Hi cryptonoob!
That's kind of a weird name to have picked because eventually you won't be such a noob anymore. Sometimes I still feel like a noob myself, as a lot of the under-the-hood stuff makes my head spin, but I do like economics and math, so I'll try answering some of your questions.
1. what happens if there is a hard fork and I bought a lifetime contract?
I'm really not sure how pool.bitcoin.com is prepared to handle a hard fork. I would actually like to know as well!
2. what happens if bitcoin prices go down? I saw that fees go down if it becomes unprofitable. But is it possible to lose money every month?
No. If the daily revenue from your plan goes down low enough that the daily fee exceeds it, your plan will cancel itself after 7 days. You won't be losing money month after month. However this is VERY unlikely for all plans except for the Lifetime plan where it is inevitable. More on that later.
3. if I buy a lifetime agreement, could I cancel it if there is a need?
The developer of pool.bitcoin.com has previously stated (
pools/bitcoin-com-mining-pool-official- ... tml#p64440) that plans cannot be canceled/refunded once bought. Although the term "Lifetime plan" is misleading as it definitely won't last a lifetime.
Over time, due to difficulty increases, the (for example) 10 TH/s you buy today will not be powerful enough to return the same amount of BTC as it does today. Unless the price of BTC vs USD goes parabolic, the daily fee taken by the pool operators will inevitably exceed the amount of BTC your hashrate is generating. I would say the average "lifetime contract" would last between 1 and 2 years. A bit longer if you're really bullish on the price of BTC.
The problem is that during the lifetime contract, you will get most of your income in the first year or so. After that the fees will ever-so-slowly approach your daily revenue, so you'll still be earning on your contract, just very very small amounts for a long long time. If BTC is worth $30,000 next year, then those small amounts will be worth a LOT in terms of USD, just not a lot of actual BTC.
But the lifetime contract is more than twice the 3 month contract. So it doesn't really make any sense. I could just buy another 3 month contract, after it's over..as long as there is supply.
Can someone give a good argument on why the lifetime contract makes sense?
If you're nervous about the direction the BTC price vs USD will go in the short term, I would stick with the 3-month contracts for your own peace of mind. OTOH if you are bullish on the price of BTC, a lifetime plan will net you more actual BTC for a lower overall cost than stringing together 3-month plans.
It's like choosing between a fixed-rate and variable-rate mortgage. You pick which one most fits the risk you're willing to take.
If I buy the lifetime contract and 1 TH/s now, can I increase that later down the road easily?
You can't change a contract once you've bought it, but you can easily buy a new contract at anytime the pool has them available.
Sorry for all the noob questions.
Nothing to be sorry about! We were all noobs once.
