Mining Bitcoin on your PC no longer works, but there are other options that remain viable if you have patience and the right equipment. Mining cryptocurrencies with a home PC is totally possible if you choose the right coin. Most people don’t know that while Bitcoin requires specialized ASICs, there are altcoins designed specifically to resist that.

First: forget about cloud mining. Every offer we’ve seen is a scam. End of story.

To mine cryptocurrencies with a PC, you need something that doesn’t require giant hardware. Here are the real options:

Dogecoin (DOGE) - Market cap: $17.18B, current price $0.11. It was a meme, now it’s serious. You can start with CPU mining, but with GPU (AMD or Nvidia) you go much faster. The good thing: DOGE generates new coins every year, so there’s always an incentive to mine.

Ethereum Classic (ETC) - Market cap: $1.45B, price $9.27. When Ethereum switched to proof-of-stake in 2022, all miners migrated here. You can use GPU or even ASICs. Works well on desktop.

Monero (XMR) - Market cap: $7.65B, price $414.50. The network was designed to reject ASICs, so your PC has a real chance. Download the official wallet and MultiMiner as software. Solo mining is slow, better join a pool.

ZCash (ZEC) - Market cap: $9.49B, price $568.38. Uses Equihash, resistant to ASICs. You’ll need to download the blockchain (takes time to sync) and set up your GPU. It’s a bit more technical but works.

Ravencoin (RVN) - Market cap: $99.11M, price $0.01. Fork of Bitcoin but with KAWPOW algorithm that rejects ASICs. Very popular among small miners. One click and done.

Bitcoin Gold (BTG) - Market cap: $5.27M, price $2.77. Launched in 2017, uses Equihash. The project has been quiet since 2021 but still has trading volume.

Horizen (ZEN) - Market cap: $111.81M, price $6.20. Based on Equihash, mineable with GPU. Its highest price was $148 in December 2021, now follows the overall crypto trend.

Vertcoin (VTC) - Market cap: $3.6M. The Lyra2RE algorithm is resistant to ASICs. Best part: one-click mining. Download software and go.

Grin (GRIN) - Market cap: $7.30M, price $0.03. Privacy + scalability. It hard forks every 6 months to avoid ASICs. You need at least 5.5GB. Use Nvidia GPU if possible.

Now, how much money do you make? It depends on your GPU (hashrate), electricity cost, and coin price. An RTX 3090 can generate between $20-100 daily before subtracting electricity, depending on what you mine.

The reality: mining cryptocurrencies with a PC is viable but requires good calculation. Electricity cost is the critical factor. In a bull market, it hardly matters; in a bear market, it can eat into your profits. Use WhatToMine to simulate profitability with your specific hardware.

Pro tip: if you’re serious, GPU is the way. But if you just want to experiment, CPU works with Monero or Bytecoin, though it will be slow. The key is to avoid cloud mining scams.