Earn Bitcoin · mining economics

Model mining like an operating business, not a fixed-return product.

Mining converts specialized hardware, electricity and operational risk into probabilistic Bitcoin revenue. The subsidy is known; your share and your costs are not.

Start with the decision Primary sources

Last reviewed28 Aug 2026

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Economics first

Mining revenue is probabilistic; costs are mostly deterministic.

The protocol currently pays a 3.125 BTC block subsidy plus transaction fees to the miner of a valid block. Your actual revenue depends on your share of hash power, pool rules and network conditions.

Revenue inputs

variable

Block subsidy3.125 BTC

Transaction feesVariable

Hash-rate shareCompetitive

Pool payout methodProvider-specific

Cost inputs

local

ElectricityContinuous

ASIC hardwareUpfront

Cooling / hostingVariable

Downtime / maintenanceOperational

Difficulty

Hash rate does not buy a fixed share forever.

Bitcoin retargets proof-of-work difficulty every 2,016 blocks to keep block production near the protocol target. If network competition changes, the same hardware can produce a different expected share of rewards.

Expected BTC revenue ≈ network rewards × your effective hash share × pool payout terms

Then subtract electricity, hardware amortization, pool/hosting costs, maintenance and downtime. Market price changes the fiat result but does not change the amount of electricity already consumed.

Solo vs pool

Variance matters as much as average revenue.

Bitcoin developer documentation distinguishes solo mining from pooled mining. Solo miners receive the full block reward when they find a block but face much higher payout variance; pools aggregate work and distribute smaller, more frequent payouts under their own rules.

Solo

High variance

A small miner can wait a very long time for a successful block even if the long-run expected value is positive.

Pool

Lower payout variance

Pool fees, payout method, minimums and counterparty risk become part of the economics.

Model

Stress test assumptions

Run lower BTC price, higher difficulty and higher power-cost scenarios before treating an estimate as a business case.

Use profit calculator →

Primary sources

Protocol facts used in the model.

The sources below describe current subsidy, mining mechanics and difficulty. They do not estimate your local electricity price or profitability.

Current subsidy and halving schedule: Bitcoin.org halving reference ↗
Solo vs pooled mining mechanics: Bitcoin developer mining guide ↗
Difficulty retarget mechanics: Bitcoin developer blockchain guide ↗

Earn Bitcoin cluster

Compare the other earning models.

Different paths create value in different ways. Keep payment for work, rewards, mining and scam screening separate.

Work & servicesInvoice value, then choose settlement.Cashback & rewardsMeasure net value after every cost.Mining economicsModel revenue, power and difficulty.Scam filterReject guaranteed-return and seed-phrase traps.