Coinranking
Proof-of-work coins
110 coins #6| | Coins | | | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | |||||
| | 1 |  Hathor HTR | $ | -7.60%  | |
| | 2 |  BEAM BEAM | $ | -2.70%  | |
| | 3 |  Quai Network QUAI | $ | +5.34%  | |
| | 4 |  Syscoin SYS | $ | -5.71%  | |
| | 5 |  Firo FIRO | $ | -6.86%  | |
| | 6 |  ERGO ERG | $ | -1.66%  | |
| | 7 |  Flux FLUX | $ | -4.60%  | |
| | 8 |  EthereumPoW ETHW | $ | -5.26%  | |
| | 9 |  Siacoin SC | $ | -2.87%  | |
| | 10 |  DigiByte DGB | $ | -3.54%  | |
| | 11 |  Ravencoin RVN | $ | -3.33%  | |
| | 12 |  Nervos Network CKB | $ | -3.21%  | |
| | 13 |  Horizen ZEN | $ | -4.31%  | |
| | 14 |  Decred DCR | $ | -5.58%  | |
| | 15 |  Conflux Network CFX | $ | -0.68%  | |
| | 16 |  Dash DASH | $ | -6.44%  | |
| | 17 |  BELDEX BDX | $ | -0.71%  | |
| | 18 |  Kaspa KAS | $ | -3.02%  | |
| | 19 |  Ethereum Classic ETC | $ | -2.82%  | |
| | 20 |  Litecoin LTC | $ | -3.07%  | |
| | 21 |  Zcash ZEC | $ | -7.48%  | |
| | 22 |  Monero XMR | $ | -1.79%  | |
| | 23 |  Bitcoin Cash BCH | $ | -2.00%  | |
| | 24 |  Dogecoin DOGE | $ | -3.50%  | |
| | 25 |  Bitcoin BTC | $ | -1.77%  | |
| The coins below are ranked lower due to missing data. Learn more | |||||
| | 26 |  BitcoinZ BTCZ | $ | +0.73%  | |
| | 27 |  ZClassic ZCL | $ | -11.48%  | |
| | 28 |  Vertcoin VTC | $ | -7.34%  | |
| | 29 |  Komodo KMD | $ | +0.40%  | |
| | 30 |  Bitcoin Diamond BCD | $ | -6.68%  | |
| | 31 |  CounterParty XCP | $ | -1.62%  | |
| | 32 |  MonaCoin MONA | $ | -1.92%  | |
| | 33 |  Groestlcoin GRS | $ | +2.97%  | |
| | 34 |  Namecoin NMC | $ | +0.72%  | |
| | 35 |  Quantum Resistant Ledger QRL | $ | -1.05%  | |
| | 36 |  wownero WOW | $ | --%  | |
| | 37 |  Swap XWP | $ | --%  | |
| | 38 |  Iridium IRD | $ | --%  | |
| | 39 |  Enecuum ENQ | $ | --%  | |
| | 40 |  Citadel CTL | $ | --%  | |
| | 41 |  BolivarCoin BOLI | $ | --%  | |
| | 42 |  Wood Coin LOG | $ | --%  | |
| | 43 |  Karbo KRB | $ | --%  | |
| | 44 |  Lethean LTHN | $ | --%  | |
| | 45 |  QuarkCoin QRK | $ | --%  | |
| | 46 |  NewYorkCoin NYC | $ | --%  | |
| | 47 |  Anoncoin ANC | $ | --%  | |
| | 48 |  PotCoin POT | $ | --%  | |
| | 49 |  MyriadCoin XMY | $ | --%  | |
| | 50 |  Bismuth BIS | $ | --%  | |
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Trending Proof-of-work coins
| Coins | Price | 24h | |
|---|---|---|---|
| | Zcash ZEC | $ | -7.48% |
| | Dash DASH | $ | -6.44% |
| | Monero XMR | $ | -1.79% |
| | Bitcoin BTC | $ | -1.77% |
| | Bitcoin Cash BCH | $ | -2.00% |
Top gainers
| Coins | | | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Quai Network QUAI | $ | +5.34% | ||
| | Conflux Network CFX | $ | -0.68% | ||
| | BELDEX BDX | $ | -0.71% | ||
| | ERGO ERG | $ | -1.66% | ||
| | Bitcoin BTC | $ | -1.77% | ||
| All gainers | |||||
What is a proof-of-work coin?
