20 to 30% without a major drop in hash rate. T-Rex Miner works well for NVIDIA cards, while Team Red Miner is the go-to for AMD.
5. Ethereum Classic (ETC) — The Original Ethereum Chain, Still Proof-of-Work
When Ethereum switched to proof-of-stake in 2022, Ethereum Classic became the primary destination for displaced Etchash miners. ETC is the original Ethereum chain that preserved proof-of-work after the 2016 DAO hard fork, and its community has remained committed to the principle of immutability ever since.
ETC uses the Etchash algorithm, which is closely related to the old Ethash algorithm that powered Ethereum’s mining for years. This means former ETH miners can repurpose their existing hardware with minimal configuration changes. The current block reward is 2.56 ETC, and like Bitcoin, Ethereum Classic has a capped supply of roughly 210 million coins with rewards that reduce over time following a fixed schedule called 5M20, where the block reward drops 20% every 5 million blocks.
Both GPUs and ASICs can mine ETC in 2026, though ASICs now dominate the network’s hash rate of around 139 TH/s. GPU mining is still possible with cards that have more than 5 GB of VRAM, but profitability requires competitive electricity rates. At $0.10 per kWh with top-tier hardware, daily net profit sits around $0.70, which is thin but positive.
Popular mining software includes GMiner, NBMiner, lolMiner, and T-Rex, all of which support Etchash. Most miners use pools since solo mining at home has a near-zero practical probability of finding a block given the current network difficulty.
Before You Start Mining: What Actually Matters
Regardless of which coin you choose, 3 factors determine whether mining works out for you financially.
Electricity cost is the single biggest variable. If you pay more than $0.10 per kWh, several coins on this list become marginal or unprofitable. Miners in regions with cheap hydroelectric or solar power have a structural advantage that no amount of hardware optimization can replicate.
Hardware efficiency matters more than raw power. A card or ASIC that delivers more hashes per watt will always beat a faster but power-hungry machine when electricity bills arrive. Undervolting, proper cooling, and regular maintenance can meaningfully extend your margins.
Market timing is real but unpredictable. Many miners accumulate coins during low-price periods and sell during rallies, treating mining as a long-term stacking strategy rather than a daily income source. Macro events like FOMC meetings and interest rate decisions can move crypto prices significantly in either direction.
Use a profitability calculator like WhatToMine before committing to any hardware purchase. Plug in your actual electricity rate, the specific hardware you plan to use, and current network difficulty. Run the numbers monthly, because difficulty adjustments and price swings can flip a profitable setup into a losing one faster than most people expect.
Mining in 2026 is not the gold rush it was in 2017 or 2021. But for people who approach it with realistic expectations, pick the right coin for their hardware, and keep their power costs low, it remains a legitimate way to earn and accumulate cryptocurrency without buying it on an exchange.
