Bitcoin price plummets while miner hash rate soars to all-time highs

October 4, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Antminer

The overall security of the Bitcoin protocol, or hash rate, hit a new high of 158 exahash per second despite the price being down over 50% year to date.

Bitcoin miners can’t stop, won’t stop. The Bitcoin (BTC) hash rate continues to surge to new all-time highs, despite a heavy price drawdown.

The Bitcoin mining hash rate peaked at 258 exahashes per second (EH/s) on Oct. 4, according to Braiins Insights, a mining data tools and metrics company. Although the Bitcoin price is down 58% year-to-date against the United States dollar, the mining hash rate is up 43%.

*The past 3 months Hashrate. Source: Braiins.*

Bitcoin Gandalf from the marketing team at Braiins told Cointelegraph that, “The hash rate hitting another all-time high shows that miners are bullish about the future prospects of Bitcoin.” Nonetheless, the current macroeconomic environment could pose an issue, as “the present isn’t so rosy for Bitcoin miners,” Gandalf said, adding:

“Bitcoin continues to trade in this tight band between $19,000–$20,000 and this recent increase in hash rate will result in a sharp upward adjustment in mining difficulty meaning that miner margins will be further squeezed.”

In a series of tweets, mining engineers and hobbyists shared their thoughts regarding the hash rate hitting all-time highs while the price remains low. Rob W of Bitcoin mining company Upstream Data summed up the sentiment:

I'm really proud of all of my mining friends, things are going great. pic.twitter.com/dIzh2ITTfq
— Rob W. (@BikesandBitcoin) October 3, 2022

Market analyst Zack Voell explained that the surging hash rate could be as a result of “XPs coming online.” The S19 XP Antminer is the latest model from Bitmain, one of the world’s most popular Bitcoin mining hardware suppliers.

The number of hashes produced in a second is commonly referred to as the hash rate. In Bitcoin speak, hash rate is a critical security metric as well as one that many BTC miners keep their eyes on.

In simple terms, the more hashing — or computing power — that the network churns out, the greater the overall security of Bitcoin. As a result, Bitcoin is more resistant to attack, the most common of which is known as a 51% attack.

Currently, more and more miners are coming online to attempt to solve valid blocks to receive the Bitcoin block reward, which is currently 6.25 BTC, roughly $120,000. Blocks are solved and added to the Bitcoin blockchain on average every 10 minutes.

The difficult adjustment determines the rate at which blocks are solved. It fluctuates roughly every two weeks and is expected to increase on Oct. 10 based on the surging hash rate. The difficulty adjustment has been on a steady march upward in 2022 — meaning blocks are, on average, getting harder to solve — after falling for the first time in March 2022.

In sum, despite the fact that the Bitcoin price continues to wallow under $20,000, more and more miners find value in supporting the network. James Check, an analyst at Glassnode, explained in a tweet, “With hash rate pushing to new all-time-highs once again, despite all the promises to the contrary, it appears that #Bitcoin is still not dead.”

Will the Bitcoin mining industry collapse? Analysts explain why crisis is really opportunity

July 29, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Antminer

Many BTC miners are in a tough spot and a few could collapse, but experts say the industry is here to stay.

Bitcoin mining involves a delicate balance between multiple moving parts. Miners already have to face capital and operational costs, unexpected repairs, product shipping delays and unexpected regulation that can vary from country to country — and in the case of the United States, from state to state. On top of that, they also had to contend with Bitcoin’s precipitous drop from $69,000 to $17,600.

Despite BTC price being 65% down from its all-time high, the general consensus among miners is to keep calm and carry on by just stacking sats, but that doesn't mean the market has reached a bottom just yet.

In an exclusive Bitcoin miners panel hosted by Cointelegraph, Luxor CEO Nick Hansen said, “There’s going to definitely be a capital crunch in publicly listed companies or at least not even just publicly listed companies. There’s probably close to $4 billion worth of new ASICs that need to be paid for as they come out, and that capital is no longer available.”

Hansen elaborated with:

“Hedge funds blow up very quickly. I think miners are going to take 3 to 6 months to blow up. So we’ll see who’s got good operations and who’s able to survive this low margin environment.”

When asked about future challenges and expectations for the Bitcoin mining industry, PRTI Inc. advisor Magdalena Gronowska said, “One of the biggest challenges that we’ve had in this transition to a low-carbon economy and reducing GHG emissions has been an underinvestment in technology and infrastructure by the public and private sectors. What I think is really amazing about Bitcoin mining is that it’s really presenting a completely novel way to fund or subsidize that development of energy or waste management infrastructure. And that's a way that’s beyond those traditional taxpayer or electricity ratepayer pathways because this way is based on a purely elegant system of economic incentives.”

Will Bitcoin destroy the environment?

As the panel discussion shifted to the environmental impact of BTC mining and the widely held assumption that Bitcoin’s energy consumption is a threat to the planet, Blockware Solutions analyst Joe Burnett said:

“I think Bitcoin mining is just not bad for the environment, period, I think if anything, it incentivizes more energy production, it improves grid reliability, and resilience and I think it will likely lower retail electricity rates in the long term.”

