How To Mine Litecoin in 2025: 5 Steps to Follow
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Developed as a fork of Bitcoin in 2011, Litecoin quadruples Bitcoin’s transaction speed while also providing a supply four times as large as Bitcoin. The project’s goals centered on creating a more usable alternative cryptocurrency to Bitcoin. Much like Bitcoin, Litecoin uses proof-of-work mining to secure the network. In this guide, we’ll learn how to mine Litecoin to earn mining rewards and help secure the Litecoin network.
Mining Litcoin comes with some advantages over mining Bitcoin. While you’ll still need specialized equipment, the network hash rate is lower for Litecoin. This means you may have better odds of mining a block and earning a reward. Litecoin also supports merged mining with Dogecoin. This means you can earn mining rewards from two popular blockchains using your Litecoin mining hardware.
Let’s dig in and learn more about Litecoin mining profitability and what you’ll need to get started.
What is Litecoin?
Litecoin is a cryptocurrency created in 2011 as a fork of the Bitcoin code. Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer, launched the project using a modified version of Bitcoin’s open-source code. The project aims to address some of Bitcoin’s shortcomings regarding scalability.
Like Bitcoin, Litecoin remains open-source and has been forked to create new projects as well. One such fork, LuckyCoin, led to the development of Dogecoin, a leading cryptocurrency that can be mined alongside Litecoin.
Litecoin’s key distinctions versus Bitcoin center on supply and block times. Litecoin has a maximum supply of 84 million coins versus Bitcoin’s 21 million. Block times are also increased by a factor of four. The Litecoin network mines a new block once every 2.5 minutes, whereas Bitcoin creates a new block once every 10 minutes.
Since its launch, Litecoin has become a popular alternative to Bitcoin, bringing faster transaction finality and lower transaction costs. As of this writing, Litecoin remains a top-20 cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
How Does Litecoin Mining Work?
Similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum Classic, Litecoin uses proof-of-work (PoW) mining to secure transactions on its blockchain. Proof of work requires miners to find a qualifying cryptographic hash based on the pending transactions in the mempool and a nonce (number used only once). A worldwide network of miners compete to find the next block for the blockchain, with the winning miner or mining pool earning mining rewards when a new block of transactions is produced. These mining rewards are paid in litecoins.
Litecoin Blockchain
Much like other blockchains, the Litecoin blockchain is a series of data blocks, with each block holding transactions. A hash value (an encrypted value) of the prior block becomes part of the new block, creating a link between it and all following blocks.
To change a transaction in an already existing block would require re-mining all the following blocks — and doing so faster than the rest of the network can mine valid blocks. This structure makes the Litecoin network secure. Once a transaction is finalized, the likelihood that any transaction can be changed is extremely small due to the cost and hash power required to outrun the rest of the decentralized Litecoin network.
Scrypt Algorithm
In addition to having a larger maximum supply and faster block times compared to Bitcoin, Litecoin also uses a different hashing algorithm. Litecoin uses the Scrypt hashing algorithm, whereas Bitcoin uses SHA-256 to generate hashes. Scrypt requires less computational power to generate hashes, making Litecoin mining more accessible.
However, while it is still technically possible to mine Litecoin with a CPU or GPU, many miners have moved to application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rigs for their higher efficiency. With an ever-increasing hash rate due to ASIC miners, mining Litecoin and other Scrypt-based algorithms now require an ASIC miner to remain competitive.
The network hash rate affects the difficulty level of mining Litecoin. As hash rates increase, the mining difficulty automatically adjusts, requiring more hashes to find a block but maintaining an average 2.5-minute block time. For this reason, CPU mining and GPU mining are no longer practical for Litecoin miners other than hobbyists.
Block Rewards and Halving
At launch, Litecoin rewarded successful miners with 50 litecoins (LTC) per mined block. Like Bitcoin, Litecoin halves its block rewards at fixed intervals called halvings. For Litecoin, halvings occur every 840,000 blocks, or roughly every four years, given Litecoin’s 2.5-minute block times.
Litecoin block rewards pay 6.25 LTC for a mined block, which is estimated to halve again to 3.125 litecoins in July 2027. This slowing supply is expected to impact Litecoin’s price to the upside. However, LTC has also lagged behind BTC in price performance. Both cryptocurrencies use a four-year halving schedule, with Bitcoin being two years ahead, having launched in 2009.
It’s helpful to consider the future price direction of LTC when deciding whether to mine Litecoin or which Litecoin mining hardware to use.
How to Mine Litecoin in 5 Steps
Mining Litecoin first requires setting up a compatible crypto wallet, then choosing and setting up your hardware and software. Let’s look at each step in more detail.
1) Set up a Litecoin Wallet
A Litecoin wallet holds the private keys to access your mined litecoins on the blockchain. As you earn mining rewards, you’ll have these rewards sent to your wallet address.
The Electrum Litecoin wallet offers a trusted cross-platform option for managing and storing your mined LTC. Electrum supports Ledger hardware wallets for added security and also provides excellent UTXO (unspent transaction output) management.
