Today, the value of a Bitcoin has risen back to around $94,000, up from below $75,000 earlier this month. But all of this may soon be meaningless as the cost of mining a single Bitcoin is no longer profitable, according to Coinshares analysis.
The average cost of mining in Q4 2024 is $82,162, which is 47% higher than the $55,950 in Q3 2024. But when other external costs are taken into account, the actual average cost of mining rises to $137,018. But costs vary by country. If done in Germany, it increases to almost $200,000 due to higher electricity rates.
This makes Bitcoin mining on a small scale and individuals now only unprofitable. Only commercial operations by large companies can generate profits because external costs will be reduced. For those who still want to continue mining, profits can still be generated by mining cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin.