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Does Bitcoin mining really pay?

Q: What do you need for Bitcoin mining?

A specialist machine: An ASIC miner. The example here does 500 TH/s and draws about 5,500 W. Very cheap electricity: On these numbers you would need less than about 13 cents per kWh just to cover power. Somewhere it can run: This model is water-cooled and draws about 5,500 W, so it needs its own power and cooling set-up. A mining pool: Alone, you would almost never win a block. Pool fees are extra.

Q: When does Bitcoin mining pay you?

Paid out at: Set by your pool. First money: Depends on your pool.

At US home electricity prices, a current 500 TH/s machine would earn about $17 a day and burn about $24 of power, on the numbers of 5 November 2026.

✓ Checked 5 Nov 2026 against live network data and the US EIA · Next check 5 Feb 2027

Rows of machines with glowing lights in a server rack

Miners compete for a fixed reward of 3.125 BTC per block, about 450 BTC a day across the whole network. Your share is your machine’s share of all mining power. At US home electricity prices, even a modern machine loses money on these numbers, before you count what it cost to buy.

What do you need for Bitcoin mining?

A specialist machineAn ASIC miner. The example here does 500 TH/s and draws about 5,500 W.
Very cheap electricityOn these numbers you would need less than about 13 cents per kWh just to cover power.
Somewhere it can runThis model is water-cooled and draws about 5,500 W, so it needs its own power and cooling set-up.
A mining poolAlone, you would almost never win a block. Pool fees are extra.

The sum, on 5 November 2026

Step	Figure	How we got it
Network power	About 1,055 million TH/s	Blockchain.com’s reading. mempool.space showed a similar figure
Your share at 500 TH/s	About 0.00005%	Your machine divided by the network
Bitcoin earned a day	About 0.00021 BTC	Your share of 450 BTC a day
In dollars	About $17 a day	At $80,310 per BTC
Electricity	About $24 a day	132 kWh at 18.16 cents, the US home average for August 2026
Result	About $7 a day lost	Before pool fees and the machine’s price

These are our sums on the sources below. Transaction fees add a little, and the Bitcoin price and network power change every day, so run them again with your own numbers.

What it adds up to

Time	Bitcoin earned, in dollars	Electricity	Result
A day	About $17	About $24	About -$7
30 days	About $510	About $720	About -$210
A year	About $6,205	About $8,760	About -$2,555

One 500 TH/s machine at US home power prices, on the numbers of 5 November 2026, which change every day. Before pool fees and the machine’s price. Our sums: an example, not a promise.

When does Bitcoin mining pay you?

Question	Answer
Paid out at	Set by your pool
First money	Depends on your pool

What is the catch with Bitcoin mining?

The price of the machine is not in the sum above, so the real result is worse.
A falling Bitcoin price or rising network power cuts your income, while your power bill stays the same.
Cloud mining offers that promise fixed returns fit the FTC’s warning: only scammers guarantee profits.
In the US, the IRS lists mining as income to report.

How to start with Bitcoin mining

Find your real power priceLook at your bill, not the headline tariff.
Run the sum yourselfUse today’s hash rate and price.
Add the machine’s costWork out how many days it needs to pay for itself.
Think about what you wantIf the aim is to hold Bitcoin, compare the sum with just buying it. This is arithmetic, not advice.

Sources

Blockchain.com: network statistics, checked 5 Nov 2026
mempool.space: Bitcoin network hash rate, checked 5 Nov 2026
US EIA: average price of electricity, checked 5 Nov 2026
ASIC Miner Value: machine list, checked 5 Nov 2026
Viperatech: Antminer S21 XP+ Hydro listing, checked 5 Nov 2026
IRS: digital assets, checked 5 Nov 2026
FTC: what to know about cryptocurrency scams, checked 5 Nov 2026