Crypto mining is the process of using computing power to validate transactions and add new blocks to a Proof of Work blockchain, earning newly created coins as payment. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Monero all rely on it. In September 2022, Ethereum stopped. In mid-2026, Bitcoin's network alone was performing around 929 quintillion hashes per second, almost all of it on specialized hardware.
What mining actually does
Two jobs at once, and people usually notice only the second.
Securing the network. Miners are the participants who decide which transactions get recorded. Their computing power is what makes rewriting history impractical, since an attacker would need to out-compute all of them.
Issuing new coins. Every block a miner adds includes a reward of newly created currency. That is how new bitcoin enters circulation, and it is the only way.
By design the two are linked. Paying miners to secure the network is what distributes the supply.
How crypto mining works
Miners take pending transactions, bundle them into a block, and search for a number that makes the block's hash fall below a target the network sets. No shortcut exists. Until one works, machines try billions of combinations per second.
Whoever finds it broadcasts the block. Every other node verifies it in milliseconds. The winner earns the reward, and the search begins again for the next block.
Automatically, the target adjusts. On Bitcoin, every 2,016 blocks the network measures how fast blocks arrived and makes the puzzle harder or easier to hold the pace at roughly ten minutes.
What miners earn
| Network | Block reward | Block time | Supply cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | 3.125 BTC plus fees | About 10 minutes | 21 million |
| Litecoin | 6.25 LTC plus fees | About 2.5 minutes | 84 million |
| Dogecoin | 10,000 DOGE plus fees | About 1 minute | None |
| Monero | 0.6 XMR fixed plus fees | About 2 minutes | None, with a permanent tail emission |
Roughly every four years, Bitcoin's reward halves. In April 2024 the halving cut it from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC, and around April 2028 the next is projected.
Mining hardware: from CPUs to ASICs
Mining moved through four generations, and the economics of each ended the last.
CPUs, in 2009 and 2010, when anyone with a laptop could mine bitcoin.
GPUs, from 2010, which were far faster at the specific calculation.
FPGAs, briefly, around 2011 to 2013.
ASICs, from 2013, purpose-built chips that do nothing but hash. A modern unit like the Antminer S21 Pro runs at 15 joules per terahash, and hydro-cooled S23-class hardware reaches roughly 9.5.
Today, Bitcoin mining is ASIC-only. Deliberately, Monero uses an algorithm designed to resist ASICs so that ordinary CPUs remain competitive, which is a policy choice about decentralization.
Solo mining vs pools
Finding a Bitcoin block alone is effectively a lottery ticket. By combining hashrate and sharing rewards proportionally, pools solve that.
The trade-off is concentration. In mid-2026, D-Central calculated that only three pools were needed to exceed half of all Bitcoin blocks, with Foundry USA alone at roughly 27%. Pool concentration differs from ownership concentration, since miners can switch pools at any time. Stratum V2, adopted in May 2026 by pools representing nearly 75% of hashrate, lets individual miners choose which transactions go into blocks.
The economics of crypto mining
A difficult business, and getting harder.
- Revenue is denominated in a volatile asset. Electricity bills are not.
- Margins compress after every halving. Revenue halves overnight while costs do not.
- Hardware depreciates fast. Each new generation makes the last uncompetitive.
- Hashprice, meaning revenue per unit of computing power, fell to between $28 and $30 per petahash per day in Q1 2026, among the lowest on record.
- CoinShares estimated up to 20% of miners were unprofitable in May 2026.
On industrial-scale access to cheap electricity, profitability now depends. More than a decade ago, home mining of Bitcoin stopped being viable.
Crypto mining energy use
Mining consumes real electricity, and the cost is the security mechanism rather than a side effect.
In its 2025 study, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance reported a 52.4% sustainable energy mix, comprising 42.6% renewables and 9.8% nuclear. After China's 2021 ban, geography shifted repeatedly, with the United States accounting for 37.4% of hashrate and Russia 16.9% following legalization.
Two points get lost in most coverage. Energy use tracks hashrate and reward value rather than transaction count, which makes "energy per transaction" a meaningless measure. Miners also chase the cheapest power available, which frequently means stranded or surplus generation with no other buyer.
Where mb.io fits
Mining is one route to acquiring coins. Buying them on a regulated exchange is the other, with no hardware, no electricity contract, and no exposure to hashprice.
mb.io is a regulated crypto spot exchange backed by MultiBank Group, a financial institution founded in 2005 that serves more than 2 million clients across 100+ countries.
- Regulated by VARA in the UAE and AUSTRAC in Australia
- 10/10 security score from Hacken, an independent blockchain security auditor
- Institutional-grade MPC custody powered by Fireblocks, with segregated client funds
- A curated list of assets, so you're not sorting through thousands of tokens to find the ones worth trading
- Buy, sell, and swap in three steps, from sign-up to purchase
- 24/7 multilingual client support
Open your account and start trading on mb.io.
Frequently asked questions
What is crypto mining in simple terms?
Using computers to solve a hard puzzle that validates transactions and adds a block to a blockchain. The winner earns newly created coins. At the same time, it secures the network and issues supply.
Can I mine cryptocurrency at home?
Bitcoin, no, not profitably. ASIC hardware and industrial-scale cheap electricity are required. Deliberately resisting specialized hardware, Monero keeps CPU mining possible, though returns are small.
Which cryptocurrencies can be mined?
Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Monero, Bitcoin Cash, and other Proof of Work networks. Since its September 2022 switch to Proof of Stake, Ethereum cannot.
How much do miners earn?
It depends entirely on hardware efficiency and electricity cost. At 3.125 BTC plus fees per block, Bitcoin's reward still left up to 20% of miners operating at a loss in May 2026, according to CoinShares.
What is a mining pool?
A group of miners combining computing power and sharing rewards proportionally, which converts an unpredictable lottery into steady income. Three pools produced over half of Bitcoin's blocks in mid-2026.
Is crypto mining bad for the environment?
By design, it consumes substantial electricity. In 2025, the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance put the sustainable share at 52.4%. Energy use tracks hashrate, not transaction count.
What is an ASIC miner?
An application-specific integrated circuit built to do one hashing calculation and nothing else. Since about 2013, Bitcoin mining has been ASIC-only, because general-purpose hardware cannot compete.
What happens to mining when Bitcoin's reward reaches zero?
Miners will earn only transaction fees. Around 2140 that point arrives, and whether fees alone can fund sufficient security is one of the genuinely unresolved questions in Bitcoin's design.
