Ethereum has captivated the world as one of the most popular and widely-used cryptocurrencies. Underpinning Ethereum is a global decentralized computing network, executing "smart contracts" that enable developers to build and deploy decentralized applications (dApps).
But what enables this computing network to function is cryptocurrency mining. By lending computing power to validate and secure transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, miners are rewarded with newly minted Ether (ETH) – the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network.
So how profitable is mining Ethereum? And more specifically, how long does it take for your computing hardware to mine 1 ETH? As with most aspects of cryptocurrency mining, there is no single straight-forward answer, as mining profitability depends on many variables.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Ethereum mining times, including:
- Background on how Ethereum mining works
- Factors that affect mining times and profitability
- Estimated times to mine 1 ETH based on different hardware
- Historical data on how increased network difficulty has slowed mining times
- How Ethereum mining compares to Bitcoin mining
- Tips for optimizing your Ethereum mining efficiency
- Profitability of Ethereum mining over time
- The future of Ethereum mining heading into the Proof-of-Stake merge
So let’s get started!
How Does Ethereum Mining Work?
In order to fully understand what impacts Ethereum mining times, you first need to understand what the mining process entails in the Ethereum network.
Ethereum, like Bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies, runs on a blockchain. This is essentially a decentralized digital ledger that records transactions in a secure, transparent and immutable way across a peer-to-peer network of computers.
Groups of pending transactions on Ethereum are gathered into “blocks” by special network nodes called miners. In a process known as mining, these miners compete with each other to be the first to assemble a block of transactions and solve a complex cryptographic puzzle.
Solving this puzzle is extremely resource intensive, requiring advanced computing hardware and electricity to power it. But the first miner to solve the puzzle for each block is rewarded with 2 freshly minted Ether coins for their efforts. They also get to add the confirmed block of transactions to the Ethereum blockchain.
This entire process repeats itself approximately every 14 seconds, 2,000 times per day, as thousands of miners race to assemble and confirm the next block of Ethereum transactions.
Ethereum mining is a race between global miners competing to validate the next block of transactions
What Impacts Ethereum Mining Speeds?
There are two key defining factors that determine how long it takes any given Ethereum miner to discover and validate a new block:
1. Hash Rate – This represents the rate at which a miner’s computer can make mining calculations. It is measured in hashes per second. The higher the hash rate, the greater the chance at finding the next block first.
2. Network Difficulty – This metric automatically adjusts every 2 weeks to maintain an average time of 14 seconds between each mined Ethereum block. If network hash rate goes up, difficulty increases making blocks harder to mine.
By dividing your hash rate performance by the current network difficulty, you get your estimated rate of block discoveries over time. For Ethereum, the average block time is 14 seconds.
Optimizing these two factors is key to maximizing mining productivity and reducing the average time to mine each Ether coin.
Estimated Time to Mine 1 ETH Based on Hash Rate
So given how mining economics work in the Ethereum network, how can you estimate the time needed to mine a single Ether coin based on your hash rate capacity?
Thanks to the consistent 14 second block time target, combined with the fixed 2 ETH block reward, we can easily calculate mining projections:
- At 100 MH/s hash rate → You could mine 1 ETH about once every 5.5 days
- At 500 MH/s hash rate → You could mine 1 ETH about once every 1.1 days
- At 1,000 MH/s hash rate → You could mine 1 ETH about once every 15 hours
To put these hash rates into perspective, here’s how much hash power you’d need from different hardware configurations to reach each level:
- 100 MH/s: 2x NVIDIA RTX 2070 GPUs
- 500 MH/s: 6x NVIDIA RTX 2070 GPUs
- 1,000 MH/s: 4x AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT GPUs
As you can see, a higher hash rate directly translates into faster Ethereum mining and higher profits. But to achieve higher hashrates requires investing into more powerful (and more energy draining) computer hardware.
