Payback Period (ROI)

Divide hardware cost by monthly net profit (revenue minus electricity) to get a naive payback period. A healthy target in 2026 is 12–18 months for ASICs; beyond that, you're exposed to halvings, difficulty growth and hardware obsolescence before recovering capital.

The naive figure assumes constant conditions, which never holds. Stress-test with rising difficulty, a price drawdown, and the next halving date. GPU miners can use gentler assumptions thanks to resale value; ASIC buyers should treat payback beyond the next halving as speculative.