By definition profitable means a business or activity yielding profit or financial gain. Is it as profitable to mine HNT as it was two years ago ? The answer would be a resounding no ! In January of 2021 there were approximately 14,000 Helium hotspots. As of August 2022 the Helium Network is made up of over 900,000 Helium hotspots sharing the same rewards.
While more miners are being added to the network every day rewards are being reduced over time. From genesis HNT was being mined at a reward rate of 5M HNT per month. In August 2021 the reward rate was reduced to 2.5M HNT per month and another halving will occur in August 2023 when rewards will again be cut in half.
As it is in many cases early adopters of the Helium Network fared quite well and were well rewarded for their hotspots and their contribution to the network. Some of the earliest adopters are now validators on the network which requires a stake of 10,000 HNT.
So is it still profitable to operate a hotspot ? Maybe not as lucrative as it once was but profitable, yes ! The network daily average reward rate at time of writing is 0.11 HNT per day. At a market price of 10 USD / HNT this earns $ 1.10 per day or about $ 400 per year. With helium miner prices plunging it’s very possible with some due diligence to buy a new miner …