According to Burnett, “Bitcoin mining is a bounty to produce cheap energy, and this is good for all of humanity.”

Will industrial Bitcoin mining catalyze the long-awaited “mass adoption” of crypto?

Regarding Bitcoin mining dominance, the future of the industry and whether or not the growth of industrial mining could eventually lead to crypto mass adoption, Hashworks CEO Todd Esse said, “I believe that most of the mining down the road will be held in the Middle East and North America, and to some extent Asia. Depending upon how much they are eventually able to cut off. And that really speaks to the availability of natural resources and the cost of power.”

While it is easy to assume that growing synergy between big energy companies and Bitcoin mining would add validity to BTC as an investment asset and possibly facilitate its mass adoption, Hansen disagreed.

Hansen said:

“No, certainly not, but it is going to be the thing that transforms everyone's life whether they know it or not. By being that buyer of last resort and buyer of first resort for energy. It's going to transform energy, energy markets and the way it is produced and consumed here in the US. And overall, it should significantly improve the human condition over time.

Don’t miss the full interview on our YouTube channel and don’t forget to subscribe!

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CleanSpark scoops up 1K+ mining rigs at ‘substantially discounted price’

July 14, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Antminer

“We are seeing unprecedented opportunities in this market,” said CleanSpark president and CEO Zach Bradford.

Crypto mining firm CleanSpark announced the purchase of more than 1,000 Bitcoin miners amid the market downturn, reporting a “substantially discounted price” compared to that earlier in 2022.

In a Thursday blog spot, CleanSpark said it had acquired 1,061 Whatsminer M30S rigs currently mining Bitcoin (BTC) at the Coinmint facility in New York, whose space the company shares with Riot Blockchain. The mining firm said it had purchased the machines for far less of price than that “just a few months ago,” hinting the recent bear market was responsible. CleanSpark also bought 1,800 Antminer S19 XP rigs in June following the market downturn.

“We are seeing unprecedented opportunities in this market,” said CleanSpark president and CEO Zach Bradford. “Our tried-and-true hybrid approach of co-locating our machines while expanding our own mining facilities puts us in an excellent position to sustainably grow our bitcoin mining capacity in what is shaping up to be an incredible market for builders.”

During the last 6 months, $CLSK increased #BTC computing power by 47% & production by 50%!

Today we also announced our #bitcoin mining capacity expansion of over 90 PH/s with the acquisition of 1,061 latest gen #WhatsMiner M30S machines.

Read more: https://t.co/JYXxc3oteq pic.twitter.com/Jm3U0vSKaZ
— CleanSpark Inc. (@CleanSpark_Inc) July 14, 2022

According to CleanSpark, the addition of the 1,063 miners added 93 petahashes per second (PH/s) to the firm’s total hash rate, reported to be 2.8 exahashes per second (EH/s) as of June 30. The miners brought in a 1,863 BTC, 328 of which CleanSpark reported selling in June for roughly $8.4 million “for operations and growth.”

Major mining firms including Argo Blockchain, Bitfarms, Core Scientific and Riot Blockchain have sold some of their BTC holdings amid the recent market downturn. Argo reported selling 637 BTC in June to reduce its debt on a loan from Galaxy Digital, while other firms have cited building their data capacity and ability to mine more coins.

Cointelegraph reported on Thursday that Bradford had joined Cointelegraph Innovation Circle, a private membership service launched in March aimed at business leaders and experts in the blockchain industry.

Bitcoin’s Hashrate Slips Below 200 Exahash, BTC Mining Profits Drop Lower

July 9, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Old Bitcoin mining rigs risk ‘shutdown’ after BTC price slips under $24K

June 13, 2022 Coin Telegraph

<div>Old Bitcoin mining rigs risk 'shutdown' after BTC price slips under K</div>

Antminer

New generation Bitcoin mining machines would remain profitable even if the BTC price crashes by another 50%.

Older Bitcoin (BTC) mining rigs are finding it difficult to generate positive revenues during the ongoing crypto market decline.

75% drop in Bitcoin mining profitability

The profitability of many Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) machines has dropped into the negative zone after Bitcoin's fall below $24,000 this June 13, data fetched by F2Pool shows. Those machines include Antminer S11 and AvalonMiner 921, which are now close to their "shutdown price."

For your information, we publish the latest list of the Shutdown Price below which crypto mining machines in this chart will have to be shut down for lack of profitability. pic.twitter.com/qxGtLjJI9l
— Bitdeer (@BitdeerOfficial) June 13, 2022

Notably, Bitmain's Antminer S11 offers a maximum hash rate of 20.5 Terra-hash per second (TH/s) for a power consumption of 1,530 watts.

The cost of running an Antiminer 211 is 0.13 kilowatts per hour (KW/h) based on the global average electricity cost. As a result, it would consume around $4.5 worth of power every day versus the roughly $2 income in the same period, according to data gathered by ASIC Miner Value.

