This might have been answered elsewhere but couldn't find it, if it has.
The miners get paid less and less as time goes on.
With the ledger also growing bigger and bigger, wouldn't the cost of mining start to exceed the profitability of mining? If no one would mine bitcoins anymore, wouldn't it shut the whole system down?
That is why the individual miners are shutting down their businesses since it's more or less more profitable for the big mining companies. In a recent news I read how nvidia is thinking of coming into the mining market again. At the same time the price of bitcoins is rising too.
1. Price is increasing
2. Big companies generally keep the cost balanced
I do think it's profitable for the individual miners only when :
1. They have their own cheap renewable source of electricity
2. For countries where the electrical power is free and the people are allowed to mine bitcoins.
We cannot say this statement as a universal guide and tell people how mining is not profitable anymore plus they get the coins not just from mining but at the same time from transactions etc.
So this actually depends. If it had been so unprofitable then Nvidia would not think of coming in the business again.