Coinranking
Proof-of-work coins
110 coins #6 Page 3| | Coins | | | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | |||||
| | 101 |  SafeMineCoin SMCN | $ | --%  | |
| | 102 |  RavenCash RVH | $ | --%  | |
| | 103 |  Grin GRIN | $ | --%  | |
| | 104 |  PVC Crypto PVCC | $ | --%  | |
| | 105 |  R5 Network R5 | $ | --%  | |
| | 106 |  CPUchain CPU | $ | --%  | |
| | 107 |  Archethic UCO | $ | --%  | |
| | 108 |  Luxchain LUX | $ | --%  | |
| | 109 |  Aegisum AEGS | $ | --%  | |
| | 110 |  PluraCoin PLURA | $ | --%  | |
Trending Proof-of-work coins
| Coins | Price | 24h | |
|---|---|---|---|
| |  Nervos Network CKB | $ | -6.17%  |
| |  BELDEX BDX | $ | +1.72%  |
| |  Decred DCR | $ | -4.15%  |
| |  Horizen ZEN | $ | -2.94%  |
| |  Dash DASH | $ | -1.58%  |
Top gainers
| Coins | | | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |  BEAM BEAM | $ | +3.75%  | ||
| | BELDEX BDX | $ | +1.72% | ||
| |  Quai Network QUAI | $ | +0.90%  | ||
| |  Monero XMR | $ | +0.42%  | ||
| |  DigiByte DGB | $ | -0.35%  | ||
| 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.