Like people have said before, if you're willing to take a risk and mine in order to hold for future value, you can make a profit. However, that is a lot of what ifs. I have 4 mining rigs right now, but I only still run them because I have free electricity and I also bought them back in 2013 and already made roi on them. Would I go out and drop $7k on mining equipment again right now if they weren't already paid off? Hell no, I would just take that money and buy coins directly.