If the purpose of the difficulty factor rising was to mimic mining in the real world it has failed. The more earth a mining company processes the more gold that is extracted.
The same should be true for mining a crypto-currency, the more hash power you have, the more reward in currency you receive.
Mining crypto-currencies should be treated like any other business. In order to attract investment, there must be predictable, and sustainable profits.
That's where all the current slate of crypto-currencies fail. The rising difficulty factor as more miners jump on board, the less attractive the currency becomes to investors.
Who wants to invest in mining equipment only to find the mine petered out.
"The great disclosure":
Mining is not intended to be profitable. It's purpose is to secure the network and support scalability, so it's pays enough to have enough still mining. Mining was not invented to support a certain lifestyle with cutting edge hardware and open windows in the mist of winter. Sorry. It' has been purely coincidental that rise in price have followed an exponential function and by that, have generated a larger than intended profit for miners.
Spending $150,000,000/year to "secure the network" is a scam...
It's just another fucking Monopoly sucking the Middle Class dry...
But it's Heresy to point this out to brainwashed dupes.
And let's not even talk about what $150,000,000 in resources looks like...
It looks like burning 3 million TONS of coal/year = lots of black smoke.
Maybe only half of that now...
I feel better that more $$$ is going to China, fast cars, big houses, hookers, blow, etc.