I can't see the full picture here!

[FlamingFingers]

I'm new to the world of Bitcoin mining and I have never mined before (neither using GPU/CPU nor using a mining hardware). So, here is my humble (if not stupid) question, why do miners (ordinary people, like you and me) mine bitcoin? (please, don't tell me, you are doing it for fun). I can't see the profits here (if I'm blind, don't hesitate to inform me).

Here is a simple example of what I don't understand about mining:

The most powerful and efficient SHA-256 mining hardware out there is the Antminer 2016 S9 @0.10W/GH 14TH/s which consumes 1375 watts at a price of nearly $2300 on Amazon.com. The approximately BTC earned is 0.5BTC/Month, excluding electricity, mining pool fees, contracts costs, cooling costs and hardware expenses. But I have searched a little and found that 14TH/S is just advertised and the real hash rate is 12.93TH/s±7%, also, found that all 12.93TH/s Antminers were sold and the remaining ones are of 11.85TH/s.
Also, I found that Bitmain (Antminer's Manufacturer) doesn't make all hardwares the same, every single mining hardware is different from the other.

So taking into account electricity cost $0.1/KW and the other demands costs like cooling, pool fee ...etc plus an additional PSU priced $150 from Bitmain's website as the Antminer can't be plugged directly to the wall, all this sum up into a cost around $3000 which is a big investment (at least, for me).

I know that Bitcoin miners contribute to the world of Bitcoin and their Bitcoin mining serves the purpose of disseminating new coins in a decenteralized manner as well as motivating people to provide security for the system, but seriously, what does Bitcoin mining contribute back to the life of Bitcoin miner (on a personal level)? Sorry for the long post.

Disclaimer: The Example above is for an explanation purpose (so that my subject can be clear enough), I'm not promoting nor recommending the product to anyone. Just asking for opinions and answers.

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[VRobb]

I am mining and HOLDING since the long-term view many of us have is that price of BTC will continue to increase over time.  If you take that into account, and aren't mining for income, then there's a good enough reason for me.

And, yes, to techno-geeks like myself, it is indeed fun. kinda.

[QuintLeo]

For most cryptocoin miners, total income exceeding the cost they pay over the lifetime of the equipment is what we aim for.

 AKA Income.


 Serious miners also don't buy new mining gear from Amazon sellers, as those sellers always mark the gear up a LOT. We buy direct from the manufacturer - an all-up S9 + powersupply + shipping should be under $2000 easily, and under CURRENT mining conditions will return around $200/month if your electric cost is low enough.


 10c/kwh is actually on the HIGH side for a serious Bitcoin miner - most folks with electric that high do AltCoin mining instead.

[philipma1957]

I'm new to the world of Bitcoin mining and I have never mined before (neither using GPU/CPU nor using a mining hardware). So, here is my humble (if not stupid) question, why do miners (ordinary people, like you and me) mine bitcoin? (please, don't tell me, you are doing it for fun). I can't see the profits here (if I'm blind, don't hesitate to inform me).

Here is a simple example of what I don't understand about mining:

The most powerful and efficient SHA-256 mining hardware out there is the Antminer 2016 S9 @0.10W/GH 14TH/s which consumes 1375 watts at a price of nearly $2300 on Amazon.com. The approximately BTC earned is 0.5BTC/Month, excluding electricity, mining pool fees, contracts costs, cooling costs and hardware expenses. But I have searched a little and found that 14TH/S is just advertised and the real hash rate is 12.93TH/s±7%, also, found that all 12.93TH/s Antminers were sold and the remaining ones are of 11.85TH/s.
Also, I found that Bitmain (Antminer's Manufacturer) doesn't make all hardwares the same, every single mining hardware is different from the other.

So taking into account electricity cost $0.1/KW and the other demands costs like cooling, pool fee ...etc plus an additional PSU priced $150 from Bitmain's website as the Antminer can't be plugged directly to the wall, all this sum up into a cost around $3000 which is a big investment (at least, for me).

I know that Bitcoin miners contribute to the world of Bitcoin and their Bitcoin mining serves the purpose of disseminating new coins in a decenteralized manner as well as motivating people to provide security for the system, but seriously, what does Bitcoin mining contribute back to the life of Bitcoin miner (on a personal level)? Sorry for the long post.

Disclaimer: The Example above is for an explanation purpose (so that my subject can be clear enough), I'm not promoting nor recommending the product to anyone. Just asking for opinions and answers.

You can not expect to make a profit with 10 cent power.

And your price for an s9 is far too high.

