Economics
What happens if crypto crashes — what is my worst case?
A miner's floor is never zero. Even if crypto collapses, you retain ~60% hardware value, claimed tax deductions, and GPUs repurposable for AI.
This is the question every serious investor should ask. Here's a side-by-side worst-case scenario comparison:
| Scenario | DCA Buyer | GPU Miner |
|---|---|---|
| Crypto goes to zero | Total loss — 100% of capital gone | Retain ~60% hardware value (GPUs sellable) |
| Crypto crashes 90% | 90% paper loss on portfolio | ~60% hardware + 10% of coin value |
| Bear market (2-3 years) | Unrealised losses, temptation to sell | Accumulate coins at lowest difficulty |
| Your coin dies | 100% loss on that asset | Switch to another coin instantly |
| Tax deductions claimed | None — no deductions on purchases | Already banked — AIA + electricity |
| Physical asset remaining | Nothing | GPUs repurposable for AI/rendering |
🎯 The miner's floor is never zero. Even in the absolute worst case (crypto collapses entirely), you retain hardware worth ~60% of your investment. GPUs have real-world demand for AI inference, 3D rendering, video transcoding, and cloud compute rental. A DCA buyer who put the same money into coins has nothing left.
Tax deductions are permanent. If you've claimed AIA on your hardware and deducted electricity as a business expense, those tax savings are already in your pocket — regardless of what happens to crypto prices. A 20% taxpayer with a £28K rig has already saved ~£5,600 in Year 1 before a single coin is sold.
ℹ️ This is why mining is often described as a lower-risk accumulation strategy rather than a higher-return one. You trade some upside (fewer coins than DCA) for meaningful downside protection (hardware value + tax savings + coin switching).