Not all coins are created equal for solo mining. The "best" coin depends on your hashrate, your budget, and what you're optimizing for: maximum block value, best odds, or highest expected value per day. This guide ranks every SHA-256 coin you can solo mine in 2026 and tells you exactly which one to pick based on your setup.
Three factors determine how good a coin is for solo mining:
| Factor | What It Means | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Network Difficulty | How hard it is to find a valid block | Lower difficulty = faster block discovery |
| Block Reward Value | How much the reward is worth in USD | Higher value = bigger payout when you win |
| Daily Expected Value | Block value × daily probability | Your average daily earnings (theoretical) |
The ideal solo mining coin has low difficulty (so you find blocks more often) and high block value (so each block is worth a lot). In reality, these two factors are inversely correlated — popular, valuable coins have high difficulty. The art is finding the best balance.
Here's every SHA-256 coin available on SoloFury, ranked by Daily Expected Value per PH/s (the fairest comparison metric):
| Rank | Coin | Block Value | Network Hash | EV/PH/day | Time to Block (1 PH/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BC2 | ~$40 | ~32 PH/s | ~$180 | ~5 hours |
| 2 | XEC | ~$120 | ~54 PH/s | ~$160 | ~9 hours |
| 3 | BCH | ~$1,400 | ~6 EH/s | ~$33 | ~10 days |
| 4 | BCH2 | ~$1 | ~16 PH/s | ~$9 | ~2.5 hours |
| 5 | BTC | ~$300,000 | ~900 EH/s | ~$0.50 | ~1,700 years |
| Block Reward | 3.125 BTC (~$300,000) |
| Network Hashrate | ~900 EH/s |
| Difficulty | ~138 T |
| Time to Block (1 PH/s) | ~1,700 years |
| Verdict | Only for massive farms or extreme gamblers |
Bitcoin is the ultimate jackpot — $300K per block. But the network is so competitive that even a farm with 100 PH/s would wait ~17 years on average. Solo mining BTC makes sense only if you operate at massive scale or simply want to contribute to decentralization with no expectation of finding a block.
| Block Reward | 3.125 BCH (~$1,400) |
| Network Hashrate | ~6 EH/s |
| Difficulty | ~850 G |
| Time to Block (1 PH/s) | ~10 days |
| Verdict | Best balance of reward value and achievable odds |
BCH is the sweet spot for mid-sized miners. With 1 PH/s (four S21+ units), you have roughly a 10% daily chance of finding a block worth $1,400. The block value is meaningful and the difficulty is low enough to make solo mining realistic.
Best for: Miners with 500 TH/s to 10 PH/s who want a meaningful payout.
| Block Reward | 50 BC2 (~$40) |
| Network Hashrate | ~32 PH/s |
| Difficulty | ~38 G |
| Time to Block (1 PH/s) | ~5 hours |
| Verdict | Highest EV/PH — best for small miners and Bitaxe fleets |
BC2 has the highest expected value per PH/s of any SHA-256 coin on SoloFury. The block reward is only $40, but you find them so frequently that the daily EV beats every other option. A miner with just 100 TH/s could find a BC2 block every ~2 days.
Best for: Bitaxe owners, NerdQaxe, small ASIC miners, and anyone who wants to see blocks found regularly.
| Block Reward | 3,125,000 XEC (~$120) |
| Network Hashrate | ~54 PH/s |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Time to Block (1 PH/s) | ~9 hours |
| Verdict | Great EV with higher per-block value than BC2 |
XEC is the dark horse of solo mining. Most miners overlook it, but its combination of moderate difficulty and $120 block reward makes it the #2 expected value coin. If BC2 blocks feel too small at $40 each, XEC gives you $120 per block with only slightly worse odds.
Best for: Miners who want a balance between block frequency and block value.
| Block Reward | 50 BCH2 (~$1) |
| Network Hashrate | ~16 PH/s |
| Difficulty | Very low |
| Time to Block (1 PH/s) | ~2.5 hours |
| Verdict | Easiest blocks to find, but very low reward value |
BCH2 has the lowest difficulty of any coin on SoloFury. With 1 PH/s you'd find a block roughly every 2.5 hours. The problem: each block is worth only ~$1. It's great for testing your setup and experiencing the thrill of finding blocks, but not economically significant unless BCH2 price increases dramatically.
Best for: Testing, learning, and speculating on BCH2 future value.
| Your Hashrate | Recommended Coin | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Under 10 TH/s (Bitaxe, NerdQaxe) | BC2 or BCH2 | Only coins with realistic odds at this hashrate |
| 10-100 TH/s (Small ASIC) | BC2 or XEC | Best daily EV, blocks within weeks |
| 100 TH/s - 1 PH/s (Multiple ASICs) | BCH or XEC | BCH for bigger payouts, XEC for more frequency |
| 1-10 PH/s (Small farm) | BCH | Best balance — $1,400 blocks every 1-2 weeks |
| 10+ PH/s (Large farm) | BCH or BTC | BTC becomes viable at this scale |
The smartest miners don't commit to one coin. They use a dynamic switching strategy:
This strategy maximizes your expected value by always mining the coin with the best odds at any given moment.
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