Correction · 1 October 2026. Unsupported hardware forecasts and market estimates were replaced with transparent halving, energy and operating-margin calculations linked to the frozen hardware study. The original publication date and URL are retained. This is a source-based editorial correction, not an independent security audit.
The next Litecoin subsidy cut occurs at height 3,360,000. It halves the LTC subsidy from 6.25 to 3.125 LTC per block. It does not halve DOGE’s subsidy or automatically halve a merged miner’s total receipts.
Separate the revenue components
For a machine with expected pre-deduction daily revenues L from LTC and D from DOGE, a fixed-price, fixed-difficulty halving scenario reduces gross revenue from L + D to L/2 + D. The reduction is L / [2(L + D)]. Pool deductions should be applied to the relevant stream.
If L is $1 and D is $4, the gross decline is 10%. If each is $2.50, it is 25%. Both are arithmetic examples, not predictions for a named machine. Transaction fees and additional merged-mined assets are omitted.
Calculate the electricity ceiling
Let net mining receipts before power be R dollars/day, other operating costs O dollars/day and measured energy E kWh/day. The maximum electricity rate for a zero operating margin is (R − O) / E when E is positive. A negative result means the model loses money even with free electricity.
At 3,360 W, continuous miner energy is 80.64 kWh/day. Adding 500 W of cooling brings it to 92.64 kWh/day. At $0.10/kWh, that cooling alone adds $1.20/day. If uptime is 95%, both figures in this model scale by 0.95; equipment that consumes power while idle needs an additional measured cost.
Hardware price is not the complete investment
- Include tax, shipping, electrical installation and the equipment required for external hydro cooling.
- Distinguish a listed or sold-out price from an executable purchase quote.
- Use measured wall power and accepted pool hashrate when available. Manufacturer specifications are reference points.
- Check repairs, downtime and disposal value before treating a simple payback period as an investment return.
Our October mining comparison preserves seven configurations and observed input sources. It has a frozen timestamp and should not be silently updated with today’s price. Use the calculator for a new scenario, and export its assumptions with the result.
A 12-month projection is an assumption worksheet. It does not anticipate difficulty response, future coin prices or resale value. The previous article’s unsupported future miner rankings, network estimates and historical anecdotes have been replaced by explicit arithmetic.
Sources and checks
Sources checked on 1 October 2026. Historical figures are labelled by their reporting period; illustrative calculations are not observed market results.