A proof-of-work (PoW) coin is a cryptocurrency that uses the proof-of-work consensus mechanism to validate transactions and add new blocks to its blockchain.
Miners compete to solve complex cryptographic puzzles; the first to find the solution broadcasts the new block, earns the block reward, and secures the network.
This process is intentionally energy-intensive and creates the “work” that makes rewriting history expensive.
How PoW Works (Step-by-Step)
- Transactions broadcast – users send coins; nodes collect them into a mempool.
- Hash puzzle – miners race to find a nonce that produces a hash below the current difficulty target.
- Winner broadcasts – the successful miner submits the new block; others verify the hash.
- Consensus & reward – once accepted, the miner receives newly minted coins + transaction fees.
- Difficulty adjustment – the network retargets puzzle hardness to keep block time stable (e.g., 10 min for Bitcoin).
Key Properties
- Energy-intensive – Bitcoin alone uses ~150 TWh/year; criticism from environmental groups.
- High security – 51% attack requires controlling >half of global hash power → expensive & detectable.
- Decentralized minting – anyone with ASICs/GPUs can participate; no pre-mine or stake needed.
- Fixed supply schedule – block rewards halve at set intervals (Bitcoin every 210,000 blocks).
PoW vs PoS (Snapshot)
| Metric | Proof-of-Work | Proof-of-Stake |
|---|---|---|
| Energy use | Very high (ASIC farms) | Minimal (validators stake coins) |
| Entry barrier | Hardware + electricity | Capital (must buy & lock coins) |
| Attack cost | Hash power + electricity | 51% of staked coins |
| Finality time | ~10–60 min (BTC, LTC) | ~2–15 min (ETH, ADA) |
| Environmental tag | “Dirty” | “Green” |
Major PoW Coins
| Coin | Launch | Hash Algo | Block Time | Emission Curve |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTC | 2009 | SHA-256 | 10 min | Halves every 4 yrs |
| LTC | 2011 | Scrypt | 2.5 min | Halves every 4 yrs |
| DOGE | 2013 | Scrypt (merge-mined) | 1 min | 10k DOGE per block (infinite) |
| ETC | 2016 | Ethash | 13 sec | Halves every 5 yrs |
| XMR | 2014 | RandomX | 2 min | Tail emission (0.6 XMR/block) |
Benefits of PoW
- Battle-tested security – 14 years of Bitcoin uptime; no successful 51% attack on BTC.
- Fair launch – minting open to anyone with hardware; no ICO or pre-mine required.
- Energy = security – electricity spent = real-world cost to rewrite history.
- Supply predictability – halving cycles create transparent scarcity narrative.
Limitations / Criticisms
- Environmental impact – Bitcoin uses ~0.6% of global electricity; ESG pressure on miners.
- Scalability bottleneck – 7 TPS (BTC) vs 24,000 TPS (Visa); needs Layer-2 (Lightning, rollups).
- Hardware arms race – ASIC monopoly pushes mining into data-center farms → centralisation risk.
- Regulatory scrutiny – some jurisdictions ban PoW mining or tax energy heavily.
Final Thoughts
Proof-of-work remains the most battle-tested consensus mechanism, powering the top two cryptocurrencies by market cap and hashrate. While energy use and scalability concerns push newer chains toward proof-of-stake, PoW coins still offer unmatched security and a predictable monetary policy. Treat them as “digital commodities” with real-world energy backing—and keep an eye on Layer-2 solutions for scalability fixes.