Quote from: cpengr on September 30, 2013, 02:05:40 AM

Quote from: ralree on September 30, 2013, 01:56:24 AM

Quote from: amer on September 29, 2013, 03:13:01 PM

Here's another way of looking at the potential for continued long-term exponential growth (but I think it uses the same line of thinking)...

+1. This is what I meant. Thanks for the down-to-earth calculation. Don't let TheGenesisBlock's calculator (which is awesome, btw) trick you into thinking we're going to have a larger (hashrate-wise) network than we will. Remember - nearly everyone advising you against mining .. is a miner Wink

. I would still take delivery on a $1299 60GH miner.

amer provided some useful info and perspective as it relates to a longer term view. However, AFAICT, short term--if the hash growth rate stays the same (very roughly 100%/month) for the next 2-3 months, then this miner will not even approach breaking even in terms of USD. Am I wrong in my calculation? Or is there some reason you expect a significant drop in the hash rate growth rate very soon?

I think in the future the best case scenario for hashrate will be leveling towards flat, I can't imagine a scenario short of a algo change or a major blow to Bitcoin where the hashrate will actually drop in the foreseeable future. Could be wrong though, also interested in ralree's explanation for his optimistic outlook.