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> I wonder how profitable mining Bitcoin is these days at any scale. They have calculators for this [0]. The summary is that assuming mining difficulty, electr
by htag 4y ago
> I wonder how profitable mining Bitcoin is these days at any scale.
They have calculators for this [0]. The summary is that assuming mining difficulty, electricity rate, and bitcoin value hold constant it's a 10+ year return on the most energy efficient miners, so you're probably better off buying bonds. If you don't have access to very cheap electricity ($0.06/kwh or cheaper) and don't have an efficient way of handling waste heat then it's a non-starter. Even then the price of bitcoin and the mining difficulty are likely to move considerably in 10 years so it's a very risky business plan.
[0] https://www.coinwarz.com/mining/bitcoin/calculator?hs=80 https://www.coinwarz.com/mining/bitcoin/calculator?hs=80
- MuffinFlavored 4y agoI was aware of the calculators but I was more interested for example like what does one large mining operation (one large enough that when it goes offline during a blizzard, it's a mention-worthy part of that 40% hash rate drop figure) look like in terms of the calculator variables? How many of what piece of equipment do they have, are they getting electricity for $0.06/kwh or less like you said, how are they handling the waste heat? I wasn't aware we had huge mining farms in America to be honest. I thought it was mainly other countries. I'm also not super knowledgeable/in the know about this kind of stuff so, might just be accidental ignorance on my part.
- htag 4y ago1. USA has pretty cheap electricity globally. I'm not surprised to see lots of mining here. 2. The blizzard probably took multiple mining operations offline. Large parts of the US are experiencing very cold conditions. 3. Maybe Rockland, TX has the most PR about currently operating large miners in the US. I think they have a contract for ~$0.03/kwh and purchase hundreds of megawatts [0]. It's tens of thousands of miners. [0] https://www.wired.com/story/hard-luck-texas-town-bet-bitcoin-lost/ https://www.wired.com/story/hard-luck-texas-town-bet-bitcoin...
- MuffinFlavored 4y agoHow much money does one of these operations roughly make and what was the startup cost?
- JumpCrisscross 4y ago> How much money does one of these operations roughly make and what was the startup cost? Riot Blockchain (RIOT) [1], Marathon Digital (MARA), HIVE Blockchain Technologies (HUBTF) and Hut 8 Mining Corp (HUTMF) have public financials [2]. [1] https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1167419/000107997321000221/riot10k1220.htm https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1167419/000107997321... [2] https://marketrealist.com/p/publicly-traded-bitcoin-mining-companies/ https://marketrealist.com/p/publicly-traded-bitcoin-mining-c...
- fbdab103 4y agoFascinating find. Not a financials guy, but my quick look at the RIOT filing says they are operating at a loss for the 2020 year. Bitcoin price has seen a significant drop since then, which would compound their losses.