The Dark Guide to Mining at Home in 2024: Which coins can still be mined

BTC has long been doomed, but GPU Mining still has a chance.

Bitcoin Mining? Don't dream about it. The emergence of ASIC chips has completely eliminated personal computers from the game. But this has instead given other cryptocurrencies an opportunity - those projects deliberately designed to be ASIC-resistant have now become a new goldmine for home miners.

Reliable Mining Cryptocurrencies Review

Dogecoin (DOGE) | Market Cap 21.8 billion | Daily Trading Volume over 2.5 billion

• Unlike BTC's limit of 21 million, DOGE continues to produce new coins every year.
• GPU Mining is feasible, joining a mining pool yields more stable returns.
• Mainstream exchanges all have trading pairs

Ethereum Classic (ETC) | Market Cap 4.35 billion | Daily Trading Volume 300 million

• After ETH switched to PoS, the original GPU mining resources have shifted here.
• Still supports desktop-level hardware Mining
• The market liquidity is good.

Monero (XMR) | Market Cap 2.5 Billion | Daily Trading Volume 40 Million - 100 Million

• The network is specifically designed to be ASIC-resistant, making it very suitable for home Mining.
• CPU Mining can run, GPU is faster
• Strong privacy attributes, stable market demand

Zcash (ZEC) | Market Cap 470 million | Daily Trading Volume 40 million - 80 million

• The Equihash algorithm is inherently ASIC-resistant.
• The cost and revenue balance of GPU Mining is good.

Ravencoin (RVN) | Market Cap 350 million | Daily Trading Volume 50 million

• The KAWPOW algorithm is optimized for consumer-grade GPUs.
• Open source ecosystem is active

How much can the actual yield be?

Hardware Cost

• Mid-range GPU (RTX 3080/3090): $600-$2000
• Motherboard + CPU + Power Supply Combo: Calculated as low configuration

Mining Yield Benchmark

A configuration of 8 AMD RX 5700 XT pieces:

• Electricity cost: about $4 per day (US average electricity price 16.11 cents/kWh)
• Mining income: Depends on the coin price and difficulty
• In a bear market: Monthly income of about $500 (13 machines)
• In a bull market: Monthly income up to $17,000 (same configuration)

Key variables:

1. Price Fluctuation — In a bull market, you can profit from any mining, while in a bear market, you lose electricity costs.
2. Electricity Cost — This is the largest cost. The range across the United States varies from 7.99 cents (Idaho) to 43.18 cents (Hawaii), more than a threefold difference.
3. Hardware Power Consumption — The stronger the GPU, the more power it consumes.

Calculations to Make Before Mining

Run some data with the WhatToMine calculator:

• Enter your GPU hashrate
• Enter local electricity fee
• Yield comparable to mainstream cryptocurrencies

A harsh reality: CPU Mining is basically doomed—Monero, Zcash, and Bytecoin support it, but electricity costs often exceed profits, making it just a side gig.

GPU Mining is the way to go — but the premise is:

• Your electricity cost is cheap enough (preferably <10 cents/kWh)
• Can solve the heat dissipation problem (a machine with 1000 watts of power is just a 1000-watt heater)
• Be patient and wait for the bull market (the bear market is just losing money)

Practical Suggestions

• Don't touch “cloud mining”; any product like this is basically a scam.
• Choose ASIC-resistant coins (Equihash/KAWPOW/CryptoNight algorithms)
• Joining a mining pool is much more stable than solo mining.
• Windows can support up to 8 GPUs, more than that requires Linux.
• Open framework + 120mm cooling fan is the key to cooling

In simple terms: If your electricity is cheap, you have cooling conditions, and you are not afraid of bull and bear market shifts, home GPU mining can still work. Otherwise, it's better to give it up.