[tedunangst]

Profit is hardly guaranteed considering capital costs. Disregarding that, I'm not sure shovels are the best comparison. Coin mining is pretty predictable in aggregate, unlike gold mining. If you own mining hardware, you can calculate expected income pretty reliably.

[eitland]

Except you cannot calculate the price of the mined coins predictably.

So renting out mining gear can either be a bet that you think crypto will decline or just a way to reduce risk. (I'm assuming up front payments. )

[csomar]

There are futures to hedge against that.

[plantain]

On the lease terms offers (often 2yrs+) the profit is baked in.