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A couple years ago I toyed with the idea of building some big servers to mine for bitcoin but never did it. Now I think it is cost prohibitive to do so, the energy costs outweigh the return.
But I still follow Bitcoin and find it interesting. TheVerge has an interesting article on it (linked above).
It is really a simple calculation, with one assumption, that the price of bitcoin is going to stay steady. If a few years ago when Bitcoin was under $5 it was not economical, I am sure over $30 it should turn a profit, even if it takes a bit more time/energy to mine a new coin.
But again, you have to bet/assume that the price is going to stay steady. I guess people who have access to very cheap or free energy (windfarm) can still mine them comfortably.... What if a school teacher runs a program on the school's machines overnight?
No, it is not as simple as you think. The complexity of the protocol has changed over the years yielding far fewer "hits" or results for far greater CPU/GPU resource time.
The more ppl start mining the more complex the code to solve .. and with the introduction of the new chips specially developed to mine bitcoins which is costing around anywhere from 2k-30k it will become practically impossible to turn it into profit unless they decide to increase the 21mil coin limit... but right now only way to make a profit from mining bitcoin is if you get free electricity..
BTW there is a teacher in a school who is already using your mentioned idea to mine bitcoins and he did say he averaged around 20-30 bitcoins a month using 15 computers.
Did it increase 6 folds? If so mining bitcoins for normal people is meaningless/unprofitable, and only people with access to free energy/computers can make money. Unless someone is betting on future price increase...
Since the current price runup was hyperbolic, I would short this above $30. Not to mention when (and it is a when not an if) the US government declares it illegal, watch out for the price collapse.... It is illegal to make a competing currency to the mighty US dollar...
Enough that I figure a hyperbolic raise in price could effect the profitability of mining. Since you said last time you checked it was years ago, price has just increased at least 6 fold, the math has changed.
Anyway, the problem with bitcoin is not mining or trading it but its inherent value, which is zero. When you throw in the government's action (banning it) as an unknown, it makes to buy and hold bitcoins a dangerous process.