So why have the number of miners fallen from hundreds of people like Bob in a backroom with a PC to a few huge companies (in China) with farms of machinery? Because the hashrate has gone up so much. But why has the hashrate gone up so much? .... Chicken or egg which is first? To be honest, it does not matter, only that Bitcoin is reliant on a few (almost getting centralised) Chinese farms. We, the community, have little input, in fact zero.
First of all that's not true, the hash rate has gone up because the amount of miners has gone up, because with each generations PCs/ASICs get better. I don't think the number of miners has decreased, yes the chinese may be a big % of the miners but with this price grow i can say for sure without looking at charts that many have turned their miners back on. You just changing the words so it always looks in your favor.
I dare to say that it's logical that if something becomes productive then many will start aiming for it, thats the only reason because Bob cannot mine with his PC anymore, yet if Bob used to mine with his PC and now is bitching it's just greed since he already has a huge amount of coins.
So how much money does ordinary Bob in his back room need to "invest" in suitable PCs and electricity to mine bitcoins?
Do you personally know of any miners that have turned their machines back on? I am not sure how you can be sure otherwise if you have no charts!
Finally, bitcoin mining was productive, that is why so many were into it. It is only productive for massive farms - that is why they are now existing.
First of all, "gucked" up the quote a bit.
Second, i think its logic that if a bitcoin costs 300 USD and its BARELY profitable then if price doubles it should give you a huge edge assuming no one else turns their miners on.
Third, bitcoin is profitable for anyone depending of their cost of electricity, if you have good hands you can get it even cheaper. Chinese have really cheap electricity thanks to nuclear power for example.
Forth, personaly in the crypto world is something strange but just an example of altcoin price and altcoin miners sweeping from coin to coin.
Edit: ps: i don't see why it should be profitable only for massive farms, its also the fault of the ASIC creators, i think we need more companies that make them, and even more legit.