 I would sell you  2 s9 's with a  240 volt power supply that runs them both for 3200
As long as you pay me in btc and I would ship them for free.
I would tell you they will do about 12.5 and 11.5  total of 24th

[unholycactus]

As many people pointed out, you wouldn't make serious mining investment in miners bought on Amazon, 10cents/kWh is also too high.

Difficulty is rising quickly and the change % is compounding which makes the global hashrate rise very quickly.
What was viable quickly becomes obsolete.

If you started mining 4-5 years ago it would be a different story.
Also, mining rewards for solving a block has been reduced twice now (started from 50 now 12.5).

People with significant hash rates have very low operational costs and already have their gear.

[rockmoney]

You should also look into trading different crypto currencies on Exchanges like Poloniex (or any of the many others). I started trading quite some time ago using Bitcoin I had mined.

Anyway, it's somewhat similar to trading stocks on the stock market, only you are buying/selling different altcoins using Bitcoin as the payment method. Trading can be VERY volatile and risky (especially with lack of regulation and people attempting to trade without doing their due diligence - a little research can go a long way)! Being new to Bitcoin, I would strongly suggest to stay away from this, but to help answer your question, trading is another source of income for some Bitcoin miners, and mining Bitcoin can supplement trading.

Personally, I would take suggestions made here by some of the Hero/Legendary members into account if you are serious about getting involved with Bitcoin and/or other crypto currencies!

[tubexc]

I'm new to the world of Bitcoin mining and I have never mined before (neither using GPU/CPU nor using a mining hardware). So, here is my humble (if not stupid) question, why do miners (ordinary people, like you and me) mine bitcoin? (please, don't tell me, you are doing it for fun). I can't see the profits here (if I'm blind, don't hesitate to inform me).

Here is a simple example of what I don't understand about mining:

The most powerful and efficient SHA-256 mining hardware out there is the Antminer 2016 S9 @0.10W/GH 14TH/s which consumes 1375 watts at a price of nearly $2300 on Amazon.com. The approximately BTC earned is 0.5BTC/Month, excluding electricity, mining pool fees, contracts costs, cooling costs and hardware expenses. But I have searched a little and found that 14TH/S is just advertised and the real hash rate is 12.93TH/s±7%, also, found that all 12.93TH/s Antminers were sold and the remaining ones are of 11.85TH/s.
Also, I found that Bitmain (Antminer's Manufacturer) doesn't make all hardwares the same, every single mining hardware is different from the other.

So taking into account electricity cost $0.1/KW and the other demands costs like cooling, pool fee ...etc plus an additional PSU priced $150 from Bitmain's website as the Antminer can't be plugged directly to the wall, all this sum up into a cost around $3000 which is a big investment (at least, for me).

I know that Bitcoin miners contribute to the world of Bitcoin and their Bitcoin mining serves the purpose of disseminating new coins in a decenteralized manner as well as motivating people to provide security for the system, but seriously, what does Bitcoin mining contribute back to the life of Bitcoin miner (on a personal level)? Sorry for the long post.

Disclaimer: The Example above is for an explanation purpose (so that my subject can be clear enough), I'm not promoting nor recommending the product to anyone. Just asking for opinions and answers.

Not wanting to give bad advice or influence the practice of Bitcoin mining.
I can only explain to you in a very simple way that this is like anything else in life.
Only those who are involved in the activity know the ups and downs of the business.
 

[socks435]

Actually it is not profitable if you electricity cost is high ot 10 cents above per kwh.
But here in my country i have free electricity and i am making good profit in bitcoin if i can hold it for a long time and wait for a right time to sell.. because the price of bitcoin is not all the same the difficulty is increasing too because many competition.
They are still mining because it is still profit and i think you can recover your capital when how much you bought your s9 few months before a year..

[leowonderful]

Another thing to keep in mind is that Amazon is full of resellers and that price will naturally be higher. Just a little tip when calculating returns, a mistake I see pretty often, even though this is just a little example. Buying direct can save you a few hundred dollars sometimes, especially with Bitmain and miners.

[takagari]

Let's not forget the other part...
A lot of this is the hobby.. Breaking even is great.

But I know guys whos pend THOUSANDS a month on model trains etc... Soo.. take that into account.

Also,
Power supplies don't count. They can be reused on new hardware or resold for near cost.
And if you play it right you can sell used hardware off and recover 25% or so if you are lucky.

I also use mine in the winter, and replace my heating.
I use electric heat.. And these things can keep up with an equivalent space heater for power, or damn near.

So If I factor in my 8 cent CAD so 5 cent power. that most of that would be used for heat anyway, Maybe I'm burning an extra half a cent...


Lot's of factors.
If you are into buying off amazon, 10 cent USD power, and wanna make money.
You are probably SOL