Just take a look at this reality of Bitcoin mining that many people don’t fully understand. Everyone always asks whether it’s possible to mine with a cellphone or with weak machines, but the whole thing is more complex than it sounds.

Basically, the time it takes to earn 1 Bitcoin depends on three things: your computational power, how much you spend on electricity, and the current network difficulty. The network can solve a block every 10 minutes on average, and each block releases a reward of 3,125 BTC. But here’s the detail: that’s for the entire network working together, not for an isolated miner.

If you have a strong mining machine, you can mine Bitcoin with much more speed. But what if it’s with weak computational power? Then we’re talking about months, sometimes even years, to accumulate 1 Bitcoin. Mining Bitcoin with a cellphone, for example, is practically impossible these days.

That’s why most miners have joined pools—groups that combine the computational power of multiple miners. That way, you share the rewards and earn small portions of Bitcoin regularly, instead of waiting months for a single reward. Solo mining nowadays is basically financial suicide, for real.

And you, how do you see this situation? Do you think it’s still worth mining, or should people focus on other strategies? Drop your thoughts in the comments. Want more analysis about Bitcoin and mining? Follow us so you don’t miss out!