How to calculate KAS mining return on investment (ROI)?

Calculating KAS mining ROI involves assessing hashrate, electricity costs, hardware efficiency, and network difficulty, with profitability highly dependent on low power rates and high-performance ASICs.

Jul 23, 2025 at 10:14 am

Understanding KAS Mining and ROI Basics

Calculating the return on investment (ROI) for KAS (Kaspa) mining requires a clear understanding of both the mining process and the financial variables involved. Kaspa operates on a blockDAG (Directed Acyclic Graph) structure using the GHOSTDAG protocol, enabling high block rates and fast transaction processing. Unlike traditional blockchains, Kaspa mines blocks every second, which increases mining difficulty and hardware demands. The primary goal of ROI calculation is to determine how long it will take for the miner to recover the initial investment through mining rewards.

To begin, you must identify the current block reward, which for Kaspa is currently 0.00004167 KAS per block. With one block mined per second, the daily block count is 86,400. This means the total daily network reward is approximately 3.6 KAS. However, individual miner earnings depend on hashrate contribution to the total network hashrate. The higher your hashrate, the greater your share of the daily rewards.

Key Metrics for ROI Calculation

To accurately compute ROI, several core metrics must be gathered. These include:

• Mining hardware hashrate (in GH/s)
• Power consumption (in watts)
• Electricity cost (per kWh)
• Current network difficulty
• Current KAS price (in USD or other fiat)
• Hardware cost (including accessories and delivery)

For example, if you are using an Antminer KS3 with a hashrate of 14 TH/s (14,000 GH/s) and power consumption of 1730W, these values become central to the calculation. The network hashrate fluctuates daily and can be found on Kaspa explorers like kaspexplorer.com or kaspa.org. As of recent data, the network hashrate is around 200 PH/s (200,000,000 GH/s).

The individual miner’s share of rewards is calculated as:

(miner hashrate / network hashrate) × daily network reward

Using the example above:

(14,000 / 200,000,000) × 3.6 ≈ 0.000252 KAS per day

This number seems small, but it scales with hashrate and KAS price.

Accounting for Electricity and Operational Costs

Electricity cost significantly impacts net profit and thus ROI. To compute daily power cost:

• Convert miner wattage to kilowatts: 1730W = 1.73 kW
• Multiply by hours per day: 1.73 × 24 = 41.52 kWh/day
• Multiply by electricity rate: 41.52 × $0.10 = $4.15 per day

Assuming KAS is priced at $0.15, the daily revenue from mining is:

0.000252 KAS × $0.15 = $0.0000378 per day

This results in a daily loss, indicating that mining with this setup under these conditions is not profitable. However, this example uses outdated or suboptimal hardware. More efficient miners like the Innosilicon A10X or KS5 models offer better GH/s per watt ratios.

To improve accuracy, use Kaspa mining calculators such as WhatToMine, MinerStat, or Kaspa’s official calculator tools. These platforms automatically pull live data on difficulty, price, and network hashrate.

Step-by-Step ROI Calculation Process

To calculate ROI manually, follow these steps:

• Determine your miner’s daily KAS earnings using:
  (your hashrate / total network hashrate) × 86,400 × block reward

• Convert daily earnings to USD by multiplying by the current KAS price

• Calculate daily electricity cost:
  (miner power in kW) × (24) × (electricity cost per kWh)

• Compute net daily profit:
  daily revenue - daily electricity cost

• Divide total hardware cost by net daily profit to get ROI in days

For instance, if a miner costs $2,000, consumes 3,000W, has a hashrate of 30 TH/s, and operates in a region with $0.08/kWh electricity:

• Daily KAS earned: (30,000 / 200,000,000) × 86,400 × 0.00004167 ≈ 0.0054 KAS
• Daily revenue: 0.0054 × $0.15 = $0.00081
• Power cost: 3.0 kW × 24 × $0.08 = $5.76
• Net profit: $0.00081 - $5.76 = -$5.759 (loss)

This highlights that profitability depends heavily on efficiency and scale. Large-scale operations with low-cost power (<$0.05/kWh) and high-efficiency ASICs are more likely to achieve positive ROI.

Using Online Tools for Accurate Projections

Manual calculations are error-prone due to dynamic network conditions. Instead, use dedicated tools:

• MinerStat: Supports Kaspa, auto-updates difficulty and price
• WhatToMine: Compares profitability across coins, includes power cost input
• Kaspa Official Dashboard: Provides real-time network stats

On MinerStat, enter your miner model or manually input:

• Hashrate (GH/s)
• Power consumption (W)
• Electricity cost ($/kWh)
• Hardware cost ($)

The tool will display:

• Daily, weekly, monthly revenue in KAS and USD
• Daily power cost
• Net profit
• Break-even (ROI) in days

These platforms adjust for difficulty increase trends, which is critical since Kaspa’s network hashrate grows rapidly, reducing individual rewards over time.

Impact of Network Difficulty and Price Volatility

Network difficulty adjusts dynamically based on total hashrate. As more miners join, difficulty increases, lowering individual payouts. Even if your hashrate stays constant, daily earnings in KAS will decrease over time unless the price rises proportionally.

Similarly, KAS price volatility directly affects ROI. A 50% price increase can turn an unprofitable setup into a viable one. Conversely, a market downturn may extend ROI from months to years or make mining unsustainable.

Always use conservative price estimates when projecting ROI. Relying on speculative price growth can lead to inaccurate financial planning.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often does Kaspa network difficulty adjust?

Kaspa difficulty adjusts every block (every second) based on the time between the last 5760 blocks (approximately 1 hour). This ensures rapid response to changes in network hashrate.

Can I mine Kaspa profitably with a GPU?

Currently, GPU mining is not profitable for Kaspa due to the dominance of high-efficiency ASICs. The network hashrate is too high for GPUs to contribute meaningfully after accounting for power costs.

Does ROI include pool fees?

Yes, most calculators allow input of mining pool fees (typically 0.5%–1%). These reduce your net KAS earnings and should be factored into the revenue calculation.

What happens if I stop mining—can I resell the hardware?

ASIC miners like Kaspa-specific models have limited resale value due to rapid obsolescence. Market demand, condition, and newer model releases affect resale price. Always consider depreciation in ROI planning.