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Cryptocurrencies for ASIC mining: a reference on networks and hardware

Coin encyclopedia

Coins that ASIC machines mine: fourteen networks in detail

Every coin gets its own knowledge base: how the network holds together, what the hardware computes, which catalogue machines take it, what the electricity costs and which reference figures are out of date.

14 coins11 algorithms212 modelsData as of July 2026

updated

About this section

The section runs from the network to the hardware. Each page opens with why the coin appeared and how its consensus works, and closes with a table of catalogue machines and the break even threshold at your electricity tariff.

One machine computes exactly one algorithm, so picking a coin is already picking hardware. A link to the algorithm write up sits on every coin page, and every model in the tables leads to the profitability calculator.

Figures in this section are dated. Volatile metrics are pulled into a separate statistics block that names the day they were taken and warns that sources disagree, while the stale numbers still repeated by reference sites are taken apart in a dedicated part of every page.

Coins in this section

CoinTickerAlgorithmModelsBest efficiency
BitcoinBTCSHA-256136SealMiner A4 Ultra Hydro, 9.449 J/TH
Bitcoin CashBCHSHA-256136SealMiner A4 Ultra Hydro, 9.449 J/TH
LitecoinLTCScrypt21SealMiner DL1 Hydro, 0.149 J/MH
DogecoinDOGEScrypt21SealMiner DL1 Hydro, 0.149 J/MH
KaspaKASkHeavyHash19IceRiver KS7, 116.667 J/TH
DashDASHX116Antminer D9, 1.604 J/GH
ZcashZECEquihash 200,96Antminer Z15 Pro, 3.155 J/kSol
Nervos NetworkCKBEaglesong8Antminer K7, 48.504 J/TH
AlephiumALPHBlake36Antminer AL1, 225 J/TH
HandshakeHNSBlake2B plus SHA31Antminer HS3, 231 J/TH
Ethereum ClassicETCEtchash4Jasminer X16-Q, 0.318 J/MH
eCashXECSHA-256136SealMiner A4 Ultra Hydro, 9.449 J/TH
MoneroXMRRandomX1Antminer X5, 6.368 J/kH
KadenaKDABlake2s4Antminer KA3, 19 J/TH
Efficiency is measured in different units for different algorithms, so the column cannot be compared across rows. Within one algorithm the comparison holds.

Coin by coin

Bitcoin (BTC)The industry reference network and three quarters of the machine catalogue. Reward of 3.125 BTC, next halving in 2028.Bitcoin Cash (BCH)The same SHA-256 work and the same hardware as Bitcoin. On a single machine the return hovers around parity.Litecoin (LTC)Scrypt plus merged mining with Dogecoin. The mid 2027 halving is the deadline that decides payback.Dogecoin (DOGE)No halving, no supply cap, no hashrate of its own. Today it brings most of what a Scrypt miner earns.Kaspa (KAS)Ten blocks a second after the Crescendo fork and a reward cut every month instead of a halving.Dash (DASH)The miner keeps 20 percent of the reward, the rest goes to masternodes and the treasury. The X11 hardware market froze back in 2022.Zcash (ZEC)Equihash 200,9 and the summer of 2026: an emergency soft fork and Ironwood, the new shielded pool.Nervos Network (CKB)An epoch is fixed at four hours while the block count inside it floats. Efficiency across the catalogue differs almost 29 times.Alephium (ALPH)The Danube fork removed the supply cap and cut the block to eight seconds. At European tariffs the machines run at a loss.Handshake (HNS)The second halving happened on 27 July 2026, and most calculators still fail to account for it.Ethereum Classic (ETC)The sixth era since 22 July 2026, a reward of 1.6384 ETC. Onboard memory sets how long a machine stays usable.eCash (XEC)The miner keeps 58 percent of the reward, the rest goes to stakers and funds. Income per terahash hovers around parity with Bitcoin.Monero (XMR)The one machine in the catalogue barely beats an ordinary processor, and the competition here is the world stock of CPUs.Kadena (KDA)The organisation wound down in October 2025 and a community fork keeps the network going. Blake2s machines fit nothing else.Mining glossaryMining terms explained: hashrate, J/TH, network difficulty, pool payout schemes.

The order to choose in

  1. Start with the tariffThe electricity break even point is worked out before you buy. The coin sections give it for every machine in the catalogue.
  2. Then the algorithmThe algorithm sets both the machine fleet and the fallback coin. Some of these networks have no fallback coin at all.
  3. Then liquidityWhat you mine has to be sold. On several networks in this section daily turnover is measured in a few thousand dollars.
  4. And only then the modelWithin one algorithm efficiency can differ by twenty nine times, and that alone decides the outcome.