Technology
Prediction Consensus: What the Experts See Coming in 2020
Prediction Consensus: What Experts See Coming in 2020
Through the ages, humans have feared uncertainty. We’ve searched for clues in everything from entrails to tea leaves to the arrangement of heavenly bodies in the night sky.
In the modern era, data and media are the new magic 8-ball. The jury is still out on whether we’ve gotten any better at anticipating the forces that will shape the coming year, but that certainly hasn’t stopped people from trying.
Of the hundreds of forward-looking pieces of content published in the lead-up to 2020, how many of the expert predictions lined up? Was there a consensus on any particular trend, or were predictions all over the map?
During the month of December we analyzed over 100 articles, whitepapers, and interviews to answer that question. While there was no firm consensus on where 2020 will take us, there were a few themes that appeared in multiple publications. Today’s graphic highlights these reappearing predictions, and below, we examine seven of them in more detail.
The Promise and Controversy of 5G
One technology that’s sure to capture the headlines in 2020 is 5G. Broadband speeds of over one gigabit per second will become a reality when 5G technology rolls out across the country, without the cable that currently connects most homes. This prediction is a slam dunk, as some carriers are already testing the technology in select neighborhoods around the United States.
Experts also predict that a wave of 5G-enabled smartphone and IoT products will become commercially available in 2020.
The wild card in this 5G story will be guessing which companies end up building out the new network. Huawei was in a strong position to lead the charge, but the company has been stonewalled in a number countries โ most notably the United States, Australia, and Japan. Whether due to national security concerns or protectionism, Chinese companies may continue to face an uphill battle in Western markets.
Fake News 2.0
While many predictions for 2020 were fueled by excitement for new technologies, there was one that was decidedly more ominous โ the proliferation of deepfakes. Simply put, deepfakes are videos that harness artificial intelligence to create a convincing likeness of a real person.
With the U.S. presidential election just around the corner, many experts fear that deepfakes are going to do serious damage, manipulating public opinion on both sides of the political spectrum. Unlike fake news, which often comes with obvious visual cues to help determine authenticity, even deepfakes created using free online tools are extremely convincing. If predictions come true, the lead-up to the U.S. election could be a wild ride.
Consumerism in Flux
The late 2010’s were a turbulent time for retail. The rise of ecommerce and shifting consumer preferences combined to cause a “retailpocalypse”, and many brands are still struggling to evolve their brick and mortar strategy to compete in an Amazon Prime world. Experts are predicting new evolutions for physical stores that are powered by technology instead of human employees.
The incarnation of this approach that will likely garner the most attention will be the next wave of cashierless Amazon Go locations opening in cities around the country.
Experts also predict that brands will mimic the example of Amazon’s Whole Foods, and incorporate online order pick-up locations within their physical stores. Increasingly, the line between ecommerce and traditional retail is blurring.
The Cookie Begins to Crumble
In 2019, approximately $330 billion was spent on digital advertising, but privacy regulations such as GDPR and the CCPA โ California’s new privacy law โ are causing massive disruption and upheaval in this industry.
For many years, the humble internet cookie has done the heavy lifting in collecting your personal data from online activity. This data is what advertisers use to reach you as you scroll Instagram or read articles online. Already, changes to Safari and Firefox wiped out about 40% of all third-party cookies, and in a world where people need to physically click a button on each site to allow cookies, it’s unclear how viable the technology will be as privacy measures are enacted.
The Call of the Picket Fence
One of main predictions going into 2020 is that starter homes will be a leading category in new home builds. For millions of millennials around the country in the rental market, a starter home โ the first residence a person or family can afford to purchase, often using a combination of savings and mortgage financing โ will begin to look more appealing.
Rent in American cities has been marching upward for nearly a decade, and the promise of more space and entry into the home ownership market may lure more of this generational cohort to the suburbs.
Also on the topic of real estate, a few experts noted that even if there is an economic downturn in 2020, the housing market is unlikely to take a big hit.
All Eyes on IPOs
Despite experiencing a rough patch in 2019, SoftBank and its gargantuan Vision Fund will remain one of the most powerful forces in Silicon Valley this year. Masayoshi Son, Softbank’s enigmatic CEO, appears to have adopted a more pragmatic approach, citing a company’s “ability to turn a profit in the future” as a yardstick of evaluating the value of an investment.
