Mining Bitcoin is often misunderstood as a simple way to earn cryptocurrency, but the reality is far more complex. While the shortest possible time to mine 1 Bitcoin is about 10 minutes, this doesn't mean you’ll receive exactly 1 BTC in that time. Instead, miners are rewarded with 3.125 BTC (as of current block rewards) when they successfully add a new block to the Bitcoin blockchain—a process that occurs roughly every 10 minutes.
However, these rewards are rarely claimed by individual miners. Most participants join Bitcoin mining pools to combine their computational power and receive more consistent payouts. This collaborative approach increases the odds of earning rewards, even if each payout is smaller.
👉 Discover how blockchain rewards really work and whether mining is worth it for you.
Understanding Bitcoin Mining Difficulty and Hashrate
The actual time it takes to mine 1 Bitcoin depends almost entirely on your hashrate—the amount of computational power your mining hardware contributes to the network.
To illustrate, let’s look at real-world data from one of the largest mining pools: Foundry USA. Over a 7-day period, Foundry USA contributed approximately 225 EH/s (exahashes per second) and mined 269 blocks, averaging about 38.4 blocks per day. With each block yielding 3.125 BTC, this translates to roughly 120 BTC in daily rewards.
To earn 1 BTC per day from this pool, you’d need to contribute about 0.83% of Foundry’s total hashrate, or 1.9 EH/s (1.9 million TH/s). That’s an enormous amount of computing power—far beyond what most individuals can access.
What Hardware Do You Need?
The most powerful consumer-available ASIC miner today is the Antminer S21E XP Hyd 3U, which delivers a hashrate of 860 TH/s and costs around $13,200 per unit. To reach the necessary 1.9 million TH/s:
- You'd need 2,209 units
- Total hardware cost: $29.2 million
- Electricity, cooling, and maintenance costs not included
Clearly, mining 1 BTC per day requires infrastructure on an industrial scale.
Realistic Mining Timelines Based on Investment Size
For most people, mining isn’t feasible at the enterprise level. Let’s explore how long it would take to mine 1 Bitcoin with smaller, more accessible setups—assuming use of the same Antminer S21E model and current network difficulty levels.
- 5 miners (4,300 TH/s): ~442 days to mine 1 BTC
- 10 miners (8,600 TH/s): ~221 days
- 20 miners (17,200 TH/s): ~110 days
- 50 miners (43,000 TH/s): ~44 days
- 100 miners (86,000 TH/s): ~22 days
- 500 miners (430,000 TH/s): ~4.4 days
- 1,000 miners (860,000 TH/s): ~2.2 days
- 2,209 miners (1.9 million TH/s): ~1 day
These timelines highlight a key truth: Bitcoin mining is no longer accessible to casual enthusiasts. Profitability hinges on massive upfront investment, low-cost electricity, and efficient operations—all dominated by large-scale mining farms.
Why Professional Hardware Is Non-Negotiable
Attempting to mine Bitcoin with consumer-grade equipment like gaming GPUs or smartphones is practically futile due to the overwhelming dominance of specialized ASIC miners.
Can You Mine Bitcoin With a GPU?
Technically, yes—but it’s highly inefficient. Even top-tier GPUs produce negligible hashrate compared to ASICs. For example:
- A high-end GPU might deliver ~100 MH/s
- The Antminer S21E delivers 860 TH/s, over 8,600 times more power
At today’s difficulty levels, a GPU would take thousands of years to mine a single BTC—and consume far more in electricity than any potential reward.
What About Solo Mining?
Solo mining means trying to solve blocks alone without joining a pool. While it offers full reward ownership if successful, the odds are astronomically low unless you control a significant portion of the network hashrate.
For instance, if your setup contributes just 0.0001% of the total hashrate, your chance of finding a block is equally tiny—like winning the lottery every week for years.
Joining a mining pool dramatically improves consistency by distributing rewards proportionally based on contributed hashrate.
👉 See how professional-grade mining compares to amateur attempts—and where real profits lie.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How long does it take to mine 1 Bitcoin?
The theoretical minimum is around 10 minutes—if you happen to mine a full block and receive the 3.125 BTC reward. But realistically, the time depends on your hashrate. Most individual miners take months or years to accumulate 1 BTC through pooled mining.
How many Bitcoins are left to mine?
Approximately 1.1 million BTC remain unmined. The total supply is capped at 21 million, and over 19.9 million are already in circulation. As block rewards halve every four years (most recently to 3.125 BTC), the final Bitcoin won’t be mined until around the year 2140.
Can you randomly mine 1 Bitcoin?
Yes, but the odds are vanishingly small—especially with low-power hardware. Solo mining gives you a chance, but it's akin to gambling rather than generating reliable income.
Can you mine 1 Bitcoin per day?
Yes, but only with industrial-scale infrastructure worth nearly $30 million in ASIC miners alone. Even then, ongoing costs like electricity and maintenance must be factored in for profitability.
Can you mine Bitcoin on your phone?
Technically possible? Yes. Practical? No. A smartphone's processing power is negligible compared to ASICs. Most "crypto mining apps" don’t actually mine Bitcoin—they’re either scams or reward users through ads or surveys.
Can you mine Bitcoin with a GPU?
You can, but you shouldn’t. Modern ASICs outperform GPUs by orders of magnitude. Mining Bitcoin with a GPU will cost more in electricity than any potential return.
Final Thoughts: Is Bitcoin Mining Worth It?
Bitcoin mining has evolved into a capital-intensive industry dominated by large corporations and institutional players. For the average person, entering this space profitably requires:
- Millions in hardware investment
- Access to cheap electricity
- Technical expertise in cooling, maintenance, and logistics
Even modest setups require tens of thousands of dollars just to break even over a year—before accounting for energy costs.
Unless you’re prepared to operate at scale or have unique advantages (like free power), buying Bitcoin directly is often more practical and cost-effective than attempting to mine it.
👉 Compare mining returns vs. direct investment and see which path suits your goals best.