Bitcoin mining remains one of the most debated topics in 2025. While soaring Bitcoin prices above $100K attract new miners, rising network difficulty and higher operational costs raise questions about long-term profitability. To evaluate whether mining is still worth it, it’s essential to break down the main factors: electricity cost, network difficulty, and BTC price, alongside the concept of shutdown price and regional variations.
Key Factors That Influence Mining Profitability
1. Electricity Costs
Electricity is the single biggest expense for miners. Countries with cheaper energy, such as Kazakhstan, Paraguay, and Ethiopia, offer miners a competitive edge. In contrast, regions with high residential electricity rates (e.g., parts of Europe) make mining unviable without large-scale industrial setups.
2. Network Difficulty and Block Rewards
Bitcoin’s block reward halved in April 2024 from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, cutting new supply in half. This reduced daily issuance from about 900 BTC/day to ~450 BTC/day, significantly squeezing miner revenues. Meanwhile, difficulty automatically adjusts every ~2 weeks to ensure blocks are mined every 10 minutes, meaning as more miners join, the competition intensifies.
3. Bitcoin Price
With BTC trading above $110,000 in 2025, mining revenues in USD terms remain attractive. However, profitability depends on whether this revenue outweighs rising electricity and hardware costs.
4. Transaction Fees
Transaction fees have become an increasingly important revenue stream. During peak network congestion in 2024, fees contributed over 20–30% of some blocks’ rewards, cushioning miners against reduced block subsidies. In 2025, fees continue to provide meaningful support to miner earnings.
The Shutdown Price Explained
The shutdown price is the BTC price below which mining operations become unprofitable.
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