Can you still make a profit from mining Bitcoin in 2025? First, understand these costs and benefits.

If you’re still dreaming of mining like Satoshi Nakamoto, using your home computer to easily mine大量比特幣, you better wake up. Bitcoin mining nowadays is no longer a game from over a decade ago.

What exactly is Bitcoin mining doing?

Simply put: Bitcoin mining is miners using mining machines to keep track of transactions on the Bitcoin network, with the system rewarding them with newly minted BTC and transaction fees. This mechanism is called “Proof-of-Work” (PoW).

The specific process is as follows:

Transactions occur on the Bitcoin network every moment, and miners’ machines must continuously perform complex calculations, competing to find a hash value that meets certain criteria. Whoever finds it first gains the right to record the block. Once the new block is verified by the entire network, the miner receives the reward.

Simple understanding: Mining is like solving an extremely difficult math problem. The more powerful your computer’s hashrate, the faster you can try solutions, and the higher your chances of winning the right to record the block.

But that’s not all. Miner rewards are divided into two parts:

Block reward — Each time a block is mined, the system automatically issues a fixed amount of BTC (halving occurs every 4 years: 50→25→12.5→6.25→3.125…)

Transaction fees — Users pay fees when transferring BTC, and these fees go to the miner who packaged that transaction.

This is the fundamental reason miners are willing to keep investing — Mining revenue directly depends on a combination of hashrate, network difficulty, BTC price, and electricity costs.

Why is mining completely different now than ten years ago?

In 2009, when Bitcoin first appeared, ordinary CPUs could mine. Around 2013, GPUs (graphics cards) started to become popular. Later, specialized ASIC miners emerged, boosting hashrate by hundreds of times, effectively pushing retail miners out of the game.

Even more daunting, the total network hashrate has exceeded 580 EH/s. You read that right, this astronomical number. Mining solo with a regular machine? Basically zero profit.

Thus, the industry has evolved into three main mining methods:

Solo Mining — feasible only from 2009-2013, now impossible

Pool Mining — miners connect their machines to mining pools, sharing rewards proportionally to their hashrate; this is the mainstream mode today. Well-known pools include F2Pool, Poolin, BTC.com, AntPool, etc.

Cloud Mining — deploying mining hardware in the cloud, users rent hashrate; low barrier but high risk

The evolution logic of the industry is clear: from individual play → centralized mining → institutional monopoly

How much does it cost to mine a Bitcoin in 2025?

Let’s face a harsh reality.

The total cost to mine one Bitcoin includes:

• Hardware costs (starting from $1,000–$2,000, more expensive for high-end miners)
• Electricity (the biggest factor, directly affecting profit)
• Cooling systems (miners generate a lot of heat, requiring air conditioning, fans, or liquid cooling)
• Hosting/maintenance fees
• Pool fees (usually around 5%)

Based on market data, as of May 2025, the average cost to mine one Bitcoin is approximately $108,256.

The key issue: This doesn’t account for hardware iteration speed. Bitcoin mining hardware updates very quickly; a miner bought last year might be outdated this year, and lower hashrate means significantly reduced profits.

How much can mining earn? What factors influence this?

A miner’s monthly income depends on:

Own hashrate — how powerful your mining machine is

Network difficulty — the higher the total network hashrate, the greater the difficulty, and the lower your probability of mining a block

Bitcoin price — higher prices mean more valuable when sold

Electricity costs — vary greatly by region; cheap electricity is a core advantage for large mining farms

To calculate earnings precisely, you can use online calculators (like MacroMicro), input your miner model, hashrate, electricity cost, etc., and the system will automatically estimate your monthly/yearly revenue.

But there’s a brutal truth: For individual retail miners, even if you mine Bitcoin, the earnings often can’t cover the costs of hardware, electricity, and hosting. That’s why most large mining farms dominate now, and small miners are basically out.

What changes occurred after Bitcoin halving in 2024?

In April 2024, Bitcoin completed its fourth halving, reducing the block reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This is a heavy blow to miners.

Direct impacts:

• Rewards are halved; if the price doesn’t rise, profit margins are severely squeezed, causing some less efficient, high-electricity-cost miners to shut down

• Short-term network hashrate may decline, but will soon be replaced by new high-efficiency miners

• Transaction fees become more important. During the 2023 memecoin boom, fee income accounted for over 50% of miners’ total revenue

How can smart miners respond?

• Phasing out old hardware, upgrading to more efficient models to reduce power consumption

• Finding regions with the cheapest electricity (some farms even relocate to Iceland, Northern Europe with low electricity costs)

• Not only mining Bitcoin; some pools support automatic switching between mining algorithms, mining other PoW coins like Dogecoin to increase income

• Hedging strategies, such as locking in Bitcoin prices with futures contracts to avoid losses from price drops

What if you don’t have mining hardware but still want to participate?

Option 1: Buy mining machines and operate yourself

Requires bearing all costs, including noise, heat, maintenance issues. Common models include Antminer S19 Pro, WhatsMiner M30S++, AvalonMiner 1246, etc., each costing several thousand dollars.

Option 2: Purchase mining hardware and outsource management

Buy the hardware yourself but entrust professional operators to run it, saving trouble but paying management fees.

Option 3: Rent hashrate directly

Instead of buying hardware, rent hashrate on platforms like Genesis Mining, NiceHash, Bitdeer, etc., for short-term participation. Costs typically range from $0.05 to $1.5 per TH/s per day.

Option 3 is the easiest but yields the lowest returns, suitable for beginners testing the waters.

Be cautious: Avoid buying mining hardware or hashrate from unknown platforms, as scams are common. Choose reputable large pools and well-known hardware brands.

Is mining really still worth it?

Honestly, mining Bitcoin today is no longer a hobby for individuals but a capital-intensive industry. Small miners find it hard to compete with large farms unless they have special advantages (like super cheap electricity or access to new mining tech).

But that doesn’t mean mining has no value. In fact, the incentive mechanism of miners ensures the continued stability of the Bitcoin network. Without miners recording transactions, Bitcoin would become paralyzed.

For ordinary investors, rather than struggling with mining, it might be better to buy Bitcoin directly on exchanges or trade derivatives — more flexible, lower cost, and more efficient.

Summary

The logic of Bitcoin mining is simple: Miners provide hashrate to help the network record transactions, and the system rewards with BTC and fees. But reality is harsh: high costs, rapid hardware updates, centralized hashrate, and thin margins for retail miners.

If you truly want to participate in the Bitcoin ecosystem to make money, trading Bitcoin directly might be more suitable — no hardware investment, no electricity worries, no custody risks, with flexible buy/sell options around the clock.

Want to learn more about crypto trading? You can open accounts on relevant platforms, participate in spot and futures trading, and engage in the Bitcoin ecosystem with lower barriers and higher efficiency.