What is AI Mining and How to Earn from it

In traditional Bitcoin mining, GPUs compute SHA-256 hashes — meaningless numbers whose only function is to prove that the miner spent energy. The output of these computations is needed only by the blockchain: Bitcoin users get neither data analysis, nor text, nor code from the hashes. All the energy is a payment for security, and nothing more.

AI mining flips this logic. GPUs process real requests to neural networks: generating text, analyzing data, writing code, translating documents, answering questions. Every computation creates real value for the end user — that's what people pay for. GPUs that used to compute useless hashes now serve an AI compute market worth over $150 billion.

The economics of AI mining are fundamentally different from crypto mining:

• Cost via Gonka: ~$0.0069 per million tokens
• Cost via OpenAI: $5—30 per million tokens (GPT-5.5)
• Difference: ~720x on input and ~1,400x on output — decentralized inference is many times cheaper

This gap creates a gigantic market for decentralized AI providers. Any company paying OpenAI for API access can switch to Gonka — the OpenAI-compatible API lets you do it in 5 minutes by simply changing the endpoint URL.

Several projects offer GPU earnings through AI compute, but their approaches and terms differ fundamentally:

Gonka — the most direct path: GPU → AI requests → GNK. The network's models are MiniMax M2.7, DeepSeek V4 Flash and GLM-5.3 Flash (MoE). 100% of rewards go to those who actually provide GPU, with no staking. $80M in investments from Coatue, Bitfury, Insight Partners. 584 GPUs in the network. Entry threshold: a pool from $100, a dedicated server from $12,000/mo, your own server with 320+ GB VRAM. The main advantage: the maximum share of rewards for GPU miners.

Bittensor — the largest AI crypto project with 126+ subnets, each solving its own AI task. Market cap $2+ billion, the TAO token trades on Coinbase and Binance. But the key problem: ~60% of rewards go to stakers (validators), not to compute providers. Competitive staking requires $1M+ in capital in TAO. This makes Bittensor a tool for large investors rather than for GPU miners.

io.net — a GPU aggregator without its own consensus. Essentially a marketplace: an intermediary between GPU owners and AI companies. No built-in compute verification. Income depends on demand for your specific GPU configuration.

Nosana — GPU inference on the Solana blockchain, focused on Llama models. The scale is still small compared to Gonka and Bittensor.

The profitability of AI mining depends on the project, GPU type, market conditions and the chosen path. Let's break down the options for Gonka:

• Pool (from $1): the simplest path. You invest money, the operator rents GPUs, sets up nodes and mines GNK for you. Ancapex — from $1, daily payouts. Gonka.Top assembles a pool in 2 weeks from $100, monthly payouts. CloudMine (Mingles) — contracts by "weight" from 50, payment in USDC on Base. Income: proportional to your contribution to the pool
• Dedicated server (from $12,000/mo): Gonka.Top provides a ready-made node with maintenance. All income in GNK is yours, minus the rental fee. The operator handles setup, monitoring and updates
• Your own host (requires an NVIDIA server with 320+ GB VRAM per ML node): maximum income — the entire reward goes to you with no commissions. But technical skills are required: Linux, Docker, inferenced CLI

Real income is tied to three variables: the GNK price (the higher it is, the more income in fiat terms), network load (the more AI requests, the more tasks for nodes) and the number of GPUs in the network (the more competition, the fewer tasks per node).

In Bittensor: the best subnets generate $10M+/year in total, but competitive participation requires a TAO stake of $1M+. For an ordinary GPU miner the entry threshold is too high.

Disclaimer: these are cryptocurrencies, income is not guaranteed. The GNK price can both rise and fall. Liquidity is still limited (OTC on SafeTrade). Invest only free funds you are prepared to lose. Nothing on this site is financial advice.

Four steps from zero to your first GNK:

Step 1: Try the AI for free (5 minutes). Our site has a built-in AI chat running through the Gonka network. It's free and requires no sign-up. Ask a question — and a real model on the network — MiniMax M2.7, DeepSeek V4 Flash, or GLM-5.3 Flash — will answer through the decentralized network. It's the best way to see that Gonka actually works before putting money in.

Step 2: Choose your path (10 minutes). Figure out how much you're ready to put in and what your technical level is:

• Pool (from $100): the operator does everything. Works for anyone, no technical skills needed. Time: 10 minutes to sign up
• Dedicated server (from $12,000/month): Gonka.Top sets up the node, you get GNK to your wallet. Time: 1—2 days to connect
• Your own host (needs an NVIDIA server with 320+ GB VRAM per ML node): maximum control and income. Requirements: Linux, Docker, inferenced CLI. Time: a few hours to set up. Instructions in the mining guide

Step 3: Set up a wallet (5 minutes). You need a wallet to receive GNK. The easiest is Karman from the joingonka team: it opens right in your browser, nothing to install, keys stay on your device. Alternatives: GG Wallet — an open-source Chrome extension, needed for delegating GNK to validators; Gonka.Wallet — a Telegram Mini App, handy on mobile. All support Gonka addresses and let you receive, store, and send GNK.

Step 4: Connect and earn. For a pool — just send funds to the operator. For a server — Gonka.Top gets you connected in 1—2 days. For your own host — install inferenced, load the model weights, register on-chain. From first look to your first GNK — 10 minutes (pool) to a few hours (own host).