Everyone wants exposure to Bitcoin’s upside, but what’s the best way to invest in Bitcoin mining in 2025?
High-net-worth and institutional investors often try a few familiar routes: buying and hodling BTC, purchasing shares of public mining companies, or buying mining rigs and paying a hosting service. Yet a small, savvy group of investors, data-driven and long-term focused, are making money on Bitcoin in a way most overlook. They are not just riding Bitcoin’s price; they’re actually earning Bitcoin every day by mining it themselves, with a fundamentally different approach. And the results speak for themselves.
At MiningStore, we work with investors across all these paths, and we consistently see the best ROI in our Managed Mining Program (MMP), a fully-managed Bitcoin mining partnership. Let’s break down why.
In theory, Bitcoin mining stocks seem like a convenient way to gain Bitcoin exposure, after all, these companies’ core business is producing BTC. But recent data reveals a harsh reality: many public miners are producing Bitcoin at a higher cost than Bitcoin’s market value. In Q4 2024, several publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies had all-in costs per coin well above the average Bitcoin price of ~$83,000†. In other words, they were mining at a loss. Meanwhile, MiningStore’s own mining program was producing Bitcoin for a fraction of that cost.
Source:
* Data from @matthew_sigel on Twitter. Retrieved from https://x.com/matthew_sigel/status/1908123263525327163
† StatMuse, Average Bitcoin price in Q4 2024 $83,426. Retrieved from https://www.statmuse.com/money/ask/bitcoin-average-price-q4-2024
‡ MMP cost per BTC is based on Antminer S21 Pro. Actual costs may vary by machine type and deployment conditions.
As shown above, most public miners in late 2024 were underwater on each coin mined, spending more to mine 1 BTC than the market value of that BTC. Riot spent about $148k per coin and Marathon $134k, while Bitcoin averaged ~$83k. By contrast, MiningStore’s MMP participants mined Bitcoin at roughly $55k all-in, leaving a healthy ~$28k gross profit per BTC. Even the more efficient public miner (Iris Energy) only eked out ~$5k profit per coin, and others lost tens of thousands of dollars per coin. This huge cost disparity translates to vastly different mining margins, and ultimately ROI for investors.
Why are the costs for public miners so high? Simply put, publicly traded Bitcoin miners operate like large enterprises, and they carry all the baggage that comes with it:
They don’t just mine Bitcoin; they manage boardrooms and internal politics. As an investor buying their stock, you’re footing the bill for all that overhead. You get whatever’s left after executives, lawyers, and accountants are paid, which lately, as the data shows, has been nothing but red ink.
On top of slim (or negative) margins, mining stocks add extreme volatility. These stocks act like high-beta Bitcoin proxies, often swinging more wildly than Bitcoin’s price itself. For example, during the 2022 crypto bear market, Bitcoin fell about 65%, but Marathon’s stock plunged around 80–90% from its highs. Riot’s share price has been about 60% more volatile than Bitcoin’s, and Marathon’s about 40% more. In plain terms, a 10% drop in BTC might trigger a 20%+ drop in those miner stocks. Investors in mining equities take on greater downside risk without any guaranteed Bitcoin yield, a double whammy of risk and inefficiency.
And crucially, unlike traditional dividend-paying companies, most public miners do not share the Bitcoin they mine with shareholders. They typically reinvest or hold it on their balance sheet. That means as a stock investor, you receive no direct BTC yield or dividend from the mining operations. Your only hope of profit is the stock price going up, which depends on market hype and those very same inefficient operations improving.
There’s another major factor that tilts the scales toward owning miners directly: tax efficiency. This is a benefit that many Bitcoin investors completely overlook. If you simply buy BTC or invest in a mining stock, you’re missing out on significant tax advantages available to actual mining operators.
How to mine Bitcoin with tax advantages? The key is to structure your mining as a business. When you own the mining hardware and participate in mining through a program like MiningStore’s MMP, you unlock powerful tax treatments that passive investors can’t access:
These tax benefits can dramatically lower your effective cost per BTC and boost your after-tax return on investment. Every dollar you don’t pay in tax is a dollar added to your net profit. Over a multi-year period, the ability to write off equipment and expenses, while accumulating appreciating BTC at favorable tax rates, creates a compounding advantage for mining investors.