To get started, follow the instructions in the guided setup. Be sure to write down your seed phrase and store it safely so that you can recover your wallet if needed.
Of note, if you’re also mining Dogecoin through merged mining, you may also need to set up a Dogecoin wallet. Some mining pools that support merge mining for both Litecoin and Dogecoin pay separate rewards for each.
2) Choose and Setup Litecoin Mining Hardware
Any modern Windows or Linux PC should be sufficient to run Litecoin mining software. So, let’s look at additional hardware requirements.
While it’s possible to generate hashes using just a CPU or a graphics card, these methods are much less efficient and may result in spending more than you earn. Using a lower efficiency method for mining can make you much more reliant on Litecoin price increases to become profitable. Without an efficient miner, you may be HODLing longer than expected, waiting for LTC prices to reach a profitable level.
You’ll also want to consider each unit’s power requirements. Some ASICs may require upgraded wiring, additional cooling, or noise remediation.
Here are some common Dogecoin and Litecoin mining hardware choices. Profitability estimates are based on electricity costs of $0.12 per KWh. Asicminersvalue.com provides a detailed overview of popular mining rigs and expected profitability.
Bitmain Antminer L9 (17.6Gh)
- Hash Rate: 17.6Gh/s
- Power Consumption: 3260W
- Efficiency: 0.185j/Mh
- Supported cryptocurrencies: DOGE, LTC
Bitmain Antminer L7 (9.5Gh)
- Hash Rate: 9.5Gh/s
- Power Consumption: 3425W
- Efficiency: 0.361j/Mh
- Supported cryptocurrencies: DOGE, LTC
Goldshell Mini-DOGE Pro
- Hash Rate: 205Mh/s
- Power Consumption: 220W
- Efficiency: 1.073j/Mh
- Supported cryptocurrencies: DOGE, LTC
At the lower end of the price range, you find Litecoin miners with marginal profitability, like the Goldshell Mini-DOGE Pro. If your electricity costs are lower than $0.12 per KWh or you’re willing to hold for price appreciation in the LTC/DOGE markets, these types of ASICs can provide an affordable entry point.
Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) provide another option for mining Litecoin, with better efficiency compared to GPU mining and typically at a lower cost than ASICs.
3) Join a Litecoin Mining Pool
In the early days of Litecoin mining, you could solo mine with a PC. However, as the worldwide Litecoin network grows, hash rates continue to climb higher, which makes finding a block through solo mining extremely difficult. As a practical alternative, solo miners can join a mining pool.
Litecoin mining pools aggregate the mining power of the entire pool and pay mining rewards proportional to your individual hash rate. This structure allows you to earn mining rewards more consistently. However, it does not guarantee profitability. The mining pool itself charges a fee for managing the pool.
Study the fees and payout structure for each pool as well as whether the pool supports merged mining. In many cases, you can mine Litecoin, Dogecoin, and perhaps several other Scrypt-based coins simultaneously to generate additional revenue at no extra cost.
Types of Mining Pools
Various pools use differing payout methods, which can affect your cash flow and profitability. The major types of pools are highlighted below.
- PPS: Pay-per-share pools are the simplest to understand. These pools pay a flat amount for each valid share sent to the pool from your miner.
- PPLNS: Pay-Per-Last-N-Shares pools focus rewards on both shares and time periods, favoring miners who contributed during the period immediately preceding a mined block by the pool.
- PPS+: Pay Per Share + uses PPS to settle share rewards but settles the pool service charge based on recent activity prior to mining a block.
- FPPS: With Full Pay Per Share, both the block reward and pool service charge are based on projections rather than actual mined blocks.
PPS and FPPS are considered safer options as they provide mining revenue before a block is mined. However, PPLNS offers the highest payouts for productive miners who are active prior to mining a new block.
4) Download and Install Litecoin Mining Software
You’ll need mining software to connect to a pool or solo mine Litcoin. Many software options are free to use. However, some may also take a percentage of your mining hash power as an ongoing fee.
We highlight some popular choices below.
- CGMiner: With support for FPGA and ASIC mining (and no fees), CGMiner has become a popular choice for Litecoin mining.
- EasyMiner: The EasyMiner app is an open-source solution for Litecoin CPU/GPU mining as well as Dogecoin or Bitcoin mining.
- BFGMiner: The BGFMiner app supports CPU, GPU, ASIC, and FPGA mining, making it one of the most versatile Litecoin mining apps.
- MultiMiner: The cross-platform MultiMiner provides Litecoin mining support for Windows, Mac, and Linux and allows you to mine either Bitcoin or Litecoin.
When choosing Litecoin mining software, check compatibility with your hardware, including any specialized hardware you want to use, such as ASICs or FPGAs. Also, be aware that Windows or Mac OS may flag mining software as a virus. Download from a reputable source and configure your firewall and virus protection to allow the application.
