Bitcoin Mining: A Cost-to-Profit Breakdown – Is It Still Worth It?

After Donald Trump, widely regarded as the “most crypto-friendly supporter,” was officially elected as the President of the United States, Bitcoin experienced a strong upward trend starting in November last year. It successfully broke through the $100,000 mark, briefly approaching $110,000. However, after entering 2025, Bitcoin failed to maintain its upward momentum and instead began to decline, now fluctuating around $80,000. At the same time, Bitcoin mining difficulty has continued to rise. This has led many to ask: Is Bitcoin mining still profitable in 2025?

Under the current market conditions, is Bitcoin mining still a viable option? This article will analyze this question in detail from multiple perspectives, including mining costs, revenue structure, and key market factors.

Main Costs of Bitcoin Mining

From an investor's perspective, Bitcoin mining costs can be divided into two categories: fixed costs (equipment investment) and operational costs (electricity, mining pool fees, and other maintenance expenses).

01 Equipment Investment Cost

As competition among miners intensifies, traditional mining methods using personal computers or GPUs have become obsolete. Today, owning an ASIC Miner is the essential "ticket" to entering the mining industry. The mainstream mining rigs include:

• SEALMINER A2 Hydro (~$6,690; 446 TH/s)
• WhatsMiner M66S+ (~$6,232; 318 TH/s)
• Antminer S21 XP (~$5,802; 270 TH/s)
• Avalon Miner A15Pro (~$4,534; 218 TH/s)

* The above hashrate and pricing data are sourced from official mining equipment manufacturers.

The price of mining rigs is highly influenced by market supply and demand. When Bitcoin’s price rises, mining rig prices often increase accordingly. Additionally, it is important to consider the lifespan of mining rigs, which typically ranges from 3 to 5 years, making long-term depreciation costs a key factor.

02 Electricity Cost

Electricity is the largest operational cost in Bitcoin mining, and electricity prices vary significantly across different regions. Historical market data shows that the cost difference between low-electricity and high-electricity regions can be more than tenfold.

• Low electricity cost regions: $0.01 - $0.05/kWh (Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, etc.)
• Medium electricity cost regions: $0.06 - $0.08/kWh (Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, etc.)
• High electricity cost regions: $0.08/kWh+ (Japan, Europe, etc.)

This data is based on GlobalPetrolPrices' commercial electricity rates as of June 2024.

The power consumption of mining rigs is a crucial factor in determining electricity costs. For instance, the Antminer S21 XP consumes 3,645 W, which, at an electricity rate of $0.05/kWh, results in a daily electricity cost of approximately $4.37.

03 Other Operational Costs

• Mining farm leasing: Building a mining facility requires infrastructure investment, while hosting services incur management fees.
• Maintenance & Cooling: High-temperature environments require additional cooling solutions such as oil or water cooling, increasing operational costs.
• Mining pool fees: Most mining pools charge fees ranging from 1% to 4%.

Bitcoin Mining Revenue Structure

Bitcoin mining revenue mainly comes from two sources:

1. Block Rewards: The current Bitcoin block reward is 3.125 BTC per block, which will be halved to 1.5625 BTC in April 2028.
2. Transaction Fees: Bitcoin’s network is currently running smoothly, with an average transaction fee income of 0.01 - 0.1 BTC per block over the past three days.

01 Estimated Daily Earnings

Assuming a mining rig has a hashrate of 300 TH/s and a power consumption of 4,000 W, with the current total Bitcoin network hashrate at 800 EH/s and Bitcoin priced at $83,000, daily earnings can be calculated as follows:

• Mining hashrate share: 300 TH/s ÷ 800 EH/s = 0.00000038
• Daily mining rewards: 144 × (3.125+0.05) BTC × 0.00000038 ≈ 0.00017374 BTC (~$14.42)

If electricity costs $0.05/kWh, the daily electricity expense would be $4.8, and with a 2% mining pool fee, the net daily profit is approximately $9.3316. For more earnings data on various mining rigs, miners can refer to the "Mining Profit Rankings" provided by ViaBTC, which presents data in an easy-to-read format, eliminating the hassle of manual calculations.

02 Investment Payback Period

Assuming a total investment of $7,500 (mining rig) + $1,000 (infrastructure) = $8,500:

• Daily net profit: $9.3316
• Monthly net profit: $9.3316 × 30 days = $279.95
• Break-even period: $8,500 ÷ $279.95 ≈ 30.4 months

Of course, this is an ideal calculation—actual earnings will fluctuate based on market conditions.

Market Factors Affecting Mining Profitability

It's important to note that mining profitability is influenced not only by costs and revenue but also by external market factors:

01 Mining Difficulty Adjustments

Bitcoin’s core design incorporates a dynamic mining difficulty adjustment to maintain an average block time of approximately 10 minutes. To achieve this, the system adjusts mining difficulty every 2016 blocks, based on the total time taken to mine the last 2016 blocks. Under normal conditions, mining 2016 blocks should take 14 days. If the previous 2016 blocks were mined in less than 14 days, difficulty increases; if it took longer, difficulty decreases accordingly.

As more hashrate joins the network, the next difficulty adjustment cycle results in higher mining difficulty. This means miners must contribute more hashrate to earn the same amount of BTC, reducing individual mining rig output and further squeezing mining profitability. Additionally, ASIC Miners are constantly being upgraded, and older models with lower hashrate and higher power consumption struggle to remain profitable. These outdated mining rigs are either retired or moved to regions with lower electricity costs.

02 Bitcoin Price

The price of Bitcoin directly impacts mining rigs prices. During a bull market, rising BTC prices boost market sentiment, attracting more miners and institutional investors. This increased demand for mining rigs drives up prices, often leading to supply shortages and longer delivery times, with some popular models requiring over six months of waiting.

Conversely, in a bear market, the mining rig market cools down rapidly. Many miners, facing losses, shut down operations or sell off their equipment due to unsustainable costs. Mining equipment manufacturers also struggle with excess inventory, and as demand for new mining rig declines, they are forced to cut prices to clear stock.

Of course, for long-term miners who firmly believe in Bitcoin’s future and are not in a rush to sell, short-term price fluctuations do not impact their decisions. If you are convinced that Bitcoin will eventually reach $1 million, then whether it is $80,000 or $100,000 today makes little difference.

Is Bitcoin Mining Still Profitable?

Mining is still profitable, but cost control is key. Based on current data, as long as electricity costs remain low (≤$0.1/kWh) and mining rigs are efficient, mining remains profitable. However, given the current Bitcoin network hashrate and price levels, achieving short-term break-even is unrealistic, with most miners now facing a payback period of over 24 months.

Which Miners Have the Greatest Advantage?

• Miners in low electricity cost regions (below $0.05/kWh).
• Large-scale mining operators (bulk purchasing miners to distribute fixed costs).
• Miners using the latest ASIC Miners (better energy efficiency).

Bitcoin mining remains profitable, but in the current market downturn, only miners with low costs can sustain profitability. If you have access to low electricity rates, next-generation efficient mining rigs, and an optimal mining facility, mining is still a viable investment. Otherwise, buying and holding BTC directly may be a more secure option.