More advanced miners use dedicated ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) miners which are specifically designed just for cryptocurrency mining and beat GPUs on efficiency. An Antminer E9 Ethereum miner, for example, can achieve 2 GH/s+ hash rates!
Historical Data on Ethereum Mining Times
But over the history of Ethereum, mining 1 ETH has gotten harder and more time intensive. That’s because the Ethereum network difficulty adjustment ensures blocks are found by miners every 14 seconds on average.
As more miners have connected to the network, hash rate has increased. So difficulty has steadily risen to compensate and maintain the 14 second block time target.
Here’s how long it would have taken to mine 1 Ethereum based on difficulty levels over the years:
- In 2015, 1 ETH took approximately 15 minutes to mine
- In 2018, 1 ETH took approximately 4 hours to mine
- In 2021, 1 ETH took approximately 1 day to mine
- Now in 2023, 1 ETH takes approximately 1.5 days to mine
Data Source: BitInfoCharts
This order of magnitude increase shows the “mining arms race” that has unfolded as more miners compete over block rewards.
While rising value of Ethereum has helped offset increasing difficulty, it shows that mining payouts must be considered over long time horizons. It also highlights the need to continually reinvest mining profits into upgraded hardware to stay profitable.
Which brings us to additional factors that significantly impact Ethereum mining times beyond raw hash rates…
Other Factors Impacting Ethereum Mining Times
While hash rates and network difficulty form the foundation for estimating Ethereum mining times, real-world profits also depend heavily on these other variables:
Electricity Costs – All those high performance GPUs and ASIC miners drain a lot of power. Electricity makes up the bulk of ongoing costs for any mining operation. Anything that can reduce average energy costs per hash rate means faster effective mining times.
Mining Pools vs Solo Mining – Joining forces with other miners in a pool levels out the playing field. Mining pools coordinate many small miners into a single large hash rate competing equally with mega operations. This gives consistent payouts even if you personally don’t discover any blocks solo.
Hardware Energy Efficiency – When comparing two devices, energy efficiency is equally as important as hash rate. The most profitable miners have high hashes per watt of energy consumed. Maximizing efficiency minimizes overhead costs that cut into mining payouts.
Ethereum Price Volatility – While network difficulty aims for consistent 14 second block discovery times, the USD value of Ethereum fluctuates daily. 1 ETH could be worth $100 one month and $2000 a few months later! This volatility directly impacts real world reward value per unit time.
Proof-of-Stake Merge – We’ll cover more in the next section, but Ethereum is transitioning in 2023 from hardware mining (Proof-of-Work) to a staking model (Proof-of-Stake). This will completely change the passive income prospects from running an Ethereum node!
When evaluating the practical time and costs related to Ethereum mining, each of these must be factored together to determine real world profitability.
Comparing Ethereum Mining to Bitcoin Mining
Ethereum isn’t the only mineable cryptocurrency – Bitcoin mining remains highly popular using the same Proof-of-Work model. But there are key differences that impact profitability:
Ethereum aims for ~14 seconds between blocks. Bitcoin shoots for ~10 minutes between blocks. This faster rate helps equalize miners of all sizes.
Bitcoin hardware has largely moved to ASIC miners requiring huge capital investment. Ethereum still allows GPU mining which levels the playing field.
At current difficulties, mining 1 BTC takes ~10x longer than mining 1 ETH. But BTC trades for ~10x the value of ETH. It mostly balances out long term.
Bitcoin halves its mining reward every 4 years. Ethereum rewards remain consistent over time – though the PoS merge will drastically cut rewards.
There remain sufficient opportunities for smaller miners in both major cryptocurrencies. Ultimately both networks exhibit the same inverse relationship between mining speed and overall network hash rates. But Ethereum’s faster block cadence and GPU focus does make it comparatively more accessible and egalitarian.
Tips for Optimizing Ethereum Mining Efficiency
If you’re just getting into crypto mining, maximizing your hash rate per watt and lowering electricity spend are the most straightforward ways to improve mining efficiency.
