rewrite this title Dogecoin and Litecoin Even More Profitable Than Bitcoin, Says Mining Firm – Decrypt

Bitcoin miner BIT Mining has said that minting the biggest virtual coin isn’t the only business cash cow right now: Dogecoin is proving to be an even bigger winner.

The publicly listed firm (NYSE: BTCM), based out of Akron, Ohio, announced Wednesday that mining Elon Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency—along with Litecoin, the 24th biggest digital asset—was far more profitable than just mining Bitcoin alone. 

Litecoin was launched as a faster, cheaper version of Bitcoin. Dogecoin was created as a joke but it’s now the seventh biggest digital coin by market cap—mostly thanks to Tesla CEO Musk’s shitposting.

The two cryptocurrencies can be mined simultaneously in a process called “merged mining,” delivering double rewards for network supporters. And for BIT Mining, it’s proven to be beneficial as BTC rewards were cut in half in April in a quadrennial process called the halving, making Bitcoin mining a less profitable enterprise.

“As other crypto miners look to diversify revenue streams in a post-halving environment, the company’s expansion into Litecoin and Dogecoin has proved to be nearly three times more profitable than mining Bitcoin alone,” BIT Mining said in a statement. 

It added that Dogecoin and Litecoin price surges are thanks to Musk’s endorsement of the cryptocurrency and President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to support the space. 

Musk, the world’s richest man, has repeatedly said on X (formerly known as Twitter) how much he likes Dogecoin, leading to past price surges. But the billionaire has admitted that he’s not actively involved in crypto, despite his comments.

BIT Mining said it had mined 84,485 Litecoin and 227,908,250 Dogecoin since it started its self-mining business in 2021—totals currently valued at $12.2 million and $100.2 million, respectively. In the crypto space, miners work to keep a network running and mint new coins, usually via industrial operations that use a lot of electricity.

CoinGecko shows that Dogecoin is currently trading for just under $0.44 per coin, a more than 8% rise in 24 hours; Litecoin is up by 16% and priced at $143. 

Bitcoin on Wednesday hit a new all-time high of $103,679, crossing the long-anticipated $100,000 mark after weeks of resistance. The coin is now priced at $101,368, after jumping more by nearly 7% in a day. 

Edited by Andrew Hayward