Bitcoin miners earned approximately $240.3 million in block subsidies during the first two weeks of April this year, according to BTC.network data. The April 2024 halving cut the block reward from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC, squeezing margins for every miner on the network. Crypto mining profitability depends on five measurable variables, a formula anyone can run, and hardware choices that separate profitable operations from expensive hobbies.
Key Takeaways
- The Bitcoin network hashrate reached 994.76 EH/s in April 2026, per BTC.network’s hashrate report
- The breakeven electricity cost for profitable mining sits at $0.06 to $0.07 per kWh with current-generation ASICs
- All 14 tracked ASIC miners generated positive daily returns at $0.04 per kWh in April 2026
- The 2024 halving reduced daily Bitcoin production from around 900 BTC to approximately 450 BTC
- Foundry USA leads with 30.1% market share
- The IRS treats mined cryptocurrency as property, with fair market value on the date of receipt constituting gross income, per Notice 2014-21
Crypto Mining Profitability: How Bitcoin Mining Generates Revenue
Bitcoin miners earn revenue from two sources: the block subsidy of 3.125 BTC per block and transaction fees, which totaled just 16.55 BTC (0.52% of total income) during the first two weeks of April this year, according to BTC.network. Total miner earnings for that period reached approximately 3,188.42 BTC across 1,015 blocks.
The April 20, 2024, halving reduced the block subsidy from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC, meaning miners now produce around 450 BTC in total per day compared to around 900 BTC previously, per CME Group analysis. Before the halving, the block subsidy made up nearly 90% of miner revenue. Operational costs did not halve alongside the reward. Miners still pay the same rate per kilowatt-hour to the utility company regardless of block reward changes.
The post-halving economics have forced a structural shift: miners who operated profitably at 6.25 BTC per block now need either cheaper electricity, more efficient hardware, or a higher BTC price to stay above water.
Revenue tells only half the story. Your costs determine whether that revenue becomes profit.
Five Variables That Determine Mining Profitability
Electricity represents 60 to 80% of operational mining costs, according to the OneMiners Global Bitcoin Mining Cost Index. Five measurable variables control crypto mining profitability: hashrate, network difficulty, electricity cost, ASIC efficiency measured in joules per terahash (J/TH), and the current BTC price.
- Hashrate (TH/s): Your machine’s computing power. The Antminer S21 Pro, for example, delivers 234 TH/s.
- Network difficulty: Currently at 138.97 trillion as of mid-April 2026, per BTC.network. Greater difficulty means each terahash earns less BTC.
- Electricity cost ($/kWh): The breakeven target for hosted mining sits at $0.06 to $0.07 per kWh all-in, which includes demand charges, curtailment terms, and minimums, according to CoinCub analysis.
- ASIC efficiency (J/TH): The viable ASIC class in the current environment needs 15 to 16 J/TH efficiency with 200-plus TH/s per unit, per CoinCub. Less competitive hardware at 19 to 21 J/TH bleeds margin when difficulty climbs.
- BTC price: Bitcoin traded at $77,975.34 as of April 24, 2026, per CoinWarz data. A higher price increases the fiat value of each mined satoshi.
Knowing the variables is step one. Plugging them into a formula shows you actual dollars.
How to Calculate Your Mining Profit Step by Step
At a hash price of $36.46 per petahash per second per day, miners can anchor their revenue estimates to a single, trackable metric, according to Bitcoin.com’s April 2026 data.
The core profitability formula breaks into two parts:
Daily Revenue = (Your Hashrate in TH/s / Network Hashrate in TH/s) x Daily Block Rewards in BTC x BTC Price in USD
Daily Cost = Power Consumption in Watts x 24 hours / 1,000 x Electricity Rate in $/kWh
Daily Profit = Daily Revenue minus Daily Cost
Worked Example: Antminer S21 Pro at $0.06/kWh
The Antminer S21 Pro delivers 234 TH/s with a power draw of 3,510W and an efficiency of 15 J/TH, according to D-Central’s review.
Using real April 2026 numbers:
- Network hashrate: approximately 995 EH/s
- Daily block rewards: approximately 450 BTC
- BTC price: $77,975
Revenue: (234 / 995,000,000) x 450 x $77,975 = approximately $8.25 per day
Cost: 3,510W x 24 / 1,000 x $0.06 = $5.05 per day
Profit: $8.25 minus $5.05 = $3.20 per day, or approximately $96 per month
D-Central’s review estimates the S21 Pro’s daily profitability at approximately $7.80 at an electricity cost of 6 cents per kWh.
