Mining dictionary

Cooling with fans blowing air through the machine: the standard setup. Cheap and simple, but loud, and it needs a dust-free, well-ventilated space.

Also: hash algorithm, mining algorithm

The hash function a coin's miners must run: SHA-256 for Bitcoin, Scrypt for Litecoin and Dogecoin, kHeavyHash for Kaspa and so on. A machine can mine every coin on its algorithm and none on others.

Also: ASIC miner, application-specific integrated circuit

A chip, and the machine built around it, made to run one mining algorithm and nothing else. Far faster and more efficient than graphics cards at that one job, but useless for any other coin family.

Also: ASIC resistance

An algorithm designed so that a special-purpose chip gains little over ordinary hardware, usually by needing lots of memory, a big cache or code that changes from block to block. It keeps mining open to GPU and CPU owners. Some coins change their algorithm when ASICs appear anyway (a hard fork).

Also: Autolykos 2

Ergo's memory-hard GPU algorithm (Autolykos 2 since 2021). It runs well on modest, power-efficient cards, which keeps it popular with home miners.

Also: shipment, delivery month

A production run from the manufacturer, shipped in a given month. The same model can cost differently per batch, which is why AsicProfit shows offers by delivery date.

Also: BeamHash

Beam's GPU algorithm, a variant of Equihash changed in 2020 to keep ASICs out.

Also: typical hashrate, benchmark

The hashrate a device actually achieves on an algorithm, measured by running it. Results for the same model vary with tuning and cooling, so AsicProfit uses a typical figure: hashrate.no's where it has one, otherwise the median of the other public sources, never the single best run anyone posted.

Also: Blake2B-Sia

The algorithm of Siacoin, the decentralised storage network. Mined only with ASICs. Hashrate in TH/s.

The algorithm of Alephium. ASICs arrived in 2024. Hashrate in TH/s.

A batch of transactions added to the chain in one go. Bitcoin aims for one block every 10 minutes; other coins are faster or slower.

What the miner of a block receives: the newly created coins (the subsidy) plus the transaction fees in that block.

The new coins created with each block. For Bitcoin it is 3.125 BTC since the April 2024 halving and halves again roughly every four years.

The average time between two blocks: about 10 minutes for Bitcoin, 2.5 minutes for Litecoin, 1 minute for Dogecoin. Difficulty adjustments keep it near its target.

The coin price below which a miner stops covering its electricity. Useful to see how far the market can fall before machines get switched off.

The power price at which a miner earns exactly nothing: revenue divided by the kWh it uses. Below it you make money; above it you pay to mine. Efficient machines have a higher break-even and stay profitable longer.

Also: capital expenditure, operating expenditure

CapEx is what you pay up front: machines, shipping, setup. OpEx is what it costs to keep them running: power, hosting, repairs. Mining profit has to cover both.

Also: controller

The small computer in a miner that runs its firmware, talks to the pool and manages the hashboards and fans. It is where you log in to set the pool and see temperatures.

Also: core clock, memory clock, MHz

How fast a GPU's chip (core clock) and its memory (memory clock) run, in MHz. Memory-heavy algorithms want a high memory clock and can run the core slower to save power; core-heavy ones want the opposite. Setting both per algorithm is most of GPU tuning.

Also: cores/threads, SMT, hyper-threading

A CPU's cores are its independent processors; with SMT (hyper-threading) each core runs two threads. For RandomX the usable thread count is usually set by the cache, about 2 MB of L3 per thread, rather than by the number of cores.

Also: processor

A computer's main processor. CPUs mine algorithms built to need a large fast cache and quick general-purpose cores, above all RandomX (Monero). A desktop CPU earns little on its own, but it costs nothing extra in a machine you already run, and server CPUs with many cores do well.

Also: Cuckatoo31, Cuckatoo32, CuckooCycle

Graph-based algorithms where miners search a huge random graph for a cycle of a set length. Grin uses Cuckatoo32, MimbleWimble Coin Cuckatoo31 and Aeternity Cuckoo Cycle; all need cards with a lot of graphics memory.

Switching miners off for a time, usually when power prices spike or the grid is stressed. Some sites are paid for it, which lowers their average power cost but reduces uptime.

Also: import tax, tariffs

Taxes charged when a machine enters your country. They can add a large share to the price, so ask whether an offer includes them before comparing.

Also: DAG file, epoch

The large data set that Ethash-family algorithms (Ethash, Etchash, KawPow and others) keep in graphics memory. It grows a little with every epoch, so cards with little VRAM drop out over time.

