You're welcome!

I'm not sure what the first part means, so here's what I actually did.  First, I downloaded .csv data from this chart:  https://blockchain.info/charts/miners-revenue?timespan=all.  It incorporates block rewards, transaction fees, and difficulty (actual data for the entire network).  On a log scale, you can see the downward steps resulting from block reward halving.  Blockchain.info logged the data in USD based on the exchange rate each day (I don't know what kind of averaging they used for that).

Next, I downloaded .csv data from this chart:  https://blockchain.info/charts/hash-rate?timespan=all.  As I mentioned previously, this is an estimate based on block solution times. 

I divided the first data set by the second one in order to normalize the revenues to a constant mining hashrate and thereby get a result representing individual miners rather than the entire network.  Also as mentioned previously, it's standardized to 1 TH/s.  Any individual miner would see results on any particular day based on his own specific hashrate that day.  And of course, individual results vary because of randomness inherent in the system

That's all I did.  I used the data directly from blockchain.info, and added no assumptions about pools, utility costs, depreciation, etc.  The overall downward trend indicates that over long time periods, the exchange rate has failed to keep pace with increasing difficulty.  There have been many intervals when the opposite occurred (bumps in the curve), but the long-term trend is undeniable.  That's why it takes more and more computing power to make the same money year after year.  And it's only possible to profit from increased computing power because hardware energy efficiency has improved so much.  All of which ties in with Sandal_Hat's comparison to the shipping industry.

Thanks for confirming that.  So there you go.  The 'joke' chart answers your question, since it gives the full history of 'profitability' (as used in the OP).  It has been somewhat worse in the past.  I think it will get still worse in the future. 

No, it's gross mining revenue in USD.  Basically (block reward)x(market price)/difficulty at a constant hashrate, using published historical data.  Electric bill is not in it.  Did your OP involve utility or other costs at all?  It looked to me like you were simply lamenting low gross revenue.  Please clarify if I misread it.

The joke is your inability to interpret a technical chart.  The 'per TH/s' is just a scaling factor.  If it makes you happier, lop three zeroes off the y-axis labels and read it as 'per GH/s.'  If you understand what you're looking at, it says the same thing you ranted at Sandal_Hat about.

Do the mods actually buy your 'just for shock value' nonsense?

Absolutely!  Hardware has also gotten more energy efficient.  The graph makes no allowance for any kind of expense, but neither did the OP's question (if I read it correctly).  I just tried to answer the question in the same terms it was asked.

I think you are confusing revenue with profit, but here is historical revenue data.  I downloaded from blockchain.info two files:  Miners Revenue (total value of coinbase block rewards and transaction fees paid to miners) and Hash Rate (estimated number of tera hashes per second).  I divided the first by the second to get revenue per TH/s, et voila ---

https://i.imgur.com/mjIgED9.jpg

Their 'hash rate' is an estimate based on block solution times.  I also downloaded price and difficulty data and calculated expected revenue using the usual math.  That gave a very similar result, but it was a lot more work.  

I hope this provides some insight.

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(Moderator's note: This post was edited by frodocooper to remove inline image tags.)

Sorry to contradict after your kind vote of confidence.  Both scenarios result in $400 of taxable income.  You don't get a tax deduction for repaying principal on a loan.  Unless the loan is interest-free, the debt scenario results both in lower net income and less cash. 

Not quite sure what you're saying, but it sounds a bit backwards to me.  I don't mean to shred you, because you might have just gotten some bad advice.  Profit is either there or not there, regardless of whether you take any of it out as cash.  If the business were not operating at a profit (ignoring equipment depreciation, which is not a small 'ignore'), there wouldn't be enough USD available to cover the electric bill.  Will it still cover the power bill tomorrow, when the difficulty goes up another 8-10%?  How about later this month, when it bumps up again?

Yep.  Steemit's motto should be "A penny for your thoughts." 

Mine took about a week, after the e-mail asking me to confirm my e-mail address.

I've been on steemit for about a month (as mountainherb).  It has some flaws, maybe not fatal but serious:

 - It's more a platform for content creators than a social media site.  Unlike FB or Twitter, for example, you really can't post a brief thought and start a conversation with friends/followers/the universe.
 - There is an enormous amount of junk, with no good way to filter it out AFAIK.
 - There is no mechanism for contacting another steemer directly.
 - They separated the actual conversational aspect into steemchat, which is even worse for junk and lack of filtering.

Overall, I like the idea of it, but I don't find it very useful, user friendly or valuable.  Just my .02.

Where did you get these numbers?  Your last figure requires about 22.5 TH/s and free electricity.  What ASIC hardware can do that? 

This is not a good time to start bitcoin mining, IMO, unless you can get an S9 for free, because the mining difficulty is climbing about 10% every two weeks.  You have some serious homework to do.  Start here:  https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@mountainherb/bitcoin-mining-profitability-perspective 
Good luck!

Thanks, I might take you up on that.  Mine are pretty bare-bones. 

Glad you found it helpful!  Thanks!

Just dropped Part 6, taking mining profit projection prognostication about as far as I can...
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@mountainherb/bitcoin-mining-strikes-a-rich-vein-of-reality

Tax law often doesn't make sense.  Logical or not, it's the law.  When they send you a bill for taxes, penalties, and interest, "That makes no sense" is not a defense.  It pays to educate yourself.

Chapter 5, in which I introduce present value and discounted cash flows for mining decisions. 

https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@mountainherb/time-travel-voodoo-for-mining-decisions

Thanks, Avaemily and chulos!