ASIC Mining in 2025: Assessing Profitability and Algorithm-Specific Earnings

Is it worth mining on ASICs in 2025? Does it make sense to buy ASICs or is it better to assemble a farm on GPUs?

Or is the best option just investing?

Quick Overview: ASIC Profitability

ASIC mining is much more profitable than GPU mining.

On average, the payback period for ASICs is now from 10 months to 2 years (there are exceptions and longer).

ASICs for the new generation Scrypt algorithm pay off the fastest, but the entry threshold is ~ $ 9,000 for 1 ASIC!

An example of ASICs that pay for themselves quickly:

• Bitmain Antminer L9 (17Gh) (Scrypt) ~ $10,500
• VolcMiner D1 (17Gh) (Scrypt) ~ $9,000
• Bitmain Antminer L9 (16Gh) (Scrypt) ~ $10,000
• ElphaPex DG 1+ (Scrypt) ~ $7,500

Cost Calculation: Breaking Down ASIC Expenses

Next, you will learn about the payback of ASICs, both new and used.

Annual profit gross/net is the profit calculated without (gross) and with (net) electricity costs deducted. The calculation was based on an electricity price of $0.09 per kWh and a 1% fee.

ASIC profitability may vary due to the high volatility of cryptocurrencies. However, the essence remains the same.

Mining on most ASICs is profitable, but the entry threshold for this type of mining is very expensive!

All calculations are carried out with one unit of equipment (1 ASIC).

Bitcoin (SHA-256): Payback Analysis

First, let's look at the most popular coin - Bitcoin and ASICs for it!

Dogecoin (Scrypt): ROI Timeline

Now let's look at the payback for the Scrypt algorithm.

Notably, the most profitable ASICs for this algorithm right now, in terms of payback:

Alephium (Blake3): Mining ROI

Next, let's look at the payback of ASICs for the Blake3 algorithm (Alephium cryptocurrency):

Ethereum Classic (EtHash): Profitability

Ethereum Classic is a popular coin for mining. After Ethereum switched to PoS, it remained the king of GPU mining.

However, over time, it was dominated by ASICs. Let's look at the payback of ASICs for the EtHash algorithm:

Kadena (KDA): Payback Projections

Next, let's look at the ASIC payback for the Kadena (KDA) coin:

Equihash (ZEC/ZEN): Earnings Outlook

The next algorithm is Equihash. This algorithm and its coins are not so popular anymore, but ASICs for it are still being released:

GRIN (Cuckatoo32): Viability in 2025

ASIC Payback for the Cuckatoo32 algorithm, coin -  GRIN:

Kaspa (KHeavyHash): Profitability Insights

Initially, this algorithm was developed for GPU mining, but later it was dominated by ASICs:

Final Verdict: ASIC Profitability in 2025

As you can see, there are ASIC models that pay for themselves in less than a year!

Example:

• Bitmain Antminer L9 (17Gh) - 11 months
• VolcMiner D1 (17Gh) – 10 months

Yes, these are ASICs for the Scrypt algorithm, that is, for the Dogecoin coin, which is growing rapidly.

For example, if Dogecoin’s value falls to $0.1 (currently $0.4), then the payback will be other:

 Bitmain Antminer L9 (17Gh):

• 2 years and 6 months Gross profit
• 2 years and 9 months Net profit

It turns out the payback period will increase almost 3 times!

With Bitcoin, things are not much worse, but the payback there is on average about 2 years!

At the moment, the best ASICs now are ASICs for the Scrypt algorithm!

For other algorithms, buying ASICs is not very profitable, firstly, they do not have the most reliable coins, and secondly, most often the payback there is a little longer!

Best ASICs for Mining

The best ASICs at the moment are:

• Bitmain Antminer L9 (17Gh) (Scrypt) ~ 10500$
• VolcMiner D1 (17Gh) (Scrypt) ~ 9000$
• Bitmain Antminer L9 (16Gh) (Scrypt) ~ 10000$
• ElphaPex DG 1+ (Scrypt) ~ $7500
• Bitmain Antminer S21 XP Immersion (300Th) (SHA-256) ~ $8000
• Bitmain Antminer S21 XP Hyd (473Th) (SHA-256) ~ $14500
• IceRiver AL3 (Blake3) ~ $4500
• IceRiver AL2 Lite (Blake3) ~ $1000

All these ASICs are for reliable algorithms (and reliable coins, like Bitcoin, Doge, etc.).

Used ASICs: Risks to Avoid

If you need a quick answer - NO, don't.

Now let's talk about this in more detail.

Average lifespan of ASICs: 3-5 years (sometimes less).

Most often, ASICs are monitored much worse than farms on GPU. They are not properly cleaned of dust less often, and additional cooling is not always considered.

Also, which is no less important, there are many reviews of ASICs on the Internet, where users report that their equipment begins to lose power after 1-2 years of active use (24/7).

It turns out that by buying a used ASIC, you might end up with equipment that not only has lower performance but is also operating with significant wear.

Unlike GPUs, ASICs are very difficult to repair, and often repairs are more expensive than new equipment, and it is not a fact that there will be such specialists in your city!

What types of ASIC breakdowns occur:

1. Overheating
2. Power supply malfunctions
3. Problems with chips
4. Problems with firmware
5. Problems with coolers
6. Problems with the network card
7. Controller failure
8. Wear of capacitors and other components
9. Mechanical damage

Conclusion: buying used ASICs is not justified, risky, and there is a high chance that the equipment will not last long! Plus, checking the operation of ASIC is much more difficult than using used GPUs!

Is ASIC Mining Worth It in 2025?

In general, if compared to mining on GPUs, mining on ASICs, on most equipment, is very profitable!

ASICs pay off from 10 months to 2 - 3 years (there are exceptions with a payback of more than 5 years). This is if we are talking about modern equipment that was released in 2023-2024!

However, unlike GPU mining, the entry threshold for ASIC mining is very high!

On average, you will need $9,000+ and this is only for 1 ASIC!

In GPU mining, you can buy, conditionally, just 1 GPU for your PC for $700-1000 and mine in your free time.

If we compare just investing in crypto or ASIC mining, then we need to take into account some points.

ASIC mining:

• Very noisy, not everyone can mine in an ordinary apartment
• Just 1 ASIC can consume 6000+ Watts, which is not suitable for an ordinary apartments
• You need to take care of ASICs: blow off dust, monitor the temperature and, if necessary, additionally cool them
• The ASIC can break / fail and you most likely will not have a warranty, or it will be very difficult to use

Investments in crypto (long-term / hold):

• Buy the coin you need once / several coins (maximum a couple of times when buying in a ladder)
• Monitor the rates once a day
• Sell when the market starts to grow

If you have, for example, $9,000 and you want to either buy an ASIC or invest it in crypto, then take into account all of the above points.

Yes, you can conditionally sell the ASIC in 2-3 years, with a loss of 40% of its cost.

With investing you will spend less time. Plus you will be able to split your budget into several coins.

On average, those who invest for the long term - receive from 2x to 4x returns and more.

However, you must weigh all the risks yourself and make your decision!