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Bitcoin ASIC miner prices hovering at lows not seen in years

December 27, 2022 Coin Telegraph

ASIC miners

ASIC miners' price per terahash has fallen more than 80% from its peak in 2021 as Bitcoin mining machines continue to flood the marketplace.

Bitcoin ASIC miners — machines optimized for the sole purpose of mining Bitcoin — are currently selling at bottom-of-the-barrel prices not seen since 2020 and 2021, in what is being viewed as another sign of a deepened crypto bear market.

According to the latest data from Hashrate Index, the most efficient ASIC miners, those generating at least one terahash per 38 joules of energy, have seen their prices fall 86.82% from May. 7, 2021 peak of $119.25 per terahash down to $15.71 as of Dec. 25.

Miners in these category include Bitmain’s Antminer S19 and MicroBTC’s Whatsminer M30s.

The same statement holds true for the mid-tier machines, with prices now averaged out at $10.23 after falling a massive 89.36% from its peak price of $96.24 on May. 7, 2021.

However, the least efficient machines, ones that require more than 68 Joules per TH, are now priced at $4.72, a 91% drop from its peak price of $52.85. The last time it was priced near this was around Nov. 5, 2020.

*Bitcoin ASIC Miner Price Index for machines with varying levels of efficiency. Source: Hashrate Index.*

The fall in prices has largely been attributed to large Bitcoin mining companies that have struggled to remain profitable throughout the bear market, with many either filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, taking on debt, or selling their BTC holdings and equipment in order to stay afloat.

Among the firms to have done that include Core Scientific, Marathon Digital, Riot Blockchain, Bