Earning without selling coins: Gate BTC mining is redefining the income model for long-term holders

After Bitcoin breaks through $100,000 and then retraces 50%, spot ETFs being approved, “HODLing” no longer outperforms volatility—by 2026, the crypto market is forcing every long-term investor to re-examine the fundamental question:

Is it better to simply hold BTC or to let BTC participate in mining? Which approach suits long-term holders now?

This article does not discuss short-term trading or contract gambling. We focus on one scenario: if you plan to hold BTC for more than three years, should you keep it in your wallet untouched or participate in BTC mining through platforms like Gate to acquire more Bitcoin?

Why does “just holding” start to feel uneasy in 2026?

Over the past decade, “HODL” has been the loudest slogan in the Bitcoin world. Its logic is simple: as long as you hold on, time is on your side.

But this cycle has seen subtle changes.

According to CryptoQuant data, since March 2024, long-term Bitcoin holders have sold about 1.4 million BTC. This isn’t retail panic; it’s the “ancient whales” actively reducing their positions after multiple cycles. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s correlation with Nasdaq has dropped to its lowest since 2022 (-0.42). This indicates Bitcoin is transitioning from a “tech stock shadow asset” to an “independent macro asset,” but the cost of this transition is that pure spot holding no longer enjoys the previous excess alpha.

Another more direct data point: some analyses suggest that for investors who started accumulating Bitcoin within the past five years, this cycle has been the worst in terms of “holding returns” in history. Unless your holding period exceeds six or seven years, simply “holding” is no longer likely to significantly outperform the market average cost.

The conclusion is clear: in 2026, “holding” can only prevent you from missing out but cannot guarantee your appreciation.

The barrier to traditional mining: ordinary people are already locked out

If “lying flat” is losing effectiveness, what about “mining”?

Unfortunately, the physical mining door has almost completely closed to ordinary investors.

As of February 12, the average network mining cost for Bitcoin has risen to about $87,000, while the price hovers around $60,000, resulting in a cost disadvantage of up to 45%. This is the first large-scale “underwater operation” since the 2022 “mining crisis.”

CryptoQuant defines this stage as the “surrender period”: old mining rigs are shutting down rapidly, the total network hash rate is shrinking, and even US-listed miners like Mara Holdings and Riot Platforms saw stock declines of over 20% this week. Bitfarms even announced a complete exit from Bitcoin mining to shift toward AI computing power leasing.

For individuals: buying mining rigs, finding hosting services, negotiating electricity prices, enduring noise—this process in 2026 is almost a dead end leading to negative returns.

But this doesn’t mean the business model of mining is invalid; rather, it has evolved.

Exchange mining: the overlooked “third track”

When “holding” hits efficiency bottlenecks and “physical mining” falls into cost traps, a middle ground is emerging as a new destination for institutional funds—cloud mining or staking mining via leading exchanges like Gate.

According to Gate’s data, as of February 12, the total BTC staked for mining on the platform has reached 2,660 BTC, with an annualized yield stable at 9.99%.

This isn’t traditional “mining dividend” but a structured computing power product:

• Users don’t need to buy mining rigs: Gate deploys physical mining farms in regions with low electricity costs and friendly policies, and users subscribe to computing shares through the platform’s “wealth management” section.
• Fully transparent assets: users deposit BTC and receive a 1:1 pegged GTBTC, with daily distribution of earnings and the ability to redeem at any time.
• Real income sources: the 9.99% annualized yield is not platform subsidy but net mining output after deducting electricity, pool fees, and operational costs.

This model perfectly addresses three major pain points for long-term holders in 2026:

1. Cost disadvantage elimination: while the entire network struggles at $87,000 costs, Gate users avoid depreciation and shutdown risks of mining rigs, sharing the scale electricity advantages of top mining farms.
2. Liquidity retention: physical mining rigs are sunk costs once turned on; in contrast, Gate’s BTC mining supports instant mining and redemption, giving users the right to exit in extreme market conditions.
3. Winning with coin-based thinking: the 9.99% annualized yield is settled in BTC. Regardless of fiat price fluctuations, the amount of Bitcoin you hold actually increases.

A simple calculation: how much difference does $100,000 make after 3 years?

Let’s do a simplified long-term projection (ignoring reinvestment and price fluctuations, focusing only on coin quantity change):

• Scenario A: Pure holding

Initial: 10 BTC

After 3 years: still 10 BTC (no coin growth)

• Scenario B: Gate BTC mining

Initial: 10 BTC

Assuming an annualized yield of 9.99%

After 3 years: approximately 10 × (1 + 0.0999)^3 ≈ 13.30 BTC

Difference: about 3.3 BTC.

Using a recent product page reference price of $78,000, the value difference after 3 years exceeds $257,000.

Of course, 9.99% is an annualized estimate and will fluctuate with network difficulty and price. But the key point is: in years when the price doesn’t rise or even declines, mining is one of the few tools that can increase your coin holdings.

Risks: this isn’t wealth management, it’s “business operation”

It must be emphasized: Gate’s BTC mining isn’t a guaranteed capital preservation investment; it still faces three core risks.

1. Market risk

Mining returns are denominated in BTC, but a decline in BTC’s fiat price reduces the fiat equivalent. If your goal is “dollar appreciation,” then a falling coin price might offset the increase in coin quantity from mining.

2. Difficulty risk

The halving cycle continues. Currently, the block reward is 3.125 BTC; after the next halving, it will drop to 1.5625 BTC. Long-term, the BTC output per unit of hash rate will inevitably decline, and Gate’s annualized yield will slowly decrease along with the overall network trend.

3. Platform risk

Any centralized service depends on the platform’s credibility. As a well-established exchange with over 12 years, Gate currently provides proof of reserves exceeding $9.478 billion, and has on-chain assets in GTBTC, which enhances transparency to some extent.

For long-term holders, the right approach might be:

Transfer part of your pure spot holdings (e.g., 30%-50%) to Gate BTC mining, allowing idle BTC to generate coin-based compound interest without increasing your fiat principal.

Summary

In 2025, the market declared a phased end to the “HODL culture”; by early 2026, miners’ “cost inversion” announced the sunset of individual physical mining.

But this doesn’t mean Bitcoin has lost its long-term value. On the contrary, it is evolving from a wild-growth “consensus experiment” into a measurable, configurable “macro asset.”

Pure holding is your vote of confidence in the Bitcoin network; Gate mining is your participation in the network’s labor.

For long-term holders in 2026, these options are not mutually exclusive but different in duration.

According to Gate Research Institute, the average Bitcoin price may reach $80,354.31 in 2027 and $87,184.43 in 2028. In this slow price climb, making each BTC work for you rather than just waiting to be diluted in addresses—that’s the true long-termism of 2026.