Key Takeaways
- GoMining boasts over 4 million registered users and powers more than 10 million TH/s in Bitcoin miners.
- The future of Bitcoin mining profitability hinges less on block rewards and more on transaction fees.
- GoMining’s strategic focus is on expanding the Bitcoin ecosystem and creating new economic activities for its users.
The Evolution of Bitcoin Mining
The era of individual Bitcoin mining from home is largely over. Today, Bitcoin mining is a sophisticated industry dominated by large-scale operations run by firms and governments worldwide, featuring vast mining farms.
However, innovators like GoMining are actively working to re-democratize Bitcoin mining, aiming to make participation accessible and profitable for individuals in 2025 and beyond.
CCN spoke with GoMining CEO Mark Zalan at the European Blockchain Conference 2025 to gain insights into these developments.
GoMining’s Vision for Bitcoin Mining Accessibility
The increasing difficulty, energy requirements, and costs associated with Bitcoin halving events have made it challenging for individuals to mine BTC profitably. This raises the question of whether Bitcoin mining is making a comeback as a personal endeavor.
Zalan acknowledges the complexity of this question but confirms that profitable mining is still achievable. He explains that the historical trend of difficulty and price appreciation is expected to continue. However, the landscape is dominated by entities with the capital to secure favorable electricity rates and build large-scale infrastructure, alongside higher technical demands.
Recognizing that solo mining is no longer the most viable path, GoMining was established to bridge this gap and make Bitcoin mining accessible to the average person. Zalan identifies as a Bitcoin maxi, deeply believing in Bitcoin’s value as a store of value and aiming to expand its utility beyond this. GoMining’s goal is to introduce additional economic benefits on top of the Bitcoin network.
Innovating with NFT Miners
GoMining initially tackled the challenges of cloud mining, an area that had been plagued by numerous frauds and scams, leaving users with little recourse or verification of actual mining operations. The traditional cloud mining model often required users to send funds with the hope that mining was occurring remotely, leading to significant losses for many.
“So the story went: you send your money somewhere and you hope that somewhere in the cloud, somebody does something for you and you get some Bitcoin.”
To address this trust deficit, GoMining turned to non-fungible tokens (NFTs). By leveraging the unique, immutable, and programmable nature of NFTs, GoMining created its digital miner products. This approach grants users genuine ownership of their miners, which generate daily BTC rewards and can be traded or resold, offering a transparent and verifiable model for Bitcoin mining participation.
Bitcoin’s Legacy and Future Potential
Bitcoin operates on a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism. While newer blockchains like Ethereum and Solana offer technical advancements, Bitcoin’s established infrastructure and the trillions of dollars invested in its ecosystem present a unique incumbent’s advantage.
Zalan likens Bitcoin’s position to that of SWIFT, a foundational 1970s banking technology that, despite its age, remains integral to global financial systems due to its widespread adoption and embeddedness within legal and institutional frameworks. He notes that even suboptimal legacy systems can persist if the cost and complexity of replacing them are too high.
“It’s 10 generations past where it was when it was created. But you have 10,000 banking institutions on it. It’s embedded into the legal structures of every jurisdiction.”
Rightly or wrongly,” he notes, it’s still in use.
While acknowledging the innovative work being done on other blockchains like Cardano, Algorand, and Solana, Zalan emphasizes that Bitcoin’s established value and infrastructure are unlikely to change significantly. This suggests that PoW will likely remain a core part of Bitcoin’s operation, complemented by innovations like the Bitcoin Lightning Network.
The long-term viability of Bitcoin’s PoW model, especially as technology advances, is a pertinent question. Zalan humorously admits the difficulty of predicting the future with certainty, comparing it to the state of technology in 2010 versus 2025.
“That’s a great question. You know, if somebody says they have an exact crystal ball, I’d like to borrow it for a couple of minutes,” he laughs.
Zalan expresses admiration for Bitcoin’s self-correcting mechanisms that balance network complexity, price, and economic incentives. He foresees a future where transaction fees become a more significant revenue source for miners than block rewards, though this shift is likely several years away.
Navigating Competition with AI
Bitcoin mining is an energy-intensive process, leading to competition for resources. Efforts to establish the U.S. as a crypto hub, coupled with ambitions to lead in Artificial Intelligence (AI), create a dynamic where both sectors compete for power, locations, and talent.