5) Start Mining
Once you have your hardware configured, software downloaded, and pool selected. It’s time to start mining. Follow the instructions provided by the pool you’ve selected to point your miner at the pool. You’ll need to provide a wallet address, and it’s best to name each “worker” in your mining farm to track efficiency if you’ll be using more than one miner.
Once configured, you’ll be able to see your miner sending shares to the pool or any error messages that may require attention. Liteelcoin mining pools allow you to monitor progress remotely so you can see if your miner is online and hashing effectively.
The Pros and Cons of Mining Litecoin
Mining Litecoin brings one unique advantage in that you can simultaneously mine Dogecoin, which is a more popular cryptocurrency. However, mining Litecoin comes with some challenges as well.
The Advantages of Mining Litecoin
Many miners take up Litecoin mining to help secure the cryptocurrency network they’re already using. Of course, the crypto passive income paid in LTC mining rewards helps make the case.
- Support the Litecoin network: PoW networks like Litecoin need a decentralized mining community to remain viable. Mining helps secure the network, and pools help allocate hash power so that mining companies don’t control the blockchain.
- Earn passive crypto income: Mining provides passive income. Once your rig is configured, your work is largely limited to checking efficiency, occasional software updates, and collecting your earnings.
- Mine multiple cryptocurrencies: Through AuxPoW, you can mine Dogecoin and Litecoin simultaneously. Several other Scrypt-based protocols also support merged mining. However, not all pools support these smaller blockchains. Merged mining for Litecoin and Dogecoin is well supported.
The Drawbacks of Mining Litecoin
Litecoin mining comes with its challenges as well. Getting set up isn’t always intuitive if you’re not technically inclined. In addition, the upfront costs of mining hardware can push your profitability timeline out further.
- Complicated setup: Many mining apps are command-line text apps. Make extensive use of the help pages to be sure you configure your rig correctly.
- CPU and GPU mining efficiency: As the Litecoin hash rate increases, so does mining difficulty. This makes CPU and GPU mining a money-losing proposition unless you expect a massive price increase for LTC/DOGE. Expect to invest in a specialized ASIC or FPGA to mine profitably.
- High energy consumption: A high-end mining rig can cost $10 per day in electricity costs. This ongoing expense can make Litecoin mining less viable unless you can carry the cost burden until you can sell your mining rewards at a profit.
- ASICs may require additional electrical upgrades: High-end ASICs won’t run on a standard wall outlet. If you plan to mine at scale, expect to invest in electrical upgrades that allow you to mine Litecoin safely.
Is Litecoin Mining Profitable in 2025?
Solo mining is unlikely to be profitable. While it’s possible that you mine a block as soon as you start mining, the odds don’t favor it. Pool mining offers better odds. However, three main factors affect your profitability (or lack thereof).
- Hash rate: Higher hash rates allow you to create more shares with pools, earning more rewards, depending on the pool structure.
- Electricity costs: If you live in an area where electricity costs are low, you can make a profit much more easily.
- Crypto market prices: Crypto prices are volatile. However, Litecoin’s price has been comparatively stable compared to Bitcoin. If you’re counting on price appreciation to make an unprofitable miner profitable, base your decision on realistic price projections.
High-end ASIC miners can generate close to $30 per day in profit. However, lower-end units may generate a loss, leaving your profit in the hands of the market. You might have to HODL to see a profit from your Litecoin mining efforts.
Conclusion
Litecoin mining can be rewarding and — given the right conditions — profitable. Dogecoin supports merged mining with Litecoin, allowing you to earn additional mining rewards with one miner. Litecoin mining may require a significant investment, however, so it’s important to weigh the costs versus the profit opportunities before getting started. Cautions aside, many miners start their mining journey simply to support the cryptocurrency network they already use, and you can get started with a basic mining rig for under $1,000.
FAQs
How long does it take to mine one Litecoin?
Currently, the Litecoin network creates 3.125 new Litecoins with each newly mined block. This occurs once every 2.5 minutes on average. However, when mining Litecoin, the time to mine one Litecoin varies depending on the hash rate. More powerful ASIC miners can mine a Litecoin in less than a week.
Is it possible to mine Litecoin at home?
Yes. ASIC-powered miners and FPGA miners are both popular ways to mine Litecoin at home. Most home miners join a mining pool to get more predictable mining rewards.
Is mining Litecoin worth it?
Mining Litecoin can be worthwhile if you have low electricity costs and have invested in specialized mining equipment. CPU and GPU mining are unlikely to turn a profit unless you can hold your mined coins for future price appreciation.
Is Litecoin the easiest crypto to mine?
No. CPU-mineable cryptocurrencies like Monero and Nexa offer a much simpler setup and don’t require any special hardware.
References
- Litecoin Creator Charlie Lee on Company Evolution (finance.yahoo.com)
- Litecoin Completes Third-Ever Block Reward Halving (finance.yahoo.com)
- AuxPoW or “Merged Mining” With Other Scrypt-based Proof of Work Cryptocurrencies (dogecoin.com)







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