Experts predict that in light of the very public PR disasters of unicorns Uber and WeWork, investors will be much more skeptical of high-valuation IPOs.
In 2020, more companies are predicted to opt for a direct listing to go public.
What Goes Up?
When the ball dropped to usher in 2019, market sentiment was leaning toward an impending recession. A year later, the economic expansion is still underway, and many experts now have a more positive outlook for 2020.
The majority of predictions we analyzed foresaw a year of continued job growth and modest gains in the stock market. Here’s a look at S&P 500 end target predictions from some of Wall Street’s top strategists:
The Elephant in the Oval
One prediction nobody seemed particularly keen to make was on the result of the impending U.S. presidential election.
Experts are likely happy to take a wait-and-see approach until the Democratic nominee is announced. Also looming in the back of people’s minds might be the memory of 2016, which was a powerful reminder that even predictions that seem like a sure thing don’t always pan out as expected.
[Experts] can’t predict the markets with any useful consistency, any more than the gizzard squeezers could tell the Roman emperors when the Huns would attack.
โ Peter Lynch
A note on methodology: To make sure we captured a robust cross section of predictions for the coming year, we spent the month of December tracking down and analyzing hundreds of articles, whitepapers, and interviews from respected sources. For this exercise, we chose to focus on four broad, interconnected themes โ the economy, consumerism, real estate, and technology. In the end, we analyzed 100+ published pieces, and captured 150+ predictions. We focused on content from media publications in Comscore’s top 100, major banks and consultancies, and brands and agencies with high-quality thought leadership. In the end, we highlighted the 25 predictions that appeared the most often.
Technology
Thematic Investing: 3 Key Trends in Cybersecurity
Cyberattacks are becoming more frequent and sophisticated. Here’s what investors need to know about the future of cybersecurity.


Thematic Investing: 3 Key Trends in Cybersecurity
In 2020, the global cost of cybercrime was estimated to be around $945 billion, according to McAfee.
Itโs likely even higher today, as multiple sources have recorded an increase in the frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks during the pandemic.
In this infographic from Global X ETFs, we highlight three major trends that are shaping the future of the cybersecurity industry that investors need to know.
Trend 1: Increasing Costs
Research from IBM determined that the average data breach cost businesses $4.2 million in 2021, up from $3.6 million in 2017. The following table breaks this figure into four components:
Cost Component | Value ($) |
---|---|
Cost of lost business | $1.6M |
Detection and escalation | $1.2M |
Post breach response | $1.1M |
Notification | $0.3M |
Total | $4.2M |
The greatest cost of a data breach is lost business, which results from system downtimes, reputational losses, and lost customers. Second is detection and escalation, including investigative activities, audit services, and communications to stakeholders.
Post breach response includes costs such as legal expenditures, issuing new accounts or credit cards (in the case of financial institutions), and other monitoring services. Lastly, notification refers to the cost of notifying regulators, stakeholders, and other third parties.
To stay ahead of these rising costs, businesses are placing more emphasis on cybersecurity. For example, Microsoft announced in September 2021 that it would quadruple its cybersecurity investments to $20 billion over the next five years.
Trend 2: Remote Work Opens New Vulnerabilities
According to IBM, companies that rely more on remote work experience greater losses from data breaches. For companies where 81 to 100% of employees were remote, the average cost of a data breach was $5.5 million (2021). This dropped to $3.7 million for companies that had under 10% of employees working from home.
A major reason for this gap is that work-from-home setups are typically less secure. Phishing attacks surged in 2021, taking advantage of the fact that many employees access corporate systems through their personal devices.
Type of Attack | Number of attacks in 2020 | Number of attacks in 2021 | Growth (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Spam phishing | 1.5M | 10.1M | +573% |
Credential phishing | 5.5M | 6.2M | +13% |
As detected by Trend Microโs Cloud App Security.
Spam phishing refers to โfakeโ emails that trick users by impersonating company management. They can include malicious links that download ransomware onto the users device. Credential phishing is similar in concept, though the goal is to steal a personโs account credentials.
A tactic you may have seen before is the Amazon scam, where senders impersonate Amazon and convince users to update their payment methods. This strategy could also be used to gain access to a companyโs internal systems.
Trend 3: AI Can Reduce the Cost of a Data Breach
AI-based cybersecurity can detect and respond to cyberattacks without any human intervention. When fully deployed, IBM measured a 20% reduction in the time it takes to identify and contain a breach. It also resulted in cost savings upwards of 60%.
