> Essentially if you are newly investing in Bitcoin now, you need to believe that (a) ... or (b) Bitcoin will increase in value so much that even a small number

> Essentially if you are newly investing in Bitcoin now, you need to believe that (a) ... or (b) Bitcoin will increase in value so much that even a small number of Bitcoins will be very valuable. If you can't mine profitably, yet believe that the value of a bitcoin will increase, then you're better off just paying money directly for bitcoins rather than inefficiently mining them.