THE MINING POD: Is Bitcoin’s Mining Revenue Model Broken?

Sep 2, 2025

James McAvity, CEO of Cormint and a seasoned Bitcoin miner, dives deep into the unsettling realities of Bitcoin's low transaction fees, which currently make up only 2% of mining revenue. He raises alarms about the sustainability of this model as block rewards halve every four years. The conversation underscores the implications for miner profitability and the overall Bitcoin ecosystem, calling for potential protocol updates. McAvity also highlights the emotional journey of miners navigating these challenging times.

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INSIGHT

Fee Shortfall Is A Long-Term Risk

James McAvity warns Bitcoin's low on-chain fees are an existential risk as block subsidies halve over time.
He argues we must plan now because miners currently rely on issuance, not user-paid fees.

INSIGHT

Satoshi Would Reevaluate Blockspace Today

McAvity suggests Satoshi might have chosen different design decisions today to generate more fee revenue.
He proposes expanding Bitcoin's programmability or checkpointing via ZK proofs to increase layer-1 demand.

INSIGHT

Electricity Costs Make High Fees Implausible

McAvity breaks mining cost down to dollars per MWh and shows current fees equal ~1/50th of block rewards.
He finds expecting users to pay tens of dollars per on-chain transaction is unrealistic.

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Our guest, Cormint CEO James McAvity, makes the case that Bitcoin’s low transaction fees should raise concerns.

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Welcome back to The Mining Pod! Today, James McAvity, CEO of bitcoin miner Cormint, joins us to talk about a potential, looming existential crisis for Bitcoin: low transaction fee revenue. With transaction fees at only 2% of mining revenue, McAvity argues the current model is unsustainable as rewards halve every four years.

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**Notes:**

• Transaction fees: 1/50th of total block rewards

• 20GW mining capacity running 24/7 globally

• 70 basis points: current annual BTC issuance

• $30-50K: cost per gigawatt hour electricity

• 2036: block rewards drop to 8 basis points

• $20T: potential future Bitcoin market cap

Timestamps:

00:00 Start

02:32 Is mining cooked?

08:05 Interpreting Satoshi's Goals

13:17 Hot mess or solid roadmap?

20:46 Cleanspark

21:15 Fees in a money protocol

25:44 truested intermediaries

31:42 Monero attack

38:39 Longterm bearish on mining?

44:59 What to do?

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