Programmes that pay large power users to cut consumption when the grid needs it. Miners are well suited because they can stop and restart in minutes.

How hard it is to find a block. It rises when more hashrate joins and falls when machines switch off, so the same machine earns fewer coins as difficulty climbs.

Also: retarget

The automatic re-tuning of difficulty to keep blocks on schedule. Bitcoin adjusts every 2,016 blocks (about two weeks); many smaller coins adjust every block.

The assumption about how fast difficulty keeps rising. Bitcoin's has grown most months for years, so a payback estimate without it is too optimistic. AsicProfit's calculators let you set it.

Running two algorithms on one graphics card at once, typically a memory-heavy one with a core-heavy one, for example Ethash-family coins together with KHeavyHash coins. Combined income can beat either alone, at the cost of more power and heat.

The algorithm of Nervos Network (CKB). Hashrate in TH/s.

Also: J/TH, J/GH, watts per terahash, power efficiency

How much energy a machine uses per unit of work: power in watts divided by hashrate. A 3,500 W miner doing 200 TH/s runs at 17.5 J/TH. Lower is better, and it decides who survives when difficulty rises or prices fall.

Also: power cost, cost per kWh

What powering a miner costs: watts × 24 ÷ 1,000 × your price per kWh. A 3,500 W miner at $0.06/kWh costs about $5 a day. The single biggest running cost in mining.

A memory-heavy algorithm used by Zcash and other privacy coins. Hashrate is measured in KSol/s (solutions per second) rather than hashes.

The memory-hard algorithm Ethereum used until 2022 and that EthereumPoW and smaller coins still use; Ethereum Classic runs a modified version, Etchash. Its DAG must fit in graphics memory.

Also: Ethash

The algorithm family of Ethereum Classic and EthereumPoW, left for ASICs and graphics cards after Ethereum stopped mining in 2022. Hashrate in MH/s or GH/s.

Also: Incoterms, FOB, CIF

Who pays and carries the risk for shipping. EXW: you collect from the seller and handle everything. DDP: the seller delivers to your door with duties paid. Compare offers on the same terms, or a cheap price may hide the shipping.

The software on a miner's control board. Stock firmware comes from the manufacturer; aftermarket firmware adds tuning and power settings, but can affect the warranty.

Iron Fish's memory-hard GPU algorithm, adopted in 2024 to keep mining on graphics cards.

Running generators on gas that oil wells would otherwise burn off, and using that power to mine. It earns money from a waste product and cuts emissions compared with flaring.

Also: field-programmable gate array

A chip whose circuits can be rewired after it is made, by loading a new design (a bitstream). For mining it sits between a GPU and an ASIC: faster and more efficient than a GPU on the algorithm it is set up for, and unlike an ASIC it can be reprogrammed when that algorithm changes or stops paying. FPGA boards are expensive and need specialist bitstreams, so only a few coins are mined on them.

Also: payout method, PPS+, full pay per share

How a pool pays out. PPS pays a fixed amount per share for the subsidy; FPPS also pays the expected transaction fees; PPLNS pays only when the pool finds blocks, so income is lumpier but fees are often lower.

Also: GDDR6, GDDR6X, GDDR7, HBM2, HBM3

The two kinds of graphics memory. GDDR (GDDR6, GDDR6X, GDDR7) sits around the chip on gaming cards; HBM is stacked next to the chip on data-centre cards and gives several times the bandwidth. GDDR6X runs hot, so its temperature often limits mining.

Raptoreum's CPU algorithm. It chains several CryptoNight variants and classic hash functions in an order that changes, which favours CPUs with plenty of cache.

Also: graphics card, video card

A graphics card. Its thousands of small cores and fast memory also suit many mining algorithms, so one card can switch between coins whenever another pays more. GPUs earn far less than ASICs on Bitcoin, but they mine many coins that ASICs can't, and they keep their resale value for gaming and AI.

Also: halvening

The scheduled cut of the block subsidy by half: for Bitcoin every 210,000 blocks, roughly every four years (the last in April 2024). Overnight, every Bitcoin miner earns about half as many new coins, so profit estimates that run past a halving must include it.

The fixed-length fingerprint a hash function produces from any input. Miners compute trillions of hashes a second, changing the input slightly each time, until one comes out low enough to win a block.

One of the boards inside a miner that carries the hashing chips; most machines have three. If one fails the miner keeps running at about two thirds of its hashrate, so a missing board is a common reason a used machine underperforms.

