Is Cryptocurrency Mining Still Profitable (2025)
Bitcoin halving is the process during which the mining rewards associated with mining Bitcoin are reduced at a specified rate—and Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency with a halving rate. Not only that, but many blockchains are changing from proof of work to proof of stake consensus mechanisms.
So, with all of these changes, is mining cryptocurrency still profitable? Yes, and no—keep reading to learn more.
Is Bitcoin Mining Still Profitable?
Bitcoin mining is the most popular type of cryptocurrency mining, and as such, the one individuals are the most curious about.
In our opinion, Bitcoin mining is NOT profitable for the average individual. Bitcoin mining has always had a large barrier to entry, as a lot of expensive and specialized equipment is required to mine Bitcoin. Then, add in the cost of electricity in most of the countries where individuals can afford to mine, and you are looking at a net loss, something which has increased with halving.
That being said, we have been recommending against Bitcoin mining for a long time, so this shouldn’t be new information. The only exception to this is if you are joining an already established mining pool, as this is the only way Bitcoin mining remains profitable, even though this could change in the future. No matter what, whether you plan to join a pool or try mining yourself, ensure you perform a cost/benefit analysis before spending any of your hard-earned money.
Is Altcoin Mining Still Profitable?
If you have been in the industry a long time, then you know the term altcoin is extremely broad, and not all tokens with that identifier are worth mining. Below, we break it down by token.
Ethereum Classic
Ethereum Classic is a favorite of miners, not to be confused with Ethereum, the blockchain that converted to proof of stake several years ago. Ethereum Classic is still on the proof-of-work consensus mechanism, and it isn’t nearly as popular as the mainnet.
Still, it can cost a lot to get an Ethereum Classic set-up and this token isn’t shooting sky-high like Bitcoin in terms of value, so, in our opinion, it is not worth it to mine Ethereum Classic. Instead, we recommend staking the Ethereum blockchain, as it has a lower barrier to entry and won’t cost you as much in electricity.
Monero
If you’re going to mine anything, we would probably recommend Monero. Monero is a relatively popular coin, though we doubt it will ever hit it as big as Bitcoin has. Known for its privacy features, Monero has a lower barrier to entry than Ethereum Classic, but still requires a lot of machinery (and graphics cards) to get started. Regardless, there are many small-time miners spending their days mining Monero.
Keep in mind that this is our recommendation as of July 16th, 2025, and if twenty million people start mining XMR tomorrow, it will no longer be worth it. But if you are reading this article shortly after publication, XMR isn’t the worst coin to try your hand at mining.
Dogecoin
Dogecoin is one of the riskiest popular proof-of-work blockchains to mine. We say this because, though there is a relatively low barrier to entry, the sale price of Dogecoin is a roller-coaster ride. Remember, miners are paid in the token they mine, meaning you need to sell it after mining it to gain an income.
Sure, Dogecoin has had some high highs since 2020, but it’s also had some low lows. And now, at only 20 cents a coin, we just find it too risky to advise anyone mine it. Plus, we still aren’t sure if Dogecoin will remain viable in the future, so you’re better off trying something else.
Litecoin
Litecoin used to be a reasonable coin to consider mining, however, it has largely fallen from popularity in recent years. So much so, that we no longer recommend even considering it for mining. Keep in mind that in order to make money as a miner, people have to be using the blockchain on which you are mining, so picking a blockchain that is not very popular won’t net you anything.
We aren’t the only ones either. According to WhatToMine, which is a website that predicts the probability of mining certain cryptocurrencies, you only have a 20% chance of turning a profit when mining Litecoin, which is just too slim for anyone to pay the upfront cost to get started in our eyes.
Pepecoin
Mining Pepecoin is no longer profitable. Both because of the cost of mining equipment to get started, and the fact that the coin is so worthless. It’s not just us either, according to WhatToMine, even with low cost electricity, it is extremely unlikely (near 0%) that you will make a profit mining Pepecoin—so just don’t even start.
Any Coin Not Already Listed
We cannot possibly list all the tokens that are available to mine; however, we are reasonably sure we listed all of the ones that are worth considering. The blockchains listed above are most of the ones that can be mined in the top 60 on CoinMarketCap. That means that any token not on this list is below the top 60 in terms of market capacity and extremely unlikely to become popular.
Of course, there is always the possibility of black swan events, but because mining is so costly, you are taking a huge risk by mining in the first place—meaning choosing an unknown token is an even larger risk. If you are still looking for a way to make money with your cryptocurrency we strongly recommend considering staking instead, as this is much more cost effective (no massive start up costs) meaning even if you pick a bad blockchain to stake, at least you aren’t paying massive energy costs or trying to resell GPU cards on Ebay when it doesn’t work out.
Overall, though, crypto mining can still be profitable, as long as you choose the right token to mine and live in a country with cheap electricity.
