I spoke with davinci a couple of years ago. I asked him if he regrets mining bitcoin in 2011 instead of buying it. He said yes, he would have had a lot more bitcoin if he bought it instead of trying to mine it.
I sort of knew all of this early on, which is why I never tried mining. Outside of special situations (new coins, new ASICs, etc.) it doesn't make sense because people will always try to outbid each other, taking the cost of mining above spot where only the most efficient miners can mine at a profit.
Closest I ever got to "mining" was with computingforgood, a protein folding project that spit out 100 XRP per hour per computer.
Its just like any other easy business. Since anybody can do it, naturally the profit margin will approach zero. In other words, theres always somebody that can do it cheaper. So unless you are a ASIC manufacture, have huge buying power, or have some sort energy arrangement, you are probably mining at a loss.
With that said, I still mine today. The main reason for me is it is a way to DCA by purchasing crypto from my electrical utility, rather than using an exchange. I have a known investment value on a regular schedule which keeps the Average part of DCA honest.
I mine at a loss, but if you consider the fees when buying and withdrawing from an exchange its not all that different in the end. Most importantly, I don't have to have the risk and exposure of using an exchange.
