SHA256 Strikes Back: Bitcoin Mining Algorithm to Reclaim Its Throne in 2025
In 2024, Bitcoin's SHA256 consensus algorithm was ranked third in profitability, but as of early June 2025, it shares first place with Litecoin's Scrypt.
SHA256 and Scrypt Share First Place in Mining Profitability in June 2025
On December 29, 2024, Scrypt, the mining algorithm for litecoin (LTC) and dogecoin (DOGE), firmly took the top spot as a mining method. Fast forward to June 2025, and the tables have turned: SHA256 is now vying for the lead, albeit by a small margin, thanks to Bitmain’s Antminer S21e XP hydro 3U, which delivers 860 terahash per second (TH/s).
Based on the median price of $0.10 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), the Antminer S21e XP hydro 3U earns about $18.24 per day based on its current hashrate. Essentially, hashrate is the calculated value of 1 terahash or petahash per second (TH/s and PH/s) — in this case, TH/s — of daily hashing power. The Antminer is followed by the Volcminer D1 Hydro, developed by Teckvia Limited, with a performance of 860 TH/s.
At the same rate of $0.10 per kWh, the Volcminer D1 Hydro earns about $17.55 per day at 30 gigahashes per second (GH/s). After SHA256 and Scrypt, the next most profitable mining ALEO digital asset is Zksnark. Data shows that 300 megahashes per second (MH/s) of computing power on Zksnark is equivalent to about $10.07 per day. RandomX mining is also profitable, and Monero (XMR) prices remain stable in 2025; about 212 kilohashes per second (KH/s) of computing power generates about $9.70 per day.
Below Zksnark and RandomX are kaspa's Kheavyhash (KAS) and ethereum classic's Ethash (ETC). The mining hierarchy has changed dramatically since 2022, when Kadena and Scrypt dominated, and Ethereum's move to proof-of-stake (PoS) changed the market. By 2025, relentless ASIC developments like Bitmain's water-cooled S21e XP have brought SHA256 back to the top.
In parallel with this evolution, Scrypt, Zksnark, and RandomX have created a powerful second tier. Operational efficiency, not just the value of the digital currency, now determines profitability; minor improvements in computing power and energy consumption differentiate successful enterprises from outdated hardware. The only constant is instability: methods like Kheavyhash and Eaglesong, which were once kings in 2023, have declined, while veterans (SHA256) have made a comeback thanks to innovative technological breakthroughs in hardware.
Source: cryptonews.net