But here’s the catch: not all forms of Bitcoin exposure give you these advantages. In fact, the differences come down to what you actually own and how your investment is structured. Let’s compare the key features of investing via MiningStore’s MMP vs. simply hosting your own miners vs. buying a public miner stock.
The table below breaks down the ownership, tax, and yield differences between three approaches: (1) MiningStore’s Managed Mining Program (MMP), (2) Owning your own ASIC miners and hosting them at the facility of a public company, and (3) Buying stock in a public mining company.
In summary: Whether you mine through MMP or on your own hardware, you get the tangible benefits of owning real Bitcoin-producing assets. By contrast, buying a mining stock gives you no ownership of machines or Bitcoin, and none of the tax benefits or direct BTC yield that come with ownership. Even if you choose to buy miners and host them yourself, you may capture similar tax perks, but you’ll be taking on the operational headaches and risk that come with managing a mining setup (and support quality will depend on your hosting provider).
Why does this distinction matter? If you opt for public stocks, you’re essentially betting on a company’s efficiency (or lack thereof) without any of the structural advantages on your side. You own a paper asset (stock shares) that could dilute or underperform, and you miss out on owning the hard assets (miners and Bitcoin) that drive real value. As an investor, that means no depreciation write-offs, no direct BTC, and no control. You’re paying full price for a derived exposure, whereas mining ownership lets you acquire Bitcoin at a discount (through lower mining costs) and keep more of each dollar earned (through tax efficiencies).
With MiningStore’s MMP, you’re not just gaining “exposure” to Bitcoin; you’re taking ownership of an efficient Bitcoin-producing infrastructure. You get the best of both worlds: the upside of direct Bitcoin production and the downside protection of a lean, optimized operation with tax advantages. Even if you could achieve some of this by hosting miners on your own, most investors don’t have the time or expertise to run a mini mining operation, especially across multiple bull/bear cycles. MMP handles the hard parts for you.
We’ve seen that MMP miners enjoy lower costs per BTC and better tax treatment than other options. But performance is more than just low costs, it’s also about reliable execution and support. MiningStore’s Managed Mining Program is built from the ground up for investors who demand results and a seamless experience. It’s essentially an “infrastructure play” that pays off in Bitcoin yield.
Here’s why MMP consistently outperforms typical mining investments:
Beyond the numbers, a huge part of outperformance is the operational partnership you get with MiningStore. We often say it’s not just about the mining rigs, it’s about the relationship. Here’s what that looks like:
MiningStore has built this program with a long-term view. We’ve deployed 14 mining facilities nationwide over the years and supported 180+ clients, a track record that gives new investors confidence. Not only do we know how to run efficient mines, but we know how to navigate the cycles of the Bitcoin market. That institutional knowledge becomes your asset when you join MMP.
If you’re a high-net-worth or serious investor who is done chasing inefficient exposure, tired of volatile mining stocks and underwhelming returns, it’s time to look at a more strategic approach. Bitcoin mining, done right, can provide the long-term, passive Bitcoin yield that many portfolios are missing. And done right means focusing on cost, structure, control, and tax efficiency, exactly what MiningStore’s MMP is designed to deliver.
In summary, with MiningStore’s Managed Mining Program you get:
And the numbers prove it: this is currently one of the most profitable ways to invest in bitcoin mining. It’s a path to Bitcoin exposure that actually yields Bitcoin, with far less waste and friction along the way.
Ready to compare the ROI for yourself? We’d be happy to run the math side-by-side with your other investment alternatives, no pressure, just a transparent look at the costs and upside. Take the guesswork out of your Bitcoin strategy and see how owning the infrastructure can truly pay off.
Book a strategy call now to explore how MiningStore’s Managed Mining Program can fit into your portfolio. Let’s talk numbers, taxes, and long-term Bitcoin growth, and chart a mining investment plan that outperforms the rest. Your future self (and your balance sheet) will thank you.
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