Case Study - Are Scrypt Miners better off getting paid in Bitcoin?
Scrypt ASICs, like the Antminer L9, VolcMiner D3, or ElphaPex DG2, mine Litecoin and Dogecoin. A critical question for any mining operation is: What is the most profitable currency to hodl those earnings in?
Should miners hodl LTC, DOGE, sell for USD, or convert everything to BTC?
The Analysis
We examined the earnings of an ElphaPex DG2 (18GH) over a three-year period (27 October 2022 to 6 October 2025) with an electricity cost of $0.07 kWh.
We compared four distinct strategies:
- Mine DOGE+LTC, exchange daily to Bitcoin and HODL.
- Mine DOGE+LTC, exchange daily to Dogecoin and HODL.
- Mine DOGE+LTC, exchange daily to Litecoin and HODL.
- Mine DOGE+LTC, exchange daily to USD and HODL.
The Results
The graph and data table clearly show a superior strategy. The yellow line (BTC Total (USD)) represents the accumulated value of converting daily earnings to Bitcoin, significantly outperforming all other options.
The X-axis represents time, and the Y-axis represents total accumulated earnings (converted to USD).
Scrypt Payrate data comes from this URL. Coin prices are sourced here. Check the public Spreadsheet data here.
Total Accumulated Earnings (Oct 2022 - Oct 2025):
| Earnings HODLed in... | Total Earnings (USD) |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $101,235 |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | $75,360 |
| Litecoin (LTC) | $44,572 |
| Fiat (USD) | $31,129 |
Key Findings
- BTC vs. Fiat: Holding earnings in Bitcoin yielded 225% higher returns than exchanging to fiat (USD).
- BTC vs. DOGE: The Bitcoin strategy resulted in 34% higher earnings than holding Dogecoin, the next best-performing asset.
The data is obvious: The most profitable action for a Scrypt miner was to convert daily earnings into Bitcoin.
The Problem with Traditional Scrypt Mining
This case study reveals the best strategy, but it also highlights a major inefficiency for miners. To achieve these top results in a traditional pool, a miner must:
- Mine DOGE+LTC.
- Receive payouts in DOGE+LTC.
- Send those coins to an exchange (pay transaction fee).
- Trade DOGE for BTC (pay exchange fee).
- Trade LTC for BTC (pay exchange fee).
- Withdraw BTC to a secure wallet (pay withdrawal fee).
This process is cumbersome, costly, and requires constant management.
The Solution: Get Paid in Bitcoin Directly
NiceHash fundamentally solves above problem for Scrypt miners.
NiceHash is a hashrate marketplace, not a traditional mining pool.
- Sellers (Miners): You connect your Scrypt ASIC to NiceHash just like any pool. You are selling your computing power (hashrate).
- Buyers: Individuals or operations buy your Scrypt hashrate to mine DOGE+LTC but have to use Bitcoin asa medium of exchange.
- The Exchange: The buyers pay sellers in Bitcoin for bought hashrate.
Because Bitcoin is the payment medium, Scrypt miners (sellers) get paid directly in Bitcoin for the hashrate they provide.
This means you get the best-performing asset (BTC) automatically, with payouts every 4 hours, without any need to exchange, pay trading fees, or manage multiple wallets. You simply mine, and you get paid in Bitcoin.
How the simplified process for a Scrypt miner on NiceHash looks like:
- Connect your Scrypt ASIC to NiceHash.
- Receive payouts directly in Bitcoin.
- Withdraw to cold storage (pay withdrawal fee)
You simply mine, and your wallet fills with Bitcoin.
Conclusion
The data proves that holding Bitcoin is the most profitable strategy for Scrypt miners. NiceHash is the most direct and efficient solution to achieve this, allowing miners to get paid in Bitcoin from the start.