Is ETH mining a thing of the past? I’ve just rewritten the entire picture of Ethereum mining and what remains after The Merge. If you still lack understanding of Ethereum mining history, or simply want to know if there are any opportunities to profit from ETH in 2026, this article is for you.

Ethereum still ranks second in market capitalization, just after Bitcoin. This position has been held by Ethereum for a long time, enough to prove the stability and enormous potential of this coin. However, the way of mining ETH today is completely different from before.

Today, I will answer a series of questions that many people are still confused about: What exactly is Ethereum mining? How much does it cost to start mining ETH? Which mining rigs are the most effective? And most importantly, in 2026, how else can you make money from ETH besides mining?

First, let’s talk about what Ethereum mining is. Similar to Bitcoin mining, ETH mining is the process of using specialized equipment to participate in the Ethereum blockchain network. Miners will receive rewards in Ether (ETH) when confirming transactions. This task involves solving complex mathematical equations, called proof of work (PoW).

Quick comparison between ETH mining and Bitcoin mining: Ethereum has a shorter block time (about 13 seconds vs. 10 minutes), difficulty adjusts more frequently, and the initial reward is 2 ETH per block.

Regarding profits, ETH mining used to generate quite impressive revenue. Since 2020, profits from ETH mining have skyrocketed. However, the key issue is increasing competition. The current coin mining market has a multitude of advanced devices and optimized software. Miners must constantly upgrade their equipment, while investment costs are not cheap.

Now, let’s talk about the costs of mining ETH. To calculate costs, I’ll give a specific example: a rig of 8 VGA RX470 8GB XFX 2 FAN cards with a hash rate of 230 MH/s and power consumption of 1100W. This setup costs about 16 million VND. The daily profit is approximately $9.85, minus electricity fees ($2.64) and 1% pool fee, leaving a net profit of about $5.99, equivalent to 135,000 VND per day. This figure doesn’t seem too attractive compared to the initial investment.

Additionally, there are many other costs to consider. ETH storage fees depend on your chosen method (software wallet or hardware wallet). Maintenance costs for equipment cannot be ignored, as electronic devices will degrade over time. Other risks include: price volatility risk (if ETH drops, profits decrease significantly), theft or loss risk when storing in hardware wallets, and hacker risks if using software wallets.

At this point, I must mention the biggest event in Ethereum’s history: The Merge on September 15, 2022. This event officially ended 7 years of operation based on the Proof of Work (PoW) algorithm and switched to Proof of Stake (PoS). This means the end of ETH mining activities.

During those 7 years, a total of 3,271,518 blocks were mined with rewards totaling 9,836,656 ETH. After The Merge, Ethereum automatically pays out the remaining rewards to miners. Ethereum also established a staking pool in August 2022, allowing ETH holders to deposit coins and earn profits.

At the time of the transition, about 1 million people with ETH mining equipment worth over $10 billion were active. Although notified in advance, many miners still felt “lost” because of the high value of their equipment. Some switched to mining Ethereum Classic (ETC) to salvage part of their investment, causing ETC’s difficulty to spike immediately on September 15.

So now, besides mining ETH, what other opportunities are there to profit from ETH?

First, you can buy and sell ETH on spot markets on major exchanges. However, legal issues in many countries limit this. You should choose reputable exchanges that support popular payment methods.

Second, trading CFDs. You profit from price differences without holding ETH. This method is quite popular in Vietnam, offered by international licensed trading platforms.

Third, staking. Similar to depositing coins to earn interest. You don’t need to monitor price trends, but returns depend on the amount of coins staked and the payout rate of each pool.

However, some people are still interested in mining ETH or other coins. If you want to try, here’s a basic roadmap:

Step 1: Choose mining equipment. Mining with VGA cards is cost-effective and popular. For example, RX 470 8G XFX 2 Fan cards cost about 3 million VND.

Step 2: Choose Ethereum mining software or mining pools. If you’re a beginner, join mining groups. Here, you share difficulty with other miners but achieve better efficiency. Ethermine is one of the most reputable mining pools worldwide.

Step 3: Use profit calculation tools. Many websites offer this. CryptoCompare is a good option.

Step 4: Create a storage wallet. You can choose a software wallet (more flexible) or a hardware wallet (more secure). Ledger Nano S hardware wallet costs about 1.6 million VND.

Step 5: Sell ETH on reputable exchanges.

There are many ways to mine ETH or other coins. Method 1 is mining via mobile apps. However, the amount of coins earned is very small and mainly for entertainment. These apps are mostly games, where you perform tasks and receive ETH as rewards.

Method 2 is mining on a computer with dedicated mining software. But, keep in mind the lifespan of your PC. These software are relatively heavy.

Method 3 is mining with CPU. CPUs allow fast mining but can cause overheating.

Method 4 is mining with GPU (VGA). GPUs determine the processing speed of your computer. Multiple GPUs combined form a mining rig.

Method 5 is mining with ASIC hardware. This hardware is specifically designed for mining coins, very powerful but expensive.

Regarding mining rigs, some famous models include:

AMD Radeon R9 292X2 with a hash rate of 46 MH/s, 500W power, priced from $1300 to $1500. This is AMD’s product with the strongest processing cores, but overclocking is limited and power consumption is high.

AMD Radeon R9 HD 7990 with a hash rate of 36 MH/s, 375W power, priced at $1000. Released in 2013, but still performs well and is affordable.

AMD Radeon RX 480 with a hash rate of 25 MH/s, 150W power, priced at $150-180. This generation uses 14nm process, high performance, and low power consumption.

NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1070 with a hash rate of 30 MH/s, 100W power, priced at $450-500. Offers high overall performance, affordable, and runs cooler.

NVIDIA Geforce GTX 1080 Ti with a hash rate of 45 MH/s, 265W power, priced from $400 to $600. Equipped with 11 GB GDDR5X RAM, but less efficient under load and tends to overheat.

For mining software, some popular options include:

ETHminer – designed specifically for ETH mining, supports Linux, Mac, and Windows. Runs via command line.

CGMiner – released in 2011, compatible with ASIC, FPGA, and GPU. Also command line based.

WinETH – simple and user-friendly, based on ETHminer but with a GUI.

Claymore – efficient mining software, supports scaling without affecting speed. Compatible with Linux and Windows.

EasyMiner – open-source graphical version of BFGMiner and CGMiner, very easy to operate with a clean interface.

There are also free ETH mining methods. You can participate in mobile or PC games to earn ETH rewards. These include: earning ETH via virtual faucets (visit websites, complete tasks, receive rewards), daily ad viewing, visiting websites for free ETH, joining AirDrops (Telegram communities, sharing posts, filling info), or creating content (writing articles on websites or blogs and earning ETH if the content is good).

However, profits from free ETH methods are very low. If you want higher profits without mining, ETH margin trading is an option. This method doesn’t require large capital, allows leverage, and you can profit from both rising and falling markets.

Currently, ETH price is $2.18k, up 0.23% in the last 24 hours.

In conclusion: although traditional ETH mining is no longer feasible, there are many ways to profit from ETH. However, blockchain companies can change algorithms at any time to reduce environmental impact. Hopefully, this article has helped you better understand the value of mining equipment and ways to profit from Ethereum so you can choose the most suitable method for yourself.