Today, mining ETH takes forever, because Ethereum can't be mined. Mining ended at The Merge on 15 September 2022, when Ethereum switched from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake. ethereum.org says that "mining has been switched off." In the last weeks before The Merge, a 100 MH/s setup took roughly 650 to 700 days to earn 1 ETH, before transaction tips and pool fees. Since then, new ETH has gone to validators who stake it.
Why Ethereum can no longer be mined
Ethereum ran the Beacon Chain, a separate proof-of-stake chain, in parallel with Mainnet from 1 December 2020. On 15 September 2022 the two were joined, and "mining is no longer the means of producing valid blocks" (ethereum.org). The Ethereum Foundation estimates the switch cut the network's energy use by about 99.95%.
There is no software setting, pool or hardware that can produce blocks on Ethereum Mainnet with proof-of-work. Any service that says it mines ETH directly today is selling something that doesn't exist.
How long mining 1 ETH took before The Merge
Mining income came from three numbers:
- Your hash rate: how many hashes your hardware tried per second, measured in MH/s.
- The network hash rate: the total from every miner. Your share of the blocks equalled your share of this total.
- Issuance to miners: from the Constantinople upgrade in 2019 the block reward was 2 ETH (EIP-1234). By ethereum.org's figures, miners were issued about 13,000 ETH per day before The Merge.
The formula is simple: expected ETH per day = (your hash rate ÷ network hash rate) × 13,000.
The network hash rate figure comes from one source. The Block reported that it "had stayed relatively constant this September at 850-900 TH/s" in 2022, then fell to about 740 TH/s in the final hours before The Merge. With that range:
| Your hash rate | ETH per day (approx.) | Days to 1 ETH (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| 100 MH/s | 0.0014–0.0015 | 650–700 |
| 600 MH/s | 0.0087–0.0092 | 110–115 |
| 1,000 MH/s (1 GH/s) | 0.0144–0.0153 | 65–70 |
These figures are our own arithmetic from the numbers above. They leave out transaction tips, which also went to miners, and pool fees, which reduced payouts. Earlier in Ethereum's history the network hash rate was lower and block rewards were higher (EIP-1234 lowered the reward to 2 ETH), so the same hardware earned ETH faster in earlier years.
Block time was not your payout time
A new block arrived every few seconds, but a small solo miner rarely won one. With 100 MH/s against roughly 875 TH/s, you held about one ten-millionth of the network. You could go years without finding a block. Mining pools combined many miners' hash rates, won blocks regularly and split the rewards in proportion to each miner's hash rate. Pools usually charged "a flat % fee of each block generated by the pool" (ethereum.org). Pooling didn't raise expected earnings. It replaced rare large wins with small, steady payouts.
Why GPUs, not ASICs
Ethereum's only mining algorithm on Mainnet was Ethash. Ethash is memory-hard. It used a large dataset called the DAG, which changed every 30,000 blocks (about 5.2 days) and grew steadily over time. The design was meant to resist ASICs, chips built only for mining, so ordinary graphics cards stayed competitive. As the DAG grew, cards with too little memory could no longer mine.
What replaced mining: staking
Under proof-of-stake, validators replace miners. A validator locks ETH as collateral and runs software that proposes and attests to blocks. Time is divided into 12-second slots, and one validator is chosen to propose the block in each slot (ethereum.org).
Key facts from ethereum.org:
- Minimum and maximum stake: a validator needs at least 32 ETH. Since the Pectra upgrade activated on 7 May 2025, a validator can hold up to 2,048 ETH (EIP-7251). Before that, 32 ETH was also the maximum.
- Reward rate: ethereum.org listed a current APR of 2.5% when we checked in October 2026. The rate changes with how much ETH is staked and how busy the network is.
- Penalties: a validator that goes offline gets small inactivity penalties. Malicious behaviour, such as signing two conflicting blocks, leads to slashing: "part of the validator's stake is destroyed" and the validator is removed from the network.