Here are quick efficiency tips:
- Use GPU mining rigs – GPUs offer flexibility, upgradeability, and energy efficiency over ASICs for moderate size miners
- Join a mining pool – Shared efforts balance out block reward luck reducing volatility
- Compare electricity rates – Check rates from multiple providers and negotiate cheaper industrial/commercial plans
- Use solar or off-peak energy – Look into home solar installations or leverage night-time reduced cost grids
- Reduce per-GPU power – Underclock/undervolt GPU speeds until hash rate drops then incrementally increase
- Keep hardware cool – Open rigs in cool rooms, aim box fans at cards, improve ventilation, etc.
Following best practices for optimizing power, cooling, and running costs is critical to maximizing mining productivity.
The Economics of Mining Over Time
When estimating the practical timeline and costs related to mining 1 full Ether coin, you have to consider the large upfront and ongoing expenses involved:
- Hardware Costs – Top-end GPUs or ASIC miners can cost $1,000s to purchase upfront
- Energy Costs – GPU rigs easily draw 1kW+ under full load which adds up over months of mining
- Network Growth – More miners means difficulty rises so payouts take longer over time
- Price Volatility – Value of ETH vs USD introduces uncertainty in actual reward value
Running the numbers for a hypothetical mid-range Ethereum mining rig:
Hardware
- 6x RTX 3070 Ti GPUs = $9,000 upfront cost
- 8x GPU Rig = $2,000
Hash Rate = 720 MH/s
Daily Energy Use = 2.5 kWh x 24 hours = 60 kWh
At $0.15 per kWh → Daily Electricity Cost = $9
Current ETH Network Conditions
- Block Time = 14 seconds
- Block reward = 2 ETH
- Network Difficulty = 8.59P
Given the numbers above → You could mine 1 ETH in approximately 1.5 days
Ignoring increasing future difficulty, to pay off the $11,000 upfront hardware investment:
- It would take 250 days of mining to recoup equipment costs
- That’s ~375 ETH mined over those 250 days
While these numbers will fluctuate over time, it gives a sense for the sizable capital and ongoing energy costs involved in professional Ethereum mining operations.
The Future of Ethereum Mining
While Proof-of-Work Ethereum mining has proven a profitable endeavor for many over the past 7 years, major changes are on the horizon in late Q1 2023.
The Ethereum network is expected to complete its transition from PoW mining to a Proof-of-Stake validator model.
This will switch block confirmation from computational hashing power to staked ETH collateral putting an end to GPU mining of Ether coins. Existing ETH miners will need to shift gear to mining alternate GPU-mineable coins.
But the rise of new layer 2 scaling platforms built on Ethereum may offer new revenue streams:
- Validium chains like Boba Network that offer data availability mining
- ZK rollup chains like zkSync where you can run a priority fee auction validator node
For better or worse, the era of triple digit Ethereum mining rewards is rapidly coming to an end. While new opportunities are emerging for ETH stakers and layer 2 block validators, plain old mining is fading into the annals of cryptocurrency history.
So if you have been considering getting into Ethereum mining, be sure to make the most of the remaining few months!
Conclusion
Estimating mining times always depends on your specific hash rate, network growth, hardware efficiency and other variables. But over its lifespan, 1 ETH has gone from taking 15 minutes to now 1.5 days for an average miner to discover.
Yet despite surging difficulty and competition on the network, mining still offers economic upside for those who invest in quality hardware and optimize operations efficiently.
However, with the 2023 Proof-of-Stake merge looming, the days of direct Ether coin mining via Proof-of-Work are numbered. While new revenue streams may emerge around staking and validating layer 2 networks, the precarious profitability of old-fashioned hashing power is coming to an end.
But that doesn’t diminish the critical role Ethereum network miners have played for many years now. By lending their valuable GPU resources, miners worldwide have helped secure and scale Ethereum into the globe-spanning computing platform it is today.
