Bitcoin mining is no longer practical for individuals, but other coins still offer opportunities to mine at home. Even people who are afraid of investment volatility might consider small-scale CPU mining setups as a good option to participate in the new economy. However, be cautious with cloud mining—almost all of the ones you see are scams.

Since Bitcoin now requires ASIC-specific machines, profitably mining with personal computers or laptops is no longer feasible. But by 2026, other coins can still be mined at home.

Dogecoin (DOGE) has a market cap of $14.24B and a 24-hour trading volume of $24.26M. It’s an altcoin that grew from a meme currency. New coins are added every year, providing incentives for miners. To start with CPU mining, first prepare a wallet. When using CPU, CPU Miner is optimal, but it’s slow. To increase speed, using a GPU is better. Joining a mining pool can also boost your returns.

Ethereum Classic (ETC) has a market cap of $1.36B. Since the standard Ethereum moved to PoS, miners’ resources have shifted to ETC. ETC can be mined with ASICs or desktops.

Monero (XMR) has a market cap of $6.10B and is known as an anonymous currency. Its network is designed to resist ASIC development, making it suitable for mining with home computers. First, download a wallet, then set up mining software. CPU mining is possible but not very efficient.

ZCash (ZEC) has a market cap of $4.22B and was launched in 2016 as a privacy-focused coin. It uses the Equihash algorithm, allowing GPU miners to participate.

Ravencoin (RVN) has a market cap of $92.40M and is a blockchain optimized for asset transfer. Its KAWPOW algorithm is resistant to ASICs, so consumer-grade GPUs can mine it.

Bitcoin Gold (BTG) has a market cap of $5.52M, launched in 2017 as a fork of Bitcoin. It uses the Equihash-BTG algorithm.

Horizen (ZEN) has a market cap of $84.00M, launched in 2017, based on the Equihash algorithm. It can be mined with GPUs and aims for real-world use cases.

Bytecoin (BCN) has a market cap of $5.54M and is an anonymous coin that’s easy to mine at home. Solo mining is simple but slow; joining a pool is more efficient. To start CPU mining, download a Bytecoin wallet, synchronize the blockchain, then begin mining. For faster results, use a GPU.

Beam (BEAM) has a market cap of $4.27M and implements the MimbleWimble protocol. It supports GPU mining with the Hashii algorithm. Be careful, as antivirus software may flag mining software.

Vertcoin (VTC) started in 2014 and is designed for small-scale miners. Its Lyra2RE algorithm is ASIC-resistant and supports both GPU and CPU mining. It offers a simple mining process.

Grin (GRIN), launched in 2019, emphasizes privacy and scalability. It uses the MimbleWimble protocol and an ASIC-resistant POW algorithm. It undergoes hard forks every six months to minimize ASIC influence.

AEON is a fork of Monero, using the CryptoNight-Lite algorithm. It can be mined with Windows CPUs and AMD or Nvidia GPUs.

If you’re serious about GPU mining, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 and 3080 are popular choices. GPUs range from $600 to over $2000. Hash rate is crucial—higher hash rates mean more power consumption. You can calculate profitability on sites like WhatToMine.

Market prices and electricity costs greatly impact mining profitability. When crypto prices are trending upward, profits increase. Electricity costs are also important; in the US, the average is 16.11 cents per kWh, but it varies significantly by state.

In a case study of professional miners, 13 systems run on Windows 10. They use motherboards with more than 8 GPUs, prioritizing stability over speed, with Z390 chipsets. Windows tends to be unstable with more than 8 GPUs, so remote management is used. The setup features open-frame configurations with 120mm cooling fans.

Ethereum currently offers the highest profit margin per watt. Using 8 AMD RX580s, you can earn about $20 per day after electricity costs. With 5700 XT cards, profits increase by about 30%. During bear markets, electricity costs are a major obstacle, but in bull markets, they are less of an issue. Heat management and space are key challenges for scaling.