A prominent user of AI-based cybersecurity is Google, which uses machine learning to detect phishing attacks within Gmail.
Machine learning helps Gmail block spam and phishing messages from showing up in your inbox with over 99.9% accuracy. This is huge, given that 50-70% of messages that Gmail receives are spam.
– Andy Wen, Google
As cybercrime escalates, Acumen Research and Consulting believes the market for AI-based security solutions will reach $134 billion by 2030, up from $15 billion in 2021.
Introducing the Global X Cybersecurity ETF
The Global X Cybersecurity ETF (Ticker: BUG) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Indxx Cybersecurity Index. See below for industry and country-level breakdowns, as of June 2022.
Sector (By security type) | Weight |
---|---|
Cloud | 28.0% |
Network | 25.1% |
Identity | 17.7% |
Internet | 15.0% |
Endpoint | 12.8% |
Country | Weight |
---|---|
๐บ๐ธ U.S. | 71.6% |
๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | 13.2% |
๐ฌ๐ง UK | 8.2% |
๐ฏ๐ต Japan | 5.5% |
๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | 0.9% |
๐จ๐ฆ Canada | 0.6% |
Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Investors can use this passively managed solution to gain exposure to the rising adoption of cybersecurity technologies.

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Technology
The Cost of Mining Bitcoin in 198 Different Countries
Mining bitcoin is costly. But the exact price fluctuates, depending on the location and the cost of electricity in the area.

Cost of Mining Bitcoin in 198 Different Countries
View a higher resolution version of this map.
It takes an estimated 1,449 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy to mine a single bitcoin. Thatโs the same amount of energy an average U.S. household consumes in approximately 13 years.
Given the high amount of energy needed to mine bitcoin, it can be a costly venture to get into. But exact prices fluctuate, depending on the location and the cost of electricity in the area.
Where are the cheapest and most expensive places to mine this popular cryptocurrency? This graphic by 911 Metallurgist provides a snapshot of the estimated cost of mining bitcoin around the world, using pricing and relative costs from March 23, 2022.
How Does Bitcoin Mining Work?
Before diving in, itโs worth briefly explaining the basics of bitcoin mining, and why it requires so much energy.
When someone mines for bitcoin, what theyโre really doing is adding and verifying a new transaction record to the blockchainโthe decentralized bank ledger where bitcoin is traded and distributed.
To create this new record, crypto miners need to crack a complex equation thatโs been generated by the blockchain system.
Potentially tens of thousands of miners are racing to crack the same code at any given time. Only the first person to solve the equation gets rewarded (unless youโre part of a mining pool, which is essentially a group of miners who agree to combine efforts to increase their chances of solving the equation).
The faster your computing power is, the better your chances are of winning, so solving the equation first requires powerful equipment that takes up a lot of energy.
The Costs and Profits of Mining Bitcoin in 198 Countries
Across the 198 countries included in the dataset, the average cost to mine bitcoin sat at $35,404.03, more than bitcoinโs value of $20,863.69 on July 15, 2022. Though it’s important to note that fluctuating energy prices, and more or less miners on the bitcoin network, constantly change the necessary energy and final cost.
