Since September, the BTC rate has more than doubled. In this regard, there is a high demand on the miner market and equipment has risen in price. Despite this, there remained models with high profitability and an acceptable payback period.
In recent months, the profitability of mining the first cryptocurrency has increased. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, bitcoin itself has risen in price – now it costs $ 23.5 thousand. Secondly, the average size of the commission that miners receive for conducting transactions has risen in the BTC network. This figure has increased 400% since mid-October to $ 12, according to data from bitinfocharts.com .
Hype on the market and expensive equipment
Sergei Arestov, the founder of BitCluster, said that now there is a "real hype" on the mining equipment market, which is caused by the growth of the bitcoin rate. Devices for mining give good profitability, however, they themselves have risen in price.
For example, the cost of a Whatminer model M 21S with a maximum hash rate of 56 TH / s has grown to 120 thousand rubles, Arestov said. With electricity costs of 2.75 rubles per kW / h, the net profit per month will amount to 12.5 thousand rubles. Thus, the mining equipment will pay off in 9.6 months, if the state of the market does not change.
The cost of Antminer T19, issuing a maximum hash rate of 84 TH / s, has grown to 270 thousand rubles, the expert continued. With electricity costs of 2.75 rubles per kW / h, the net profit will amount to 21.7 thousand rubles. per month. In this case, the payback period will be 12.4 months.
“However, it is extremely difficult to buy new mining equipment now, demand is outstripping supply, manufacturing plants cannot cope. In the current circumstances, you can pay attention to pre-ordered second-hand devices, ”Arestov suggested.
As an example, he cited a used Antminer T17 model with a maximum hash rate of 58 TH / s. It can be purchased for 97.5 thousand rubles. The monthly net profit will be 14.3 thousand rubles, the payback period is about 7 months.
Jahon Khabilov, CEO of the Sigmapool mining pool, also drew attention to the rise in prices for mining equipment. According to him, now it is difficult to find new devices with a performance below 100 TH / s for less than 300-340 thousand rubles. At this cost, the payback will be at the level of the year.
Philip Modnov, CEO of LAZM, is sure that it is "of course" worth starting mining now. He cited the following indicators of the profitability of cryptocurrency mining, which his platform shows after paying for the service.
- Used ASIC miners Bitmain Antminer S9 – profitability of 2.1 thousand rubles per month at a price of equipment of 10 thousand rubles. The payback period is 5 months.
- Used ASIC miners Bitmain Antminer S17 PRO – profitability of 15 thousand rubles per month with equipment price of 130 thousand. The payback period is 9 months.
- ASIC miners Bitmain Antminer S19-110 Pro – profitability of 27 thousand rubles per month with the equipment price of 380 thousand rubles. The payback period is 14 months.
Modnov also proposed an alternative to Bitcoin – Ethereum mining. The purchase of 9 new video cards will cost 220 thousand rubles. The profitability of such a farm will be 18 thousand rubles per month. This investment will pay off in 12 months.
Why is it risky to start mining now?
Since the beginning of autumn, Bitcoin has risen in price by 135%. If a correction begins in the market and the price of the coin begins to decline, this will accordingly affect the profitability of mining. At the same time, the cost of equipment for mining cryptocurrency will also fall.
There is always such a risk, Khabilov continued. Therefore, he recommended buying mining equipment during the “price calm” on the crypto market. The expert clarified that in the medium and long term, BTC mining shows high investment attractiveness, but starting to do this now may not be the best moment.
“Obviously, when the value of the first cryptocurrency reaches a historic high, then the prices of equipment rise due to increased demand. It is necessary to carefully consider whether it is worth starting mining during this period ", – said Khabilov.
A similar warning was voiced by Arestov. Due to the fact that the cost of equipment has increased significantly, there is a risk that when the bitcoin rate falls, devices will become cheaper. In this case, the payback period will increase, the expert emphasized. He recommended waiting for the correction in the market for those who plan to purchase a large batch of miners.
“When the price of bitcoin drops, the profitability of mining will start to fall and the price of devices will go down. Then it's time to buy, ”Arestov summed up.
Today, Rosseti reported that the growth of the bitcoin rate to a new historical maximum poses a threat of network congestion due to the activation of "black" miners. The company said that abnormal jumps in consumption in different regions of the country have been recorded since 2017.