January 25, 2019

Bloomberg: It Costs $4,000 to Mine a Bitcoin Worth $3,600

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Bloomberg provides the latest on Bitcoin:

The production-weighted cash cost to create one Bitcoin averaged around $4,060 globally in the fourth quarter, according to analysts with JPMorgan Chase & Co. With Bitcoin itself currently trading below $3,600, that doesn’t look like such a good deal.

The exception, apparently, is Chinese Bitcoin miners, who are able to make use of super-cheap hydro electricity and are still making a profit. Everyone else is just wasting time and power.

And what happens when Bitcoin falls below $1,000 and it’s unprofitable for everyone? Then the game is up, I suppose. In fact, the game is already up, since it doesn’t appear to me that there’s any kind of broad market for Bitcoin. If there’s anyone out there who’s consistently been able to sell Bitcoin in return for US$ or something similar, I’d like to hear from them.

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