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Bitcoin Mining Economics: A Practical Guide

A clear, data-driven guide to bitcoin mining economics.

Hashprice

Hashprice is expected revenue per unit of hashrate per day: (subsidy + fees) × 144 × BTC price ÷ network hashrate. At $65,000, 3.125 BTC plus 0.2 BTC fees and 650 EH/s, it is about $48 per PH per day.

Difficulty adjustment

Every 2,016 blocks difficulty retargets so blocks average ten minutes, capped at a factor of four. Rising hashrate lowers each miner's share of rewards.

Efficiency

ASIC efficiency is measured in joules per terahash. The Antminer S9 (2016) used about 98 J/TH; the S19 Pro about 29.5; the S21 about 17.5. Efficiency determines profitability at a given power price.

Power costs

Daily power cost = watts ÷ 1,000 × 24 × $/kWh. A 3,500 W machine at $0.07 per kWh costs $5.88 per day; at 200 TH/s and $0.05 per TH, revenue is $10.

Payback

Payback days = machine cost ÷ daily profit. Halvings cut revenue overnight, so miners model payback across at least one halving.

By the numbers

For Bitcoin Mining Economics, the reference figures are topic of Bitcoin Mining Economics, level of Intermediate, updated of 2026. The comparison table below lines up asic, year, efficiency — Antminer S9: 2016 / ~98 J/TH; Antminer S19 Pro: 2020 / ~29.5 J/TH; Antminer S21: 2023 / ~17.5 J/TH.

Modeling Bitcoin Mining Economics with the Bitcoin Mining KWH Profitability Calculator

The Bitcoin Mining KWH Profitability Calculator takes three inputs — Hashrate (TH/s), Power (W), Electricity ($/kWh). Daily profit = TH × hashprice − kWh × rate. With its default inputs (Hashrate (TH/s) = 200; Power (W) = 3500; Electricity ($/kWh) = 0.07) it returns 4.12 $; swap in the figures from Bitcoin Mining Economics above to reproduce the scenario yourself.

Modeling Bitcoin Mining Economics with the ASIC Miner Payback Depreciation Calculator

The ASIC Miner Payback Depreciation Calculator takes three inputs — Miner cost ($), Daily profit ($), Life (years). Payback = cost ÷ daily profit. With its default inputs (Miner cost ($) = 4000; Daily profit ($) = 8; Life (years) = 4) it returns 500 days; swap in the figures from Bitcoin Mining Economics above to reproduce the scenario yourself.

Modeling Bitcoin Mining Economics with the Bitcoin Hashprice Difficulty Estimator

The Bitcoin Hashprice Difficulty Estimator takes three inputs — BTC price ($), Network hashrate (EH/s), Fees per block (BTC). Hashprice = (subsidy + fees) × 144 × price ÷ network TH. With its default inputs (BTC price ($) = 65000; Network hashrate (EH/s) = 650; Fees per block (BTC) = 0.2) it returns 0.05 $/TH; swap in the figures from Bitcoin Mining Economics above to reproduce the scenario yourself.

Data Table

For educational and informational purposes only. Not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Figures are approximate and historical; crypto assets are volatile and you may lose capital. Do your own research.