In the field of cryptocurrency, hard drive mining was once regarded as a low-threshold, high-return investment method. However, over time, this seemingly attractive opportunity has hidden many risks and challenges.

Recent investigations show a significant gap between actual earnings and promotions. Taking a miner in Brazil as an example, the originally expected monthly income of 900 yuan turned out to be only 300 yuan. Considering electricity expenses and hard drive wear and tear, the annualized return rate plummeted from the promoted 89% to around 23%.

The more concerning issue is the token inflation problem. The annual inflation rate reaches as high as 37%, making it difficult for the price increase to offset the token dilution effect. Meanwhile, the project team controls 52% of the tokens, and this centralization trend has raised market concerns about future large-scale sell-offs, especially with 120 million tokens set to be unlocked in August 2025.

The challenges faced by small-scale miners are even more severe. Data shows that the top 100 miners monopolize 78% of the computing power, leading to a significant compression of profits for retail miners. Technical issues also frequently arise, including multiple hacking incidents caused by storage verification vulnerabilities, which resulted in losses of approximately $470,000 in just the second quarter of 2024.

Moreover, the mainnet upgrade has been delayed multiple times, and compatibility issues with nodes have caused small miners to frequently face disconnection risks, further exacerbating their operational difficulties. These factors together form the harsh reality of the hard drive mining industry, which is far from the glamorous image promoted in the early days.

In the face of these challenges, investors need to stay clear-headed and comprehensively assess risks. Although the cryptocurrency market still has development potential, participants must act cautiously, thoroughly understanding project details and being wary of overly optimistic return expectations. In this rapidly changing field, rational thinking and prudent decision-making are more important than ever.