For a larger 1 PH fleet at $0.06 per kWh hosting with a 2.5% pool fee, 1 to 2% firmware fee, and 95 to 96% uptime target, the daily margin ranges from $16 to $27 per PH per day before parts and repairs, according to CoinCub.
A 6.1% difficulty rise over one quarter, combined with a $5 hashprice decline, typically reduces daily margins by 30 to 35% and extends payback timelines, per CoinCub’s modeling. Running the formula under adverse conditions, not just ideal ones, separates realistic projections from wishful math.
The formula works the same for every ASIC. The hardware you choose determines where you land on the profitability curve.
Best ASIC Miners for Profitability in 2026
All 14 tracked ASIC miners generated positive daily returns for operators paying $0.04 per kilowatt-hour at a hash price of $36.46 per PH/s, according to Bitcoin.com’s April 2026 profit guide. The table below ranks the top seven models by daily profit at the same electricity baseline.
| Model | Hashrate (TH/s) | Power (W) | Efficiency (J/TH) | Daily Profit ($0.04/kWh) |
| Bitmain Antminer S23 Hydro 3U | 1,160 | 11,020 | 9.5 | $31.62 |
| MicroBT Whatsminer M79S | 1,350 | 20,000 | 14.81 | $29.91 |
| Bitdeer Sealminer A4 Ultra Hydro | 886 | 8,372 | 9.45 | $24.20 |
| Bitmain Antminer S23e Hydro 2U | 865 | 8,650 | 10 | $23.17 |
| MicroBT Whatsminer M79 | 920 | 14,500 | 15.76 | $19.55 |
| Bitmain Antminer S23 Hyd | 580 | 5,510 | 9.5 | $15.81 |
| Bitmain Antminer S21 XP+ Hydro | 500 | 5,500 | 11 | $12.91 |
| MicroBT Whatsminer M73S+ | 540 | 7,200 | 13.33 | $12.73 |
Source: Bitcoin.com, CoinWarz
The efficiency gap between sub-10 J/TH hydro-cooled units and 15+ J/TH air-cooled models will widen as difficulty climbs, making cooling infrastructure a profitability variable that few home miners account for.
The hardware you choose matters. Your pool choice affects how that hashrate converts to actual payouts.
How to Choose a Mining Pool
Foundry USA leads all mining pools with 299 EH/s and a 30.1% market share, followed by AntPool at 211 EH/s (18.3%) and ViaBTC at 145 EH/s (13.0%), according to Hashrate Index data for 2026. Picking a pool determines your payout model, fee structure, and how consistently you receive rewards.
The top three pools control 61.4% of the total Bitcoin hashrate. This concentration creates a trade-off: larger pools offer more consistent payouts, while smaller pools give individual miners a slightly larger share of each block found.
| Pool | Hashrate (EH/s) | Market Share |
| Foundry USA | 299 | 30.1% |
| AntPool | 211 | 18.3% |
| ViaBTC | 145 | 13.0% |
| F2Pool | 113 | 10.0% |
| SpiderPool | 98 | 8.8% |
| MARA Pool | 64 | 5.7% |
| Luxor | 38 | 3.4% |
Source: Hashrate Index
The two primary payout models to evaluate:
- FPPS (Full Pay Per Share): ViaBTC and SpiderPool employ FPPS-style payout offerings, per Hashrate Index.
- Fixed upfront payouts: Luxor pioneered fixed and upfront pool payouts that lock in miner revenue before hashrate delivery, per Hashrate Index.
Pool selection locks in your payout model. Electricity costs determine whether those payouts cover your bills.
Electricity Cost Thresholds and Mining Locations
The cost to mine one Bitcoin ranges from $1,324 in Iran to over $321,112 in Ireland, with electricity representing 60 to 80% of operational costs, according to OneMiners’ Global Bitcoin Mining Cost Index. Location is the single biggest crypto mining profitability lever after hardware selection.
The United States leads global mining with 37.5% of hashrate at approximately 400 EH/s, combining institutional capital, deeply integrated power markets, and operational sophistication, according to Hashrate Index.
| Country | Hashrate Share | Estimated Capacity |
| United States | 37.5% | ~400 EH/s |
| Russia | 16.4% | ~175 EH/s |
| China | 11.7% | ~125 EH/s |
| Paraguay | 4.0% | ~43 EH/s |
| UAE | 3.1% | ~33 EH/s |
| Ethiopia | 2.6% | ~27.5 EH/s |
Source: Hashrate Index
Electricity rate thresholds to guide your location decision:
- $0.06 to $0.07 per kWh: the breakeven target for hosted mining, per CoinCub
- $0.06 to $0.10 per kWh: may be profitable depending on other factors
- $0.10 to $0.14 per kWh: requires optimal conditions
- Above $0.14 per kWh: typically results in losses
Paraguay benefits from surplus hydroelectric power from the Itaipu Dam, offering some of the lowest marginal electricity costs globally, per Hashrate Index. Ethiopia has emerged as one of the fastest-growing mining markets, leveraging underutilized hydroelectric capacity.
