How to Mine Ethereum: A Practical Guide for Crypto Enthusiasts

If you’re wondering how to mine Ethereum in 2026, here’s the truth upfront: direct ETH mining ended in September 2022 when Ethereum switched to proof-of-stake. But that doesn’t mean your GPUs are paperweights, or that “Ethereum mining” is dead as a concept.

You can still mine Ethereum-compatible coins like Ethereum Classic (ETC), stake ETH for passive yield, or point your rig at other proof-of-work chains. Each path has different costs, risks, and rewards.

This guide walks you through how to mine Ethereum-style coins today, step by step. You’ll learn what changed after the Merge, how to pick a path that fits your budget, how to calculate profitability honestly, what hardware to buy, and how to set up a wallet plus mining software without losing your shirt. Let’s get into it.

Understand the State of Ethereum Mining After the Merge

Before you spend a dollar on hardware, you need to understand what “how to mine Ethereum” actually means in 2026. The rules changed in 2022, and a lot of outdated guides still float around online.

Here’s the short version: you can’t mine ETH directly anymore. You can mine coins that use the same mining algorithms ETH used to, and those rewards can still be converted to ETH on any major exchange.

Why Traditional ETH Mining Ended in 2022

On September 15, 2022, Ethereum completed “the Merge” and shut off proof-of-work for good. Validators replaced miners. Block rewards stopped flowing to GPU rigs.

The reason was simple: proof-of-stake cuts Ethereum’s energy use by roughly 99.95%. It also opened the door to staking, where ETH holders lock up coins to secure the network and earn yield instead of burning electricity.

So if a 2021 tutorial tells you to point Claymore at the Ethereum mainnet, ignore it. That chain no longer accepts mined blocks.

Your Realistic Options Today: ETC, Staking, and Ethereum-Compatible Coins

You have three practical paths to mine Ethereum-style rewards or earn ETH today:

Path	What It Is	Hardware Needed
Ethereum Classic (ETC)	The original PoW Ethereum chain, uses Etchash	GPU rig
ETH Staking	Lock 32 ETH (or pool stake) to validate	None, just ETH
Other PoW coins	Ravencoin, Ergo, Flux, Kaspa	GPU rig

Most miners with leftover GPUs choose ETC because it stays committed to proof-of-work with no plans to switch.

Choose the Right Mining Path for Your Goals and Budget

Your goal decides your path. Be honest about what you have and what you want.

Pick GPU mining (ETC or compatible coins) if you:

• • Already own gaming GPUs or a mining rig

• • Pay under $0.10/kWh for electricity

• • Want hands-on control and tinkering

• • Can tolerate price swings of 30–50%

Pick ETH staking if you:

• • Already hold ETH (any amount works through pooled staking)

• • Want passive income without noise, heat, or hardware

• • Prefer 3–5% annual yield over volatile mining returns

• • Don’t want to manage rigs at 2 a.m.

Pick a hybrid approach if you:

• • Mine ETC daily, auto-convert payouts to ETH, then stake the ETH

A quick budget reality check: a single RTX 3070 rig costs roughly $900–$1,200 to assemble in 2026. Solo staking requires 32 ETH, around $96,000 at current prices. Pooled staking through services like Lido or Rocket Pool starts at any amount.

If your budget is under $1,500 and electricity is cheap, GPU mining ETC makes sense. If you already hold ETH, staking is the lower-stress play.

Check Profitability Before You Invest a Single Dollar

This is where most beginners get burned. They buy hardware, plug it in, and discover they’re losing $40 a month to the power company. Run the numbers first.

Calculating Hash Rate, Power Costs, and ROI

Three variables decide whether you profit when you mine Ethereum-compatible coins:

1. • Hash rate – how many calculations your GPU does per second (measured in MH/s for Etchash)

• • Power draw – how many watts your rig pulls under load

• • Electricity cost – your $/kWh rate from the utility bill

A quick formula:

Daily profit = (Hash rate × coin reward per MH/s × coin price) − (Watts × 24 × kWh rate ÷ 1000)

Example: An RTX 3070 hashes ETC at about 60 MH/s and pulls 130W. At $0.08/kWh and ETC at $25:

• • Daily revenue: ~$1.10

• • Daily power: 130W × 24 ÷ 1000 × $0.08 = $0.25

• • Daily profit: ~$0.85

• • ROI on a $500 used GPU: ~590 days

Use WhatToMine or Minerstat to plug in your specs and get live numbers. If your kWh rate is above $0.15, mining ETC rarely pencils out. Run this check before buying anything.

Build or Buy Your Mining Rig

Once the math works, you need hardware. You can either repurpose a gaming PC or build a dedicated rig with multiple GPUs.

A basic mining rig needs:

• • Motherboard with 6+ PCIe slots (ASRock H110 Pro BTC+ is a classic)

• • CPU – cheap is fine, a Celeron works

• • RAM – 8GB minimum

• • PSU – 80+ Gold or Platinum, sized 1.3× your total GPU draw

• • Riser cables – one per GPU

• • Frame – open-air aluminum frame for airflow

• • Cooling – box fans or industrial blowers

• • Stable internet – wired Ethernet preferred

Building gives you flexibility and lower costs. Buying a pre-built rig from sellers like Hashrate Online saves hours but adds 15–25% to the total.

