Reports have disclosed that higher difficulty makes mining more costly, and the pressure is felt most by smaller operations that run on narrow profit margins.
Big miners have room to scale. Smaller teams do not. Costs for electricity, machines and maintenance add up fast. The situation raises concern about concentration. As the cost to operate rises, larger pools and firms are better positioned to absorb the pain and keep hashing.
Those payouts highlight two facts. First, solo success is rare but possible. Second, occasional large rewards do not erase the steady advantage of scale. Pools still smooth earnings for participants, and many miners use them to avoid long dry spells.
Bitcoin endured six straight losing Septembers from 2017 through 2022. The streak reversed in 2023, and 2024 closed out as the best September on record at +7.29%.
In short, the network’s math is becoming tougher at the same time mining capacity dipped slightly. That creates tighter margins and fuels debate over centralization as scale matters more.
Yet the ecosystem still shows variety: solo miners can and do win blocks, and market history gives investors a mixed picture where seasonal trends matter but do not guarantee outcomes.
For now, miners and market watchers alike will be tracking difficulty, hashrate and price swings as the fall unfolds.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
