Most ASIC manufacturers are not con artists. They hash at the advertised rate and they earn you bitcoin. They are just overpriced and people fall for them.
The entire market is a fraud.
There is not one legitimate company.
You know what, you're right...
Despite the misguided thoughts such as "the hashes are wasted
and it provides no security and we should change bitcoin"
(which are obviously wrong)
...you're right that ASIC manufactures are out to take your money.
They imply or at least bank on you believing the idea that you
can or will be profitable from mining, and the reality is you probably
won't.
Why would any company sell you a piece of hardware that
they can run themselves and make more of a profit? The answer
is, they generally won't, because to do so would be
anti-business. All businesses are out to maximize profits,
and without profits, there would be no business.
So... It's a racket.
Difficulty keeps going up, and your slice of the pie keeps
going down... MAYBE you will make your money back
if the difficulty stays level, but it hasn't.
You could make your money back if BTC prices rise,
but then again, its easier to simply buy BTC.
Cloud mining is even more of a scam.
The winners in mining are those that make their
own chips or at least purchase chips wholesale
and assemble them.
There's nothing left for you to do , except
to except the reality, learn from the (expensive)
mistake and move on.