“Well,” he laughs, BTC mining competes with the next industrial revolution in terms of AI, right? And we’re competing for power, sites, talent.”
Instead of viewing this as a drawback, Zalan frames it as a fun competition, suggesting that these technologies will ultimately complement each other. He anticipates a future where blockchain solutions, potentially beyond Bitcoin, will be needed to handle billions of transactions per second, crucial for AI agents and other advanced technologies.
For Bitcoin mining, Zalan draws parallels to historical human ingenuity in overcoming technical challenges. He believes that as demand for energy grows, so will the supply, driven by innovations in renewable energy and advancements in data center technology. He is optimistic that sufficient power will be available for both AI and Bitcoin.
The Convergence of Technologies and Capitalism
The convergence of these technologies signals the potential arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, a concept that gained traction during the ICO boom of 2017. Despite potential short-term challenges like market volatility, regulatory hurdles, and energy concerns, the long-term outlook for crypto and blockchain remains promising.
Zalan invokes Milton Friedman’s principles, stating that capitalism inherently incentivizes the development of solutions to current problems. He illustrates this point by comparing the evolution of Bitmain over 15 years to the technological leap from the cotton gin to the Apollo moon landing, highlighting advancements in tech, expertise, and engineering.
“So, it might be a problem in the short-term, he says, but it also might not. Time will tell, and the markets will decide.”
GoMining’s Strategic Expansion of the Bitcoin Ecosystem
GoMining’s strategic direction for the future involves expanding the Bitcoin ecosystem. With approximately four million registered users, the platform has successfully addressed the initial challenge of making Bitcoin mining accessible, a goal set in 2021. Having facilitated over 10 million terahashes of mining power, GoMining has enabled millions of users to receive BTC rewards.
As users accumulate Bitcoin, GoMining is focusing on providing them with avenues to utilize these rewards. The next phase involves introducing yield staking options and enhancing liquidity within the ecosystem.
“If you can unlock liquidity, let’s say 60-70% LTV on Bitcoin that’s just sitting there now waiting for you to pay long term appreciation. That’s a huge economic value that people are looking to realize. We’re not being some sorts of savants here, we’re listenin to our community, they tell us what they’re looking for.”
The third stage of expansion will include integrated payment cards, bypassing the need for traditional on-ramp and off-ramp services, which often involve high fees and friction for users. The core theme is enabling users to spend their Bitcoin directly from the GoMining ecosystem.
“The liquidity product is in development now, the payment cards will arrive in a couple of months, and we’ve started to expand the built-in ecosystem wallet.”
Building Trust and Utility in the Bitcoin Ecosystem
GoMining aims for these new products to enhance the value chain of Bitcoin and create a comprehensive economic activity hub around it, benefiting both individual users and the broader ecosystem.
Zalan envisions a future where users move further away from fiat currency. He traces the evolution from early laptop mining to the development of specialized miners, improvements in wallet security, and ultimately, enabling everyday utility for owned Bitcoin. This is where GoMining plans to focus its efforts over the next four to five years, creating a robust and integrated ecosystem.
Central to this expansion is building trust and security. As GoMining introduces features like staking and liquidity options, it aims to establish itself as a trusted platform. By allowing users to unlock liquidity using their mined Bitcoin as collateral directly within the ecosystem, GoMining reduces the inherent risk and friction associated with transferring assets to third-party platforms.
“If you want us, we’ll give you liquidity using that Bitcoin as collateral. And that’s a much easier conversation to have because, if somebody’s been mining with us for a year and they want to get liquidity on BTC that they’ve mined with us, it’s much easier for them to take that next step, as opposed to somebody with a noncustodial wallet that they have sitting on their ledger somewhere.”
While the early, unregulated days of Bitcoin mining may be over, companies like GoMining are embracing innovation to maintain the spirit of decentralized access that defined Bitcoin’s inception.
Conclusion
GoMining is strategically expanding its Bitcoin ecosystem by introducing yield staking and enhanced liquidity. The platform aims to provide users with more ways to interact with and utilize their mined Bitcoin, moving towards a future where digital assets are seamlessly integrated into everyday economic activities.
By focusing on utility and building trust, GoMining is positioning itself to facilitate a more integrated experience for Bitcoin holders, reducing reliance on traditional financial systems and promoting greater economic freedom within the crypto space.