What one unit of hashrate earns per day, such as dollars per TH/s per day. It combines coin price, difficulty and fees into one number, so you can tell how good mining is right now regardless of the machine.

Also: hash rate, TH/s, GH/s, MH/s

How many hashes a machine computes per second: the main measure of a miner's output. Units step up by 1,000: kH/s, MH/s, GH/s, TH/s, PH/s, EH/s. Bitcoin miners are rated in TH/s, Scrypt miners in GH/s.

Also: TH bin, model version

Different hashrate grades sold under one model name, such as the same model at 200 TH/s and 234 TH/s. They differ in price and efficiency, so always compare the exact variant; AsicProfit lists each one separately.

Using the heat a miner gives off to warm homes, greenhouses, water or pools. Almost all the power a miner uses comes out as heat, so it can offset part of the electricity cost.

Also: colocation, hosted mining

Placing your miners in someone else's facility, which provides power, cooling, internet and staff for an all-in rate. You own the machines; they keep them running.

Also: prepayment

Money a host holds up front, often one to three months of fees, plus any setup fee per machine. Read how and when it is returned before you ship machines.

Also: all-in rate, $/kWh hosting

What a host charges, usually per kWh your machines use, covering power, cooling, staff and maintenance. Compare it with your own power price to decide whether hosting pays.

Home mining avoids hosting fees but brings noise, heat, wiring and your household power price. Hosting costs more per kWh than cheap industrial power but less than most home tariffs.

Also: large pages

An operating-system setting that lets a program use memory in large blocks. Turning it on can raise RandomX hashrate by a fifth or more, and on Windows it needs administrator rights. Many published CPU benchmarks are run without it, which is one reason figures for the same CPU vary.

Also: water cooling, liquid cooling, Hyd

Cooling with water pumped through plates on the chips, as in the 'Hydro' or 'Hyd' models. These run quieter and at higher hashrate, but need pipes, pumps and a dry cooler, so they suit containers and hosting sites more than a garage.

Submerging miners in a non-conductive liquid that carries the heat away. Lets machines run cooler and overclocked and protects them from dust, but the tanks and fluid add cost.

Also: spot, ready to ship

A machine the seller has now and can ship straight away. Usually more expensive than a pre-order, but you start mining weeks or months earlier, and early weeks often earn the most.

The algorithm of Kadena (KDA), mined with dedicated ASICs. Hashrate in TH/s.

Ravencoin's GPU algorithm since 2020, a version of ProgPoW. It uses a large DAG in graphics memory and changes its code every few blocks, so ASICs gain little. Also used by several smaller coins.

The algorithm of Kaspa, a coin with very fast blocks. ASICs replaced graphics cards on it in 2023. Hashrate in TH/s.

Also: kilowatt, kilowatt-hour

kW is power at a moment; kWh is energy over time. A 3.5 kW miner running for an hour uses 3.5 kWh, about 84 kWh a day. Electricity is billed per kWh.

Also: cache

The fast memory shared by a CPU's cores. RandomX keeps about 2 MB of working data per mining thread in it, so cache size often limits CPU hashrate more than core count; CPUs with extra cache (AMD X3D) mine well for their power.

How long from paying to receiving the machine: days for stock in a local warehouse, weeks to months for pre-orders and international shipping.

Also: LHR

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 cards sold from 2021 with a limiter that halved Ethash mining speed. Mining software later worked around most of it, and the limiter does not affect other algorithms. LHR or not, check the card's figure for the algorithm you plan to mine.

Also: GB/s

How much data a card can move between its chip and its memory per second, in GB/s. Memory-heavy algorithms such as Ethash, KawPow and Octopus scale with it more than with the chip's core speed, which is why miners tune memory clocks first.

Also: VRAM temperature, Tjunction

The temperature of a graphics card's memory chips, often hotter than the GPU itself, especially with GDDR6X. Above about 100–105 °C the memory throttles; better pads and airflow fix it.

Also: AuxPoW

Mining two coins with the same work at no extra cost. Scrypt miners earn Litecoin and Dogecoin together, which is why AsicProfit counts both in a Scrypt machine's profit.

A shipping container fitted with power distribution, cooling and racks for hundreds of miners, ready to place next to a power source.

Also: mining operating system

A small Linux system made only for mining (HiveOS, SimpleMining, RaveOS, minerstat and others). It boots from a USB stick, runs the mining software and lets you watch and tune every rig from a web page.

