Could only the mining of corporate bitcoin miners?

Opinion of: Dr. Michael Tabone, senior economist of Cointelegraph

bitcoin Mining (btc) has been dominated for a long time by large -scale industrial operations, with public companies such as Marathon Digital, Cleanspark and Riot Platforms that control significant portions of the global hashrate. But what happens if that balance of power changed? What happens if millions of people in the industrialized nations took mining at home?

bitcoin miners at home

This hypothetical scenario is not as far -fetched as it seems, especially with the emergence of small and efficient ASICs such as the Bitaxe Gamma 601, Futurebit Apollo, Ipollo V1 Mini btc and Antminer S9 SE/Hyrddo, giving the Hash Mine's power of 1.2 to 17 Terahas Bolt. Some bitcoin miners at home have even won blocks, including those who<a target="_blank" data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/TimechainCaL/status/1884754754385162604″ rel=”null” target=”null” text=”null” title=”null”> January 29 and<a target="_blank" data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://x.com/Cointelegraph/status/1884973341603217416″ rel=”null” target=”null” text=”null” title=”null”> January 30, 2025. So what happens if each bitcoiner in the United States, or even in industrialized countries, directed a solo mine?

If each bitcoin holder in the United States (<a target="_blank" data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://coinweb.com/trends/how-many-people-hold-bitcoin/” rel=”null” target=”null” text=”null” title=”null”>approximately 67 <a target="_blank" data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://coinweb.com/trends/how-many-people-hold-bitcoin/” rel=”null” target=”null” text=”null” title=”null”>Millions of residents) Only the lowest hash rate production miner deployed on the list, the network would win around 80.4 exhahas per second (EH/s), which is a substantial impulse for the global network, but this would not exceed corporate giants.

Let's take this beyond. If each bitcoin holder in industrialized countries, including Europe (31 million), Japan (3.7 million), South Korea (15.6 million) and Australia (approximately 5 million) joined, the cumulative hashrato would reach an amazing 146.76 EH/s, significantly promoting the existing global hashated (see Figure 1).

• Global bitcoin hashrate (as of January 30, 2025): 835.04 eh/s

• Percentage change with American miners: (80.4 eh/s ÷ â 235.04 eh/s) × 100 ≈ 9.63%

• Percentage change with industrial countries: (146.76 eh/s ÷ 2835.04 eh/s) × 100

≈ 17.57%

bitcoin Network Percent change of hashrate with US and industrial countries – Source: Dr. Michael Tabone.

What would this mean for bitcoin?

Industrial mining companies would have to compete against a truly decentralized mining force. Without a single entity capable of exercising control over mining, bitcoin's security model would be reinforced against attacks at the state level, regulatory capture or corporate collusion. A widely distributed hashrate would eliminate concerns about censorship driven by miners and make bitcoin immune to government repressions.

Recent: bitcoin's monthly production falls while the miners fight for the hashrate on the rise

The safety of the network would reach unprecedented levels, which makes 51% financially unfeasible attacks. However, such an increase in mining participation would also introduce significant challenges, mainly in energy consumption, accessibility and incentives.

Practical barriers to solo mining

Despite the benefits, several factors make it unlikely that each bitcoiner in an industrialized country will establish a solo mining operation. One of the most immediate obstacles is the cost. Even small and efficient miners such as the Bitaxe Gamma come with an initial price of $ 180- $ 220, which, although reasonable for some, still raises a financial barrier for many.

Electricity costs also vary widely according to the region, which makes mining unfeasible for those in high -cost energy markets.

Perhaps the most significant challenge, however, is the low probability of rewards in an environment of high difficulty. bitcoin Mining is already a lottery. If millions of new miners join, the solo mining rewards would become even rarely. Most of the miners in the home today use mining pools to guarantee constant payments, but the dependence of large swimming pools introduces risks of centralization.

The chips supply problem

Even if the demand for mining at home explodes, there is still a critical bottleneck in the supply of chips for ASIC production. The semiconductor industry is highly centralized, with only a few foundations (such as TSMC and Samsung) capable of producing high efficiency chips.

The problem is double: the priority is for larger mining companies, Bitmain and Microbt, and other important players ensure bulk orders in advance. Geopolitical tensions, resource scarcity and manufacturing limitations limit chips production.

Domestic mining will continue to be limited without supply without alternative ASIC producers compared to mining operations at an industrial scale. The national production of ASIC chips in the United States could increase under the administration of President Donald Trump, which could affect this dynamic.

How would ASIC prices respond to mass demand

If millions of people suddenly want the ASIC miners, prices would increase.

• INDUSTRIAL ASIC (ANTMINER S19, WhatsMiner M50): Prices could quadruple ($ 3,000 → $ 12,000+) due to chip scarcity and high demand.

A short -term pricing explosion would occur due to the limitations of the supply chain, but over time, the manufacture would increase to meet demand, stabilizing prices at a higher but reasonable level.

Is this feasible?

While it is not a literal proposal, this mental experiment highlights a key reality: the more Minen bitcoin, the strongest and most decentralized people the network becomes. bitcoin's solo mining ensures that mining remains distributed enough so that some entities do not dominate it.

bitcoin's security model thrives in incentives, and although corporate miners currently play an important role, an increase in sovereign people who run to miners at home would be a change of play. If even a fraction of industrialized nations adopted small -scale mining, the network would be much more decentralized than it is today.

Will Bitcoiners press for a broader mining adoption, or the miners at an industrial scale will continue to consolidate energy? The future of bitcoin decentralization may depend on the answer.

Opinion of: Dr. Michael Tabone, senior economist of Cointelegraph.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The points of view, the thoughts and opinions expressed here are alone of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the opinions and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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