*The profitability of Antminer S11 as of June 13, 2022. Source: Bitmain*

Similarly, the cost of running Canaan's AvalonMiner 921 comes to be around $5 per day compared to its income of over $2 in the same period.

Overall, Bitcoin miners' earnings have dropped from $0.412 per TH/s/day in October 2021 to $0.11 per TH/s/day in June 2022, according to the "Bitcoin Hashprice Index" — a 75% decline in eight months.

*Bitcoin Hashprice Index one-year chart. Source: Hashrate Index*

The losses coincided with a sharp decline in the Bitcoin mining hash rate in the last seven days — from an all-time high of 239.15 exa-hash per second (EH/s) on June 6 to 189.72 EH/s on June 13, according to data from CoinWarz.

*Bitcoin hashrate data in last 12 months. Source: CoinWarz*

This suggests that miners are limiting their BTC production capacity by theoretically shutting down unprofitable mining rigs and may continue in the coming weeks if Bitcoin fails to recover above $25,000 and/or the mining difficulty adjusts.

Bitcoin mining stocks suffer

On June 13, Bitcoin price hit its lowest levels since December 2020, following a brutal crypto market selloff.

BTC's price reached as low as $23,707 (data from Coinbase) versus its November 2021's peak of $69,000. The losses came due to the concerns about rising U.S. interest rates.

*BTC/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingView*

Bitcoin mining businesses, which remain at the forefront of minting and supplying new BTC tokens, have suffered the brunt of falling prices. For example, Canaan's stock dropped by more than 90% after topping at $39.10 per share in March 2021.

Similarly, VanEck's Digital Assets Mining ETF (DAM), which opened for business in early March 2022, had lost 63% of its value as of June 10, measured from its record high of $46.05. It looked poised to open June 13 lower, per Nasdaq's pre-market data.

*VanEck Digital Asset Mining ETF daily chart. Source: TradingView*

New gen BTC mining rigs still in profit

On a brighter note, some mainstream mining machines still generate profits for miners, hinting their owners would be able to weather the bearish Bitcoin market.

That includes the newly-launched iPollo's V1, which returns a daily income of around $62 against its $9 power consumption in the same period, and machines from the Antminer's S-series, which generate daily revenues of $4.75-$18 despite Bitcoin's below-$25,000 prices.

For your information, we publish the latest list of the Shutdown Price below which crypto mining machines in this chart will have to be shut down for lack of profitability. pic.twitter.com/qxGtLjJI9l
— Bitdeer (@BitdeerOfficial) June 13, 2022

Nonetheless, some profitable machines are near their shutdown thresholds, including Antminer's S17+ (73T). It could become unprofitable when BTC's price drop to $22,000, according to data provided by Bitdeer.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Bitmain Reveals New Liquid-Cooled ASIC Mining Rig With 255 TH/s of Computing Power

March 14, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Bitmain signs 500MW joint venture with sustainable BTC miner Merkle Standard

February 11, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Antminer

Sustainable Bitcoin mining gets a boost from the joint venture between mostly hydro-powered BTC miners Merkle Standard and infrastructure provider Bitmain.

Beijing-based Bitmain has partnered with a United States-based sustainable Bitcoin miner, Merkle Standard, which will contribute capital investment, expertise and parts.

As part of the joint venture, Bitmain will contribute to the development of up to 500 MW of clean digital mining infrastructure at Merkle Standard's hydro-powered facilities in Eastern Washington.

Bitmain is a household name in the Bitcoin (BTC) ecosystem, famed for the Antminer brand, the name behind popular Bitcoin ASIC miners the S9 and S19. Merkle Standard claims to be a carbon-conscious BTC miner, keen to become net carbon negative by year-end. Merkle Standard will install up to 150,000 Bitmain mining machines thanks to the venture.

Ruslan Zinurov, CEO of Merkle Standard, told Cointelegraph that the partnership with Bitmain will “catapult our growth plan of building one of North America’s largest sustainable digital asset mining platforms.”

In a further commentary, Josh Zappala, chief strategy officer at Merkle Standard, underlined the benefits BTC mining brings to the social fabric of local communities. With aspirations to become one of the area’s largest employers, the joint venture will introduce “35–50 full-time jobs to the site,” while “supporting local business.” He told Cointelegraph:

“Due to the flexible characteristics of the data center’s power load, we are suited to be the ideal power consumer for our power providers and look forward to providing additional support to the community.”

No strangers to scrutiny, Merkle Standard’s move reflects the trend of BTC miners worldwide upping their ESG credentials. The Bitcoin Mining Council boasted a sustainable energy mix of 58.5% in the fourth quarter of 2021, while miners in Norway are even using waste heat to dry out lumber.

According to the press release, data center development has entered the first phase of production at the Merkle Standard mothership in Eastern Washington. The 225MW site will expand to 500MW by the second quarter of 2022.

The new equipment, including Bitmain’s S19J Pro, S19 XP, and S19+ hydro miners will come online in Eastern Washington, although Merkle Standard nods towards “various expansion locations” in 2022. Ultimately, the joint venture is one part of CEO Zinurov’s vision to “achieve industry-leading power efficiency.”

Antminer