A group of miners combining hashrate so they find blocks often and share the rewards, giving each a steady income instead of the long wait of mining alone.

Also: GPU rig

Several graphics cards on one open frame with one motherboard, power supply and cooling, run as a single miner. Six to twelve cards per rig is common; the cards connect through risers.

Also: miner, mining client

The program that runs the hashing and talks to the pool, such as XMRig for CPUs, or lolMiner, T-Rex, Rigel and BzMiner for GPUs. Most take a small developer fee, usually 0.5–2% of the mining time.

Also: minimum order quantity

The smallest number of units a seller will sell at a given price. Wholesale prices often need 10, 50 or more machines.

Also: profit switching

Which coin on a machine's algorithm earns the most right now. AsicProfit rates each miner on the coin that pays best in money, counting merged-mined coins together, not on a combination you couldn't actually mine at once.

A tweak XMRig applies to a CPU's hardware settings (model-specific registers) to speed up RandomX, often by 10–15%. It needs administrator or root rights and is lost on reboot unless re-applied.

Also: megawatt

1,000 kW and 1,000 kWh. Hosting sites are sized in MW: 1 MW runs roughly 280 machines of 3.5 kW. Hosting listings show free and total MW.

The combined hashrate of every miner on a coin. Your share of it is roughly your share of the rewards, so when the network grows and you don't, you earn less.

Also: second-hand

New machines come sealed with the manufacturer's warranty. Used ones are cheaper but may have tired fans or a failing board; refurbished ones were repaired and tested by the seller, sometimes with their own warranty.

Nexa's algorithm, mined mostly on graphics cards and limited by core speed rather than memory.

Also: decibels, loudness

How loud a miner is. Air-cooled machines often run at 70–80 dB, like a vacuum cleaner that never stops; hydro and immersion models are much quieter. AsicProfit lets you filter by noise.

The number a miner changes on every attempt so each hash comes out different. When all values are used up, the miner changes another part of the block and starts again.

Conflux's memory-hard GPU algorithm. It needs a lot of memory bandwidth, so cards with fast memory lead.

Also: tuning, power mode, eco mode

Running chips faster for more hashrate at higher power (overclocking), or slower for better efficiency (underclocking). Underclocking can keep a machine profitable when power is expensive.

Also: payback, days to ROI

How long a miner takes to earn back its price from profit. It assumes today's conditions continue, so a realistic estimate also allows for rising difficulty and any halving in between.

Also: deposit, escrow

How and when you pay: in full up front, a deposit with the rest before shipping (common for pre-orders), or through escrow. Paying everything in crypto up front to an unknown seller is the riskiest option.

Also: riser card, riser

A small board and cable that connects a graphics card to the motherboard at a distance, so many cards fit in one rig with space to cool. Mining needs very little bandwidth, so one PCIe lane per card is enough. Cheap risers are a common cause of crashes and, rarely, of fires.

The pool's cut of what it pays you, usually 0–4%. It comes straight off revenue, so it is worth including in every profit estimate.

Also: PL

A cap on how many watts a graphics card may draw, set as a percentage of its board power. Miners lower it (often to 60–80%) because the last few percent of hashrate cost a lot of extra power.

Also: futures, forward order

Buying a machine that ships at a set date in the future, usually with a deposit. Cheaper per TH, but you carry the risk that prices or difficulty move against you before it arrives.

Also: $/TH, dollars per terahash

A miner's price divided by its hashrate: the quick way to compare offers. Cheap $/TH can still be a bad deal if the machine is inefficient, so check efficiency alongside it.

Also: daily profit, net income

Revenue minus the electricity a machine uses. It is the number AsicProfit ranks miners by, at the electricity price you set at the top of the page.

Also: ProgPowZ, EvrProgPow, FiroPow

Programmatic Proof of Work: an algorithm family built to use a graphics card's whole chip and memory, so a special chip would gain little. KawPow (Ravencoin), FiroPow (Firo), EvrProgPow (Evrmore) and ProgPowZ (Zano) are versions of it.

Also: PoW

The system Bitcoin and other mineable coins use to agree on new blocks: miners race to find a hash below a target, and the winner adds the next block. Finding it takes real computing work and electricity, which is what makes the record expensive to rewrite.

Also: power supply unit

The power supply that turns grid power into what the hashboards need. Most miners need 200–277 V; some come without a PSU, so check before buying and budget for one.

