Mining bitcoin at home in 2026: what a 12 TH/s miner really earns

A bitcoin miner running at 12.2 TH/s and drawing 137 watts earns, at the network hashrate of 7 September 2026, about €0.40 a day in bitcoin and costs €0.84 a day in electricity at the average Dutch tariff for July 2026. Mining bitcoin at home in the Netherlands is therefore not a way to make money. We do not know that from a calculator but from our own rack: the figures below come from a miner running at our place. What it is instead, and for whom it can still be worthwhile, follows below.

The measurement

On 1 September 2026 the log of our Nexus S1, undervolted to 950 millivolts, showed a daily average of 12.13 TH/s at 136.5 watts at the board; on 29 August, 12.22 TH/s at 137.0 watts. We use 12.2 TH/s and 137 watts. That is a small device, the size of a toaster, and it is exactly the class that "mining bitcoin at home" is about in practice: not a roaring industrial ASIC, but something that fits next to the router.

What it earns

The bitcoin network hashrate stood at 946.9 EH/s on 7 September 2026 (mempool.space, three-day average). Our 12.2 TH/s is 0.0000013% of that. The last 144 blocks paid out 452.51 BTC in total, so 3.14 BTC per block including transaction fees. Our share of that, if a pool paid us pro rata: 0.0000058 BTC a day. At the 7 September price (€68,198 per bitcoin) that is €0.40 a day, or €145 a year.

What it costs

137 watts is 3.29 kWh a day. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports for July 2026 an average variable supply tariff of €0.1447 per kWh plus €0.11085 energy tax, both including VAT: €0.256 per kWh. That is €0.84 a day, €307 a year. The miner therefore costs €0.44 a day more than it earns, €162 a year, before the purchase price.

The break-even point is €0.12 per kWh. If you have solar panels and pay to feed back during the day, or a dynamic contract with negative hourly prices, you get below that in some hours. That is the only situation in which the sum turns positive in the Netherlands, and it stays dependent on the price and the network hashrate, both of which change every day.

Why people do it anyway

Three reasons we see in ourselves and in readers.

The lottery. If you mine solo you do not get €0.40 a day but nothing, until you find a block and then the whole block. At 12.2 TH/s the chance per day is 1 in 539,000; the expected wait is about 1,480 years. It happens, small miners have found blocks, but do not count on it. If you want to mine solo, pick a pool without fees or run your own node.

The heat. 137 watts is 137 watts of heat, 24 hours a day. In winter it replaces part of your heating; in summer it is a loss. If you heat electrically, you can partly write off the electricity cost during the heating season.

The network. Your own miner on your own node is the most direct way to understand how bitcoin works. That is not a financial argument, and we do not present it as one.

What the Dutch tax office says (Netherlands only)

This section applies only to people who pay tax in the Netherlands. Tax rules differ per country and change regularly; always consult the tax authority or official register of your own country for the current rules. For private individuals, the Belastingdienst states that mining income does not have to be declared unless the income exceeds the costs; then it is income from work or business in box 1. With the figures above, costs exceed income, so for most home miners it stays at the ordinary declaration of the mined coins as assets in box 3 on 1 January. How that works is in Crypto in box 3: reference date, price and the rebuttal rule. Rules differ in other countries; this is not tax advice.

If you want to start anyway

Start small and measure. A miner in the 1 to 15 TH/s class costs between a few tens and a few hundred euros; prices and electricity costs per model are in Buying an ASIC miner at MineShop. Through our MineShop page the code CRYPTOCODES gives an extra discount; Cryptocode receives a fee if you order there. Point the miner at your own node or a pool without fees, undervolt it (our S1 runs at 950 mV, which makes it quieter and more frugal), and put a plug-in power meter in between. What the meter says is the truth; what the manufacturer says is a promise.

Frequently asked questions

Is mining bitcoin at home profitable in 2026? At the average Dutch electricity tariff, no: €0.40 of revenue against €0.84 of electricity a day at 12.2 TH/s. The break-even point is around €0.12 per kWh.

What are the odds of finding a block solo? At 12.2 TH/s about 1 in 539,000 a day, at the network hashrate of 7 September 2026. Bigger miners have proportionally more chance, but it stays a lottery.

What is mining, actually? A miner tries billions of times a second to find a number that makes a new block valid. Whoever finds it first gets the block reward. More hashrate is more attempts a second, and so more chance.

Do I have to declare mining income? In the Netherlands a private individual does not have to declare it as income as long as costs exceed revenue, according to the Belastingdienst. The coins you hold do count as assets in box 3.

Sources

• Own measurement, Nexus S1, logs of 29 August and 1 September 2026: 12.22 TH/s at 137.0 W and 12.13 TH/s at 136.5 W.
• mempool.space, network hashrate (three-day average 946.9 EH/s), reward of the last 144 blocks (452.51 BTC) and price (€68,198), read on 7 September 2026.
• CBS, "Gemiddelde energietarieven voor consumenten", July 2026 (provisional figure): variable supply tariff €0.1447/kWh, energy tax €0.11085/kWh, including VAT; last checked 7 September 2026.
• Belastingdienst, "Cryptobezittingen (zoals bitcoins)", last checked 7 September 2026.

Mining hardware is a purchase with electricity costs, not an investment with a guaranteed return. Crypto is high-risk; you can lose your deposit. This is not financial or tax advice.