While the vast majority of investors are buying Bitcoin via exchanges, it’s still possible to get the cryptocurrency for dramatically less than the current exchange rate.
Bitcoin mining isn’t glamorous, but for the people willing to put in the work (dedicating a computer’s power to run a transaction validating software app, which helps police the system), there can be rewards.
Mining a coin takes time, though. And computer crunching takes a lot of power. Since power rates are different throughout the country, it’s notable cheaper in some states to mine a bitcoin than it is in others.
Crescent Electric studied mining costs based on the wattage used by the three most popular mining rigs (the AntMiner S9, the AntMinerS7 and the Avalon 6) and the days each takes to mine a coin (which range from 452 to over 1,800 depending on the machine), then multiplied by the average electricity rate in each state.
As it turns out, Louisiana is the least expensive state for miners. The state average of 9.87 cents per watt puts the average cost of mining at $3,224 per Bitcoin – substantially less than the over $16,000 the cryptocurrency is currently trading at on the open market.
Where else can you mine for less? Here’s the five least expensive states:
- Louisiana – Average cost for one coin: $3,224
- Idaho – Average cost for one coin: $3,289
- Washington – Average cost for one coin: $3,309
- Tennessee – Average cost for one coin: $3,443
- Arkansas – Average cost for one coin: $3,505
As for the most expensive states, Hawaii leads the list.
- Hawaii – Average cost for one coin: $9,483
- Alaska – Average cost for one coin: $7,059
- Connecticut – Average cost for one coin: $6,951
- Massachusetts – Average cost for one coin: $6,674
- New Hampshire – Average cost for one coin: $6,425
Curious about how your state fares? Crescent has a map showing the price in all 50 states.