Also: power usage effectiveness

Total site power divided by the power the miners themselves use. 1.0 would mean no overhead; extra power for cooling and lighting pushes it higher. Mining sites usually run close to 1.0.

Monero's algorithm, designed to run best on ordinary computer processors and resist ASICs. Only a handful of dedicated machines exist.

What a used miner can be sold for later. Efficient current models hold value better; older, less efficient ones lose most of it after a halving or a price drop.

Also: daily revenue, gross income

What a miner earns in a day before paying for power: the coins it mines times their price, after the pool fee. Changes with every move in coin price and difficulty.

Also: return on investment

Profit as a share of what you paid, over a period. On AsicProfit's miner pages, ROI is the number of days the machine needs to pay for itself at the chosen electricity price.

Prices far below every other seller, pressure to pay fast, crypto-only payment to a personal wallet, no company details, a new website, or stock nobody else has. If an offer looks too good, compare it with the average price on the miner's page first.

The algorithm of Litecoin and Dogecoin, merged-mined together, so one machine earns both. Hashrate in GH/s (older machines MH/s).

The algorithm of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and eCash. By far the largest ASIC market: Antminer S-series, Whatsminer M-series and others. Hashrate in TH/s.

One of Tari's two mining algorithms, a SHA-3 based hash mined on GPUs. Tari's other half is mined with RandomX together with Monero.

How much power a site can supply, in MW, and so how many machines it can host. Free capacity is what is still available for new customers.

Powering miners with solar panels, with or without batteries. The machines run while the sun shines, so uptime is low unless batteries or the grid fill the gaps.

Mining without a pool: you keep a whole block reward when you find one, but with a small hashrate that can take years, or never happen. A lottery, not an income.

Also: rejected share

Work that reaches the pool too late to count, usually because of a slow or unstable connection. A few tenths of a percent is normal; more means lost income.

Power produced where there is no one to use it, such as a remote hydro dam or gas burned off at an oil well. Miners can be moved to it and turn it into income.

Also: TDP, TBP, TGP, power draw

The power a chip or card is designed to draw under load, in watts. For CPUs it is the TDP (or base power); for graphics cards the total board power (TBP), which includes the memory and fans. Tuned for mining, a card usually draws well below it.

Also: throttling

A chip slowing itself down when it gets too hot. A miner that throttles earns less than its rated hashrate, so airflow, fan speed and room temperature matter as much as the hardware.

What users pay to have their transactions included in a block. They go to the miner on top of the subsidy and become a bigger share of income after each halving.

Also: UV

Running a chip at a lower voltage than stock. The same hashrate then takes less power and makes less heat, which is usually the biggest single gain in GPU and CPU mining efficiency. Too low and the miner crashes or produces errors.

The share of time a machine is actually hashing. 97% uptime loses about 11 days a year to restarts, maintenance and outages, so realistic estimates assume less than 100%.

Also: SLA, service level agreement

A host's promise of how much of the time your machines will run, with credits if it falls short. Many hosts exclude planned curtailment from it, so check the fine print.

AsicProfit's badge for a seller whose identity and company we checked: registration documents reviewed and screened against U.S. sanctions lists. It means a real company stands behind the account; it is not a guarantee of any single order.

Vertcoin's algorithm since 2021. Every hash reads from a data file of about 1.2 GB, so it is mined on graphics cards with enough memory and resists ASICs.

Also: VerusHash 2.2

Verus Coin's algorithm, tuned so that CPUs, GPUs and FPGAs all mine on roughly level terms; it is one of the few coins people still mine on phones. CPUs with modern instructions (AES, AVX) do best.

Also: graphics memory, video memory

The memory on a graphics card. Many GPU algorithms keep a large data set (a DAG) in it, so a card with too little VRAM simply can't mine that coin, and the DAG grows over time. 8 GB covers most coins today; 12 GB or more keeps more options open.

The repair or replacement promise that comes with a machine, often 180 days to a year for new ones. Check who honours it (manufacturer or seller), where the machine must be sent, and whether custom firmware voids it.

The algorithm of Dash: eleven hash functions chained together. Hashrate in GH/s or TH/s.

Also: XelisHash v3

Xelis's algorithm, designed for CPUs and GPUs alike and revised (v3) to keep special-purpose chips out.

Also: Equihash 144,5

A memory-hard version of Equihash (144,5) used by Bitcoin Gold and a few other coins, mined on graphics cards.

Aleo's proof system: miners compute zero-knowledge proofs instead of plain hashes. Dedicated machines appeared in 2024.