To answer that, let me explain what crypto currency mining is. Unlike Fiat currency (government issued cash), cryptocurrencies are decentralized and use blockchain technology; this means you don’t have to go through a bank to send money, and makes it impossible to hack or cheat transactions. In order for this to work, someone needs to verify the transaction and record its occurrence. To make these transactions a part of the blockchain, multiple computers race to solve a very complex math equation involved in verifying the legitimacy of the transaction. The process of competing to solve the equation first prevents any one entity or bank from monopolizing a crypto network. The computer to verify the transaction is rewarded with cryptocurrency, often Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and many other coins. In short, your computer will do math work for a network, and if successful, you’ll be rewarded with money. As more computers battle to solve the equation first, the more difficult the equation becomes, preventing monopolization of a network. Unfortunately, as the difficulty increases, so does the need to have better, faster equipment capable of processing the information it’s trying to solve. This equipment often involves owning multiple graphics cards (GPU), or ASIC miners, which are not cheap to buy, and use a lot of electricity. This is where the profitability comes into play.
Electricity costs can eat away at your profits, but even worse, not knowing how much power your rigs are using can be detrimental to your whole operation.