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Cryptocurrency

Early Miner Called 50 BTC Reward for $5.68 in Electricity Unprofitable

9/11/2026, 04:01 PM • Evgenia Sliv

(edited: 09/11/2026)

Early Miner Called 50 BTC Reward for $5.68 in Electricity Unprofitable

In September 2010, forum user TTBit calculated that mining a Bitcoin block with a 50 BTC reward would cost $5.68 in electricity and called it unprofitable. The calculation was based on a power consumption of 140 W, a hashrate of 2.2 megahashes per second, an expected time of 338 hours (approximately 14 days), and a rate of $0.12 per kWh. The $5.68 figure was not a guaranteed cost but rather the expected expenditure at an average probability of finding a block: solo mining remains a probabilistic game, and the actual wait time could have been shorter or longer. Equipment, cooling, and internet costs were not factored in.

At the time, Bitcoin was priced at $0.10–$0.30 with low liquidity. GPUs were already delivering 25,000 KH/s compared to TTBit's 2,200, and Satoshi Nakamoto had mentioned a 24-core AMD running at 66,000 KH/s. TTBit predicted that competition would make coin generation extremely difficult — a forecast that proved accurate. The current network hashrate stands at 966 exahashes per second, a 439-trillion-fold increase. Following the 2024 halving, the block reward is 3.125 BTC, with the next halving expected in 2028 (1.5625 BTC). At a price of $78,810, 50 BTC would be worth $3.94 million. A notable exception: in July 2026, a small Bitaxe miner found a block and received 3.1382 BTC — but this remains an anomaly, not the norm.

The current Bitcoin price is around $78,000, which is 38% below the all-time high reached on October 6, 2025. Analyst CryptoPatel believes that a daily close above $83,000 is needed to reverse the bearish structure. If that level holds, targets are $89,000–$91,000, followed by $97,000–$100,000. If it fails, key support levels are $65,000 and $50,000. The weekly Supertrend has turned green for the first time since November 2025, pointing to support at $62,000–$65,000, though the analyst expects at least a 20% correction before any meaningful rally.

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This material is prepared exclusively for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation.

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