Hereโs a breakdown of what the cost to mine one bitcoin in each country was in March 23, 2022, along with the potential profit after accounting for mining costs:
# | Country | Cost to mine 1 bitcoin | Profit (July 15, 2022) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait | $1,393.95 | $18,362.58 |
2 | ๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria | $4,181.86 | $15,574.67 |
3 | ๐ธ๐ฉ Sudan | $4,779.27 | $14,977.26 |
4 | ๐พ๐ช Yemen | $7,161.77 | $12,594.76 |
5 | ๐ช๐น Ethiopia | $7,168.91 | $12,587.62 |
6 | ๐ฐ๐ฌ Kyrgyzstan | $7,168.91 | $12,587.62 |
7 | ๐ฆ๐ด Angola | $7,368.04 | $12,388.49 |
8 | ๐ถ๐ฆ Qatar | $7,368.04 | $12,388.49 |
9 | ๐ฐ๐ต North Korea | $7,744.32 | $12,012.21 |
10 | ๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan | $8,762.00 | $10,994.53 |
11 | ๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia | $9,160.27 | $10,596.26 |
12 | ๐ฆ๐ฟ Azerbaijan | $9,558.54 | $10,197.99 |
13 | ๐ง๐ณ Brunei | $9,956.81 | $9,799.72 |
14 | ๐ฎ๐ท Iran | $10,355.09 | $9,401.44 |
15 | ๐บ๐ฟ Uzbekistan | $10,355.09 | $9,401.44 |
16 | ๐ฝ๐ฐ Kosovo | $10,560.17 | $9,196.36 |
17 | ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore | $10,952.50 | $8,804.03 |
18 | ๐ฒ๐ณ Mongolia | $11,151.63 | $8,604.90 |
19 | ๐ง๐น Bhutan | $11,749.04 | $8,007.49 |
20 | ๐ง๐ญ Bahrain | $11,948.18 | $7,808.35 |
21 | ๐ด๐ฒ Oman | $11,948.18 | $7,808.35 |
22 | ๐น๐ฏ Tajikistan | $12,545.59 | $7,210.94 |
23 | ๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine | $12,744.72 | $7,011.81 |
24 | ๐ฌ๐ช Georgia | $13,143.00 | $6,613.53 |
25 | ๐ฆ๐ฌ Paraguay | $13,143.00 | $6,613.53 |
26 | ๐น๐น Trinidad and Tobago | $13,143.00 | $6,613.53 |
27 | ๐ธ๐ท Suriname | $14,337.81 | $5,418.72 |
28 | ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia | $14,736.09 | $5,020.44 |
29 | ๐ฆ๐ฒ Armenia | $15,333.50 | $4,423.03 |
30 | ๐น๐ณ Tunisia | $15,333.50 | $4,423.03 |
31 | ๐ธ๐พ Syria | $15,532.63 | $4,223.90 |
32 | ๐จ๐ฌ Congo (Republic Of The) | $16,130.04 | $3,626.49 |
33 | ๐ฒ๐ฒ Myanmar | $16,130.04 | $3,626.49 |
34 | ๐ท๐บ Russia | $16,130.04 | $3,626.49 |
35 | ๐ฎ๐ถ Iraq | $16,926.59 | $2,829.94 |
36 | ๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova | $16,926.59 | $2,829.94 |
37 | ๐น๐ท Turkey | $17,723.13 | $2,033.40 |
38 | ๐ท๐ด Romania | $18,320.54 | $1,435.99 |
39 | ๐ฆ๐ฑ Albania | $18,718.81 | $1,037.72 |
40 | ๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh | $18,718.81 | $1,037.72 |
41 | ๐ฑ๐ฎ Liechtenstein | $18,917.95 | $838.58 |
42 | ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | $18,917.95 | $838.58 |
43 | ๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique | $19,117.08 | $639.45 |
44 | ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt | $19,316.22 | $440.31 |
45 | ๐จ๐ฉ Congo (Democratic Republic Of The) | $19,913.63 | -$157.10 |
46 | ๐ณ๐ด Norway | $20,112.77 | -$356.24 |
47 | ๐ฆ๐น Austria | $20,311.90 | -$555.37 |
48 | ๐จ๐ฑ Chile | $20,311.90 | -$555.37 |
49 | ๐ช๐ช Estonia | $20,511.04 | -$754.51 |
50 | ๐ธ๐ช Sweden | $20,710.18 | -$953.65 |
51 | ๐จ๐ซ Central African Republic | $20,909.31 | -$1,152.78 |
52 | ๐บ๐ธ United States | $21,088.53 | -$1,332.00 |
53 | ๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria | $21,307.58 | -$1,551.05 |
54 | ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia | $21,307.58 | -$1,551.05 |
