Cryptocurrency is about to go mainstream. In a recent interview, Gary Gensler, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), called Bitcoin a commodity, i.e., an economic good that can be bought, sold, or traded.
Many commentators believe this is a major step toward financial regulation. And while the crypto purists and libertarians balk at the idea of government intervention, some believe that regulation is exactly what Bitcoin needs.
“Bitcoin is hope,” says Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy. “It has the potential to offer financial freedom to everyone on the planet. It’s the antidote to government and central bank monetary policies that silently steal people’s wealth via inflation.”
“But right now, crypto is like the Wild West,” continues Saylor. “Investors and established firms won’t touch it, and I don’t blame them. It’s full of scams and garbage coins with no use-value. Regulation will clean up the industry. And that clarity will attract billions and billions of dollars in capital.”
Saylor puts his money (or should we say Bitcoin?) where his mouth is. In addition to a sizable personal stash, Saylor convinced his fellow Microstrategy board members to convert the company’s $500million cash reserves into Bitcoin.
“Bitcoin will be worth a million dollars per coin,” asserts Saylor. “It will take time, and the road will be bumpy, but that’s where we’re going. Just buy, hold, and ignore the doom-mongers.”
If Saylor and the other Bitcoin bulls are even halfway right, we can expect to see a mad scramble for Bitcoin and other cryptos in the near future. Most people will buy from exchanges.
Others will go straight to the source and start mining crypto.
Mining is a complex process requiring colossal amounts of computing power and electricity. And, as this recent study from 911metallurgist shows, how much money you can make from crypto mining depends on where you live.
Using data on the cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour, 911metallurgist’s researchers calculated the price of mining Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin in every country in the world.
With its abundance of cheap energy, Kuwait is the most profitable location in the world for miners. According to 911metallurgist, it costs $1393.95 to mine a whole Bitcoin in Kuwait. With the current Bitcoin price hovering around $20,000, that promises a juicy $16,000 profit per coin.
Crypto miners in Venezuela won’t see any decent returns for a long, long time. The nation’s ongoing energy crisis means miners must invest over $240,000 per Bitcoin. Not even Saylor would mine at those prices.
Check out a full breakdown of the findings below.