Three ways to stake
Home staking. You run an execution client and a consensus client on a dedicated machine and deposit at least 32 ETH. ethereum.org suggests "a 4 TB NVMe SSD, 64 GB of RAM" as a rough guide. The Staking Launchpad walks you through choosing clients, generating keys and making the deposit. ethereum.org expects solo validators to rehearse on the Hoodi testnet before risking funds.
Pooled staking. "Most staking pools let you stake virtually any amount of ETH." Pooling is "not natively supported within the protocol", so each pool puts an intermediary between you and the network. The protocol pays rewards to the pool's validators, not to you directly.
Liquid staking. You receive a token, "an ERC-20 token that represents a claim on staked ETH and the rewards it earns." You can hold it, transfer it or use it in DeFi while the ETH underneath stays staked. The risks: "your ETH is held by contracts that could contain bugs or be exploited." With an opaque product, if the provider fails or freezes withdrawals, "there is nothing onchain for you to redeem."
How long would 1 ETH have taken you?
Enter a hash rate and a pre-Merge network hash rate to see roughly how many days 1 ETH took before mining ended on 15 September 2022.
| Your mining hash rate | Network hash rate before The Merge | Approximate days to earn 1 ETH |
|---|---|---|
| 100 MH/s | 875 TH/s | 673 days |
| 100 MH/s | 900 TH/s | 692 days |
| 600 MH/s | 850 TH/s | 109 days |
| 1,000 MH/s | 740 TH/s | 57 days |
- The formula uses ethereum.org's figure of about 13,000 ETH issued to miners per day before The Merge.
- The network hash rate range comes from a single report (The Block, September 2022); your share of blocks equals your share of that total.
- The result is an expected average: a small solo miner could go years without finding a block, while pools gave smaller, steadier payouts.
This only rebuilds pre-Merge arithmetic: Ethereum cannot be mined today, and the result leaves out transaction tips, pool fees, electricity and hardware costs.
Can you still mine with an old Ethereum GPU?
Ethereum Classic (ETC) kept proof-of-work after it split from Ethereum in 2016. It uses Etchash, a modified Ethash defined in ECIP-1099. Etchash doubles the epoch length from 30,000 to 60,000 blocks, which halves the DAG's growth rate so 4 GB cards stay usable for longer. It activated at ETC block 11,700,000. Because the algorithm is so close to Ethash, hardware that mined ETH can mine ETC.
Whether that pays is a separate question. It depends on the ETC price, network difficulty, your hardware's efficiency and your electricity cost, and all of these change. Use a current mining calculator with your own power price before you spend money on hardware or electricity.
How to spot an Ethereum mining scam
Searches for "mine Ethereum" draw scams aimed at people who don't know mining has ended. Warning signs:
- Any claim to mine ETH. This has been impossible since 15 September 2022.
- A balance you can't withdraw without paying a fee. The US Federal Trade Commission warns that with fake investment platforms you may be unable to withdraw "or only if you pay high fees."
- Guaranteed returns. The FTC's rule: "Only scammers will guarantee profits or big returns."
- Phone "mining" apps. A phone has no way to produce Ethereum blocks, because the network doesn't accept proof-of-work.
- Requests for your seed phrase. No legitimate staking service or wallet will ask for it.
FAQ
How long does it take to mine 1 Ethereum?
It can't be done today. Mining ended on 15 September 2022. In the weeks before that, 100 MH/s earned 1 ETH in roughly 650 to 700 days, by our arithmetic from ethereum.org issuance figures and the network hash rate reported by The Block.
Can you mine Ethereum in 2026?
No. Ethereum has used proof-of-stake since The Merge. New ETH goes to validators, not miners.
What is the closest thing to mining ETH now?
Staking. A validator needs at least 32 ETH. Pools and liquid staking accept smaller amounts but add counterparty or smart contract risk.
What can I mine with my old Ethereum GPU?
Ethereum Classic uses Etchash, a close variant of Ethash, so former ETH hardware works. Check whether it would make money at your electricity price before you start.
Limitations: the pre-Merge hash rate figures come from one report (The Block, September 2022), and the payout times are estimates that leave out transaction tips and pool fees.