Recommended GPUs and Hardware Specs for 2026

The best GPUs to mine Ethereum-compatible coins today balance hash rate, watts, and resale value:

GPU	Hash Rate (Etchash)	Power Draw	Used Price (2026)
AMD RX 580 8GB	~30 MH/s	90W	$80–$110
Nvidia GTX 1070	~28 MH/s	110W	$90–$130
Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti	~58 MH/s	120W	$250–$320
Nvidia RTX 3070	~60 MH/s	130W	$300–$400
Nvidia RTX 3080	~85 MH/s	220W	$400–$520

For most beginners, two RTX 3060 Ti cards on a single motherboard hit the sweet spot: ~116 MH/s combined at 240W.

Set Up a Secure Ethereum-Compatible Wallet

Your wallet receives the coins you mine. Set this up before configuring your miner. Without a valid receiving address, your rewards have nowhere to go.

For mining Ethereum Classic or any EVM-compatible coin, you have three solid options:

• • MetaMask (browser/mobile) – free, supports ETC by adding the network manually. Best for beginners.

• • Trust Wallet (mobile) – built-in ETC support, easy interface.

• • Ledger Nano X or Trezor Safe 3 (hardware) – $79–$179, the safest choice for storing more than $500.

Setup checklist:

1. • Install the wallet from the official site only (typo-squatters are everywhere)

• • Write your 12 or 24-word seed phrase on paper, never digital

• • Store the paper in two separate physical locations

• • Add the Ethereum Classic network (Chain ID 61, RPC: https://etc.rivet.link)

• • Copy your public address, this is what you’ll paste into your mining software

Never share your seed phrase. Not with “support,” not with a friend, not with anyone. If someone has your phrase, they have your coins. For rigs running 24/7, send mined balances to a hardware wallet weekly to limit exposure.

Install and Configure Your Mining Software

With hardware ready and a wallet address in hand, you’re ready to mine Ethereum-compatible coins. You need three things: mining software, a mining pool, and a configured batch file.

Popular mining software in 2026:

Software	Best For	Fee
lolMiner	Nvidia and AMD, Etchash	0.7%
GMiner	Nvidia, multi-algo	0.65%
T-Rex	Nvidia, stable	1%
TeamRedMiner	AMD GPUs	0.75%

Claymore and the original Ethminer are deprecated for ETH but still work for forks. WinETH is friendly for first-timers on Windows.

Step-by-step setup:

1. • Join a mining pool. Ethermine, 2Miners, and F2Pool all support ETC. Pools smooth out payouts so you earn daily instead of waiting months for a solo block.

• • Download your miner from the official GitHub release page. Always verify the checksum.

• • Whitelist the folder in Windows Defender, antivirus tools flag miners as malware by default.

• • Edit the batch file (start.bat). A typical line looks like:

lolMiner.exe --algo ETCHASH --pool etc.2miners.com:1010 --user 0xYourWalletAddress.RigName

1. • Run the .bat file. You should see GPUs accepted, hash rates listed, and shares submitted within 30 seconds.

• • Check your pool dashboard after an hour to confirm your worker is online and earning.

Pro tips:

• • Undervolt your GPUs by 10–15% with MSI Afterburner, same hash rate, less heat

• • Set automatic restarts in case a card hangs overnight

• • Withdraw to your wallet weekly, not daily, to save on network fees

Once shares appear on your pool dashboard, you’re officially mining.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you still mine Ethereum directly in 2026?

No. Ethereum mining ended in September 2022 when the network completed the Merge and switched from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. You can no longer mine ETH directly, so how to mine Ethereum now is a question every invesrtor wants to know, so you can mine Ethereum-compatible coins like Ethereum Classic (ETC) using GPUs.

What is the best alternative to mining Ethereum after the Merge?

Ethereum Classic (ETC) is the primary GPU mining alternative. It uses the same Etchash algorithm and remains committed to proof-of-work. You can also stake ETH if you hold 32 coins, or mine other proof-of-work coins like Ravencoin or Ergo.

How do I calculate mining profitability before buying hardware?

Use the formula: Daily profit = (Hash rate × coin reward × coin price) − (Watts × 24 × kWh rate ÷ 1000). Check WhatToMine or Minerstat for live numbers. If electricity costs exceed $0.15/kWh, mining rarely profits. Run this before the Ethereum investment.

What GPU should I buy for mining Ethereum-compatible coins?

For beginners, two Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti cards offer a sweet spot with ~116 MH/s combined hash rate at 240W power draw. AMD RX 580 ($80–$110) and Nvidia GTX 1070 ($90–$130) are budget-friendly options with acceptable resale value.

Why did Ethereum switch to proof-of-stake instead of staying proof-of-work?

Proof-of-stake reduces Ethereum’s energy consumption by roughly 99.95% compared to proof-of-work mining. It also enables staking rewards for ETH holders without requiring hardware, making network validation more efficient and accessible.

Is it better to mine ETC or stake ETH for passive income?

Mine ETC if you own GPUs and pay under $0.10/kWh for electricity with hands-on control preferences. Stake ETH if you hold the coins, want lower maintenance, and prefer stable 3–5% annual yield over volatile mining returns. A hybrid approach also works.