55 | ๐ท๐ธ Serbia | $21,307.58 | -$1,551.05 |
56 | ๐ฆ๐ท Argentina | $21,506.72 | -$1,750.19 |
57 | ๐ฆ๐ช United Arab Emirates | $21,705.86 | -$1,949.33 |
58 | ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria | $22,303.27 | -$2,546.74 |
59 | ๐ฒ๐ฌ Madagascar | $22,502.40 | -$2,745.87 |
60 | ๐ฑ๐ป Latvia | $22,701.54 | -$2,945.01 |
61 | ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea | $22,701.54 | -$2,945.01 |
62 | ๐ง๐ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina | $23,099.81 | -$3,343.28 |
63 | ๐น๐ผ Taiwan | $23,298.95 | -$3,542.42 |
64 | ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel | $23,498.08 | -$3,741.55 |
65 | ๐ช๐จ Ecuador | $23,697.22 | -$3,940.69 |
66 | ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia | $23,896.36 | -$4,139.83 |
67 | ๐ณ๐ต Nepal | $23,896.36 | -$4,139.83 |
68 | ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand | $23,896.36 | -$4,139.83 |
69 | ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg | $24,095.49 | -$4,338.96 |
70 | ๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland | $24,294.63 | -$4,538.10 |
71 | ๐จ๐ฆ Canada | $24,493.76 | -$4,737.23 |
72 | ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco | $24,692.90 | -$4,936.37 |
73 | ๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe | $24,692.90 | -$4,936.37 |
74 | ๐ป๐ณ Vietnam | $24,892.04 | -$5,135.51 |
75 | ๐จ๐ฎ Cรดte DโIvoire (Ivory Coast) | $25,091.17 | -$5,334.64 |
76 | ๐ฑ๐พ Libya | $25,091.17 | -$5,334.64 |
77 | ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania | $25,091.17 | -$5,334.64 |
78 | ๐ฆ๐ฉ Andorra | $25,276.27 | -$5,519.74 |
79 | ๐จ๐ณ China | $25,489.45 | -$5,732.92 |
80 | ๐ฑ๐ง Lebanon | $25,887.72 | -$6,131.19 |
81 | ๐ฑ๐ฆ Laos | $26,285.99 | -$6,529.46 |
82 | ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland | $26,485.13 | -$6,728.60 |
83 | ๐ซ๐ท France | $27,082.54 | -$7,326.01 |
84 | ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland | $27,082.54 | -$7,326.01 |
85 | ๐ต๐ฑ Poland | $27,281.67 | -$7,525.14 |
86 | ๐ท๐ผ Rwanda | $27,281.67 | -$7,525.14 |
87 | ๐น๐ญ Thailand | $27,281.67 | -$7,525.14 |
88 | ๐จ๐ฟ Czech Republic | $27,480.81 | -$7,724.28 |
89 | ๐ฑ๐ธ Lesotho | $27,679.95 | -$7,923.42 |
90 | ๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro | $28,078.22 | -$8,321.69 |
91 | ๐ฒ๐ฑ Mali | $28,277.35 | -$8,520.82 |
92 | ๐จ๐ท Costa Rica | $28,675.63 | -$8,919.10 |
93 | ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands | $28,675.63 | -$8,919.10 |
94 | ๐ง๐พ Belarus | $29,273.04 | -$9,516.51 |
95 | ๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia | $30,069.58 | -$10,313.05 |
96 | ๐ฒ๐ฐ Macedonia, North | $30,866.13 | -$11,109.60 |
97 | ๐ธ๐ฒ San Marino | $30,866.13 | -$11,109.60 |
98 | ๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia | $31,065.26 | -$11,308.73 |
99 | ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa | $32,060.94 | -$12,304.41 |
100 | ๐ง๐ผ Botswana | $32,459.22 | -$12,702.69 |
101 | ๐ธ๐ฟ Swaziland | $32,857.49 | -$13,100.96 |
102 | ๐ง๐ช Belgium | $33,255.76 | -$13,499.23 |
103 | ๐บ๐พ Uruguay | $33,255.76 | -$13,499.23 |
104 | ๐ง๐ท Brazil | $33,454.90 | -$13,698.37 |
105 | ๐ญ๐ท Croatia | $33,454.90 | -$13,698.37 |
106 | ๐ฎ๐น Italy | $33,454.90 | -$13,698.37 |