For more context on how mining activity varies across regions, see cryptocurrency mining statistics.
Low electricity secures your margin. But even profitable miners face a tax bill that can reshape net returns.
Tax Obligations for Crypto Miners
The IRS treats mined cryptocurrency as property for federal income tax purposes under Notice 2014-21 (2014-16 I.R.B. 938), meaning the fair market value of mined coins in U.S. dollars when received constitutes gross income.
Mining creates two taxable events:
- Income on receipt: When a taxpayer successfully mines virtual currency, the fair market value as of the date of receipt is includible in gross income, according to the IRS FAQ on virtual currency transactions.
- Capital gains on disposal: Selling or exchanging mined coins later triggers a separate capital gains or loss calculation based on the difference between the sale price and the fair market value at the time of mining.
If a taxpayer’s mining of virtual currency constitutes a trade or business and the mining activity is not undertaken as an employee, the net earnings constitute self-employment income and are subject to self-employment tax, per the IRS.
For miners running larger operations, deductible expenses typically include electricity costs, hardware depreciation, cooling systems, and facility rent. Consult a tax professional familiar with SEC crypto enforcement data and IRS digital asset guidance for your specific situation.
Tax compliance is straightforward. The harder question is whether the cloud mining model works at all.
Cloud Mining Risks and Red Flags
HashFlare ran a $575 million fraud in which the platform mined bitcoin at less than 1% of the computing power it claimed to have, with its web-based dashboard reflecting falsified mining profits, according to Sazmining’s analysis of DOJ records. The U.S. Department of Justice announced guilty pleas from Estonian nationals Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin on February 14, 2025.
BitClub Network ran a separate $722 million fraud that misappropriated at least $722 million worth of BTC from investors through misleading mining pool and earnings figures.
Red flags that signal a cloud mining scam:
- Guaranteed daily returns regardless of network difficulty or BTC price
- No verifiable hash rate proof on public blockchain explorers
- Referral-heavy compensation structures resembling multi-level marketing
- Inability to withdraw mined coins on demand
Legitimate mining operations publish auditable hashrate data, have identifiable physical facilities, and do not promise fixed returns in a variable-reward system. For a broader look at crypto fraud patterns, see cryptocurrency fraud statistics.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Crypto mining remains profitable for operators paying $0.04 per kWh with current-generation ASIC hardware, as all 14 tracked miners generated positive returns at that rate, per Bitcoin.com. The daily margin for a 1 PH fleet at $0.06 per kWh hosting ranges from $16 to $27 per PH per day before parts and repairs, per CoinCub analysis.
The cost to mine one Bitcoin varies dramatically by location, ranging from $1,324 in Iran to over $321,112 in Ireland, according to the OneMiners Global Mining Cost Index. Electricity represents 60 to 80% of total operational mining costs.
The Bitmain Antminer S23 Hydro 3U generates $31.62 per day at $0.04 per kWh, delivering 1,160 TH/s at 9.5 J/TH efficiency, according to Bitcoin.com’s April 2026 comparison. It ranked first among all 14 tracked miners in profitability at that electricity rate.
Yes. The IRS treats mined cryptocurrency as property, with the fair market value on the date of receipt constituting gross income under Notice 2014-21. If mining constitutes a trade or business and is not performed as an employee, the net earnings are also subject to self-employment tax.
Conclusion
Bitcoin miners earned approximately $240.3 million in block subsidies during the first two weeks of April this year. That revenue flowed to operations that got five variables right: hashrate, difficulty, electricity cost, hardware efficiency, and BTC price.
The profitability formula is straightforward. Plug in your ASIC’s hashrate and wattage, your electricity rate, and current network conditions. Operations that secure electricity at or below the $0.06 to $0.07 per kWh breakeven target stay within a profitable range, per CoinCub. Those paying above $0.14 per kWh typically operate at a loss.
Network hashrate stands at 994.76 EH/s as of April this year. As hashrate grows, efficiency becomes the deciding factor, and the gap between profitable and unprofitable operations will continue narrowing, favoring miners who treat hardware selection and electricity procurement as ongoing disciplines rather than one-time decisions.
For related data on the mining industry, see crypto exchange market data.
