Well thats if you want to mine A WHOLE Bitcoin, which isn't practical anymore as is buying a whole bitcoin, who the hell has $41k to buy 1 lol, I know I dont.
You can still mine portions of a bitcoin and keep it off the books so to speak since you don't have to KYC for that, you just converting electricity to money. Some people even mine at a loss now because they feel those sats will appreciate past what they spend now.
Wow, $550? Is that tax-free? Because in South Africa, that would be below the income tax bracket, but yes I would totally agree its not enough to live on even here, well you can live, just not the most glamorous of lives. You'd be sharing a residence, and so on
I personally side with Bitcoin because the rules are harsh for everyone, no can can get a leg up, yes others can use their advantage in the fiat game to move into bitcoin but very few do that