107 | ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda | $33,654.03 | -$13,897.50 |
108 | ๐จ๐ฒ Cameroon | $33,853.17 | -$14,096.64 |
109 | ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico | $33,853.17 | -$14,096.64 |
110 | ๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi | $34,251.44 | -$14,494.91 |
111 | ๐ง๐ฎ Burundi | $34,450.58 | -$14,694.05 |
112 | ๐ฑ๐ฐ Sri Lanka | $34,450.58 | -$14,694.05 |
113 | ๐ฌ๐ถ Equatorial Guinea | $34,649.72 | -$14,893.19 |
114 | ๐ง๐ด Bolivia | $34,848.85 | -$15,092.32 |
115 | ๐ฒ๐ท Mauritania | $35,047.99 | -$15,291.46 |
116 | ๐ต๐ธ Palestine | $35,047.99 | -$15,291.46 |
117 | ๐น๐ฌ Togo | $35,047.99 | -$15,291.46 |
118 | ๐ฆ๐ซ Afghanistan | $35,844.53 | -$16,088.00 |
119 | ๐ญ๐บ Hungary | $35,844.53 | -$16,088.00 |
120 | ๐ธ๐ฑ Sierra Leone | $35,844.53 | -$16,088.00 |
121 | ๐ฒ๐จ Monaco | $35,922.73 | -$16,166.20 |
122 | ๐ต๐ญ Philippines | $36,043.67 | -$16,287.14 |
123 | ๐ฐ๐ญ Cambodia | $36,242.81 | -$16,486.28 |
124 | ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal | $36,242.81 | -$16,486.28 |
125 | ๐ธ๐น Sรฃo Tomรฉ and Prรญncipe | $36,441.94 | -$16,685.41 |
126 | ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland (Republic Of) | $37,835.90 | -$18,079.37 |
127 | ๐ฒ๐น Malta | $37,835.90 | -$18,079.37 |
128 | ๐จ๐พ Cyprus | $38,035.03 | -$18,278.50 |
129 | ๐ฌ๐ฆ Gabon | $38,035.03 | -$18,278.50 |
130 | ๐ธ๐ป El Salvador | $38,831.58 | -$19,075.05 |
131 | ๐ต๐ช Peru | $38,831.58 | -$19,075.05 |
132 | ๐จ๐ด Colombia | $39,628.12 | -$19,871.59 |
133 | ๐ฉ๐ด Dominican Republic | $40,026.40 | -$20,269.87 |
134 | ๐ฌ๐น Guatemala | $40,026.40 | -$20,269.87 |
135 | ๐ฌ๐ฒ The Gambia | $40,225.53 | -$20,469.00 |
136 | ๐ฌ๐ณ Guinea | $40,424.67 | -$20,668.14 |
137 | ๐ฎ๐ณ India | $40,424.67 | -$20,668.14 |
138 | ๐ฆ๐บ Australia | $40,623.81 | -$20,867.28 |
139 | ๐ฌ๐ท Greece | $40,623.81 | -$20,867.28 |
140 | ๐ฒ๐บ Mauritius | $40,822.94 | -$21,066.41 |
141 | ๐ง๐ฏ Benin | $41,221.21 | -$21,464.68 |
142 | ๐ญ๐ณ Honduras | $41,420.35 | -$21,663.82 |
143 | ๐ญ๐น Haiti | $42,017.76 | -$22,261.23 |
144 | ๐น๐ฉ Chad | $42,216.90 | -$22,460.37 |
145 | ๐ณ๐ช Niger | $42,416.03 | -$22,659.50 |
146 | ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya | $43,212.58 | -$23,456.05 |
147 | ๐ซ๐ฏ Fiji | $43,411.71 | -$23,655.18 |
148 | ๐ช๐ท Eritrea | $43,610.85 | -$23,854.32 |
149 | ๐ธ๐ธ South Sudan | $43,809.99 | -$24,053.46 |
150 | ๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan | $44,208.26 | -$24,451.73 |
151 | ๐ต๐น Portugal | $44,208.26 | -$24,451.73 |
152 | ๐ง๐ฟ Belize | $45,004.80 | -$25,248.27 |
153 | ๐ณ๐ท Nauru | $45,378.54 | -$25,622.01 |
154 | ๐น๐ฑ Timor-Leste | $46,597.89 | -$26,841.36 |
155 | ๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana | $46,996.17 | -$27,239.64 |
156 | ๐ฏ๐ต Japan | $47,195.30 | -$27,438.77 |
157 | ๐ง๐ซ Burkina Faso | $47,394.44 | -$27,637.91 |
158 | ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark | $48,190.98 | -$28,434.45 |
159 | ๐ฏ๐ด Jordan | $48,987.53 | -$29,231.00 |
160 | ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ England | $49,301.82 | -$29,545.29 |
161 | ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ Scotland | $50,090.64 | -$30,334.11 |
162 | ๐ต๐ฆ Panama | $50,580.62 | -$30,824.09 |
163 | ๐ฉ๐ช Germany | $50,978.89 | -$31,222.36 |
164 | ๐ฌ๐ง Ireland (Northern) | $51,536.83 | -$31,780.30 |
165 | ๐ช๐ธ Spain | $51,775.44 | -$32,018.91 |
166 | ๐ฉ๐ฏ Djibouti | $52,173.71 | -$32,417.18 |
167 | ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ท๓ ฌ๓ ณ๓ ฟ Wales | $52,194.19 | -$32,437.66 |
168 | ๐จ๐ป Cape Verde | $52,372.85 | -$32,616.32 |
169 | ๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica | $52,571.98 | -$32,815.45 |
170 | ๐ง๐ง Barbados | $52,970.26 | -$33,213.73 |
171 | ๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia | $52,970.26 | -$33,213.73 |
172 | ๐น๐ป Tuvalu | $53,887.02 | -$34,130.49 |
173 | ๐ฌ๐ผ Guinea-Bissau | $54,364.21 | -$34,607.68 |
174 | ๐ฐ๐ฒ Comoros | $55,957.30 | -$36,200.77 |
175 | ๐ง๐ธ Bahamas | $56,753.85 | -$36,997.32 |
176 | ๐ต๐ฌ Papua New Guinea | $57,550.39 | -$37,793.86 |
177 | ๐ฐ๐ณ Saint Kitts and Nevis | $60,935.71 | -$41,179.18 |
178 | ๐ฌ๐ฉ Grenada | $61,533.12 | -$41,776.59 |
179 | ๐ต๐ผ Palau | $63,922.75 | -$44,166.22 |
180 | ๐ฑ๐จ Saint Lucia | $63,922.75 | -$44,166.22 |
181 | ๐ธ๐จ Seychelles | $63,922.75 | -$44,166.22 |
182 | ๐ฌ๐พ Guyana | $65,316.71 | -$45,560.18 |
183 | ๐ณ๐ฎ Nicaragua | $66,511.52 | -$46,754.99 |
184 | ๐ป๐จ Saint Vincent and Grenadines | $68,901.16 | -$49,144.63 |
185 | ๐น๐ด Tonga | $72,087.34 | -$52,330.81 |
186 | ๐ฉ๐ฒ Dominica | $73,282.16 | -$53,525.63 |
187 | โ๐ป๐บโ Vanuatu | $76,070.07 | -$56,313.54 |
188 | ๐ผ๐ธโ Samoa | $76,667.48 | -$56,910.95 |
189 | โ๐จ๐บโ Cuba | $76,946.27 | -$57,189.74 |
190 | ๐ฑ๐ท Liberia | $77,663.16 | -$57,906.63 |
191 | โ๐ฒ๐ปโ Maldives | $78,459.70 | -$58,703.17 |
192 | ๐ฒ๐ญ Marshall Islands | $80,849.34 | -$61,092.81 |
193 | ๐ธ๐ด Somalia | $82,044.16 | -$62,287.63 |
194 | ๐ฐ๐ฎ Kiribati | $82,243.29 | -$62,486.76 |
195 | ๐ซ๐ฒ Micronesia, Federated States Of | $82,442.43 | -$62,685.90 |
196 | ๐ฆ๐ฌ Antigua and Barbuda | $89,412.20 | -$69,655.67 |
197 | ๐ธ๐ง Solomon Islands | $142,581.59 | -$122,825.06 |
198 | ๐ป๐ช Venezuela | $246,530.74 | -$226,774.21 |
Venezuela ranks as the number one most expensive country to mine bitcoin. It costs a whooping $246,530.74 to mine a single bitcoin in the South American country, meaning the process is far from profitable. Energy costs are so expensive in the country that miners would be out $225,667.05 for just one bitcoin.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the cheapest place to mine bitcoin is in Kuwait. It costs $1,393.95 to mine a single bitcoin in Kuwait, meaning miners could gain $19,469.74 in profits.
The Middle Eastern country has some of the cheapest electricity in the world, with one kWh costing an average of just 3 cents. For context, the average cost of one kWh in North America is 21 cents.
The Race is On
Despite the steep costs of bitcoin mining, many people believe itโs worth the upfront investment.
One thing that makes bitcoin particularly appealing is its finite supplyโthere are only 21 million coins available for mining, and as of this articleโs publication, more than 19 million bitcoin have already been mined.
While the price of bitcoin (BTC) is notorious for its volatility, its value has still grown significantly over the last decade. And if cryptocurrencies become mainstream as many people believe they will, this could boost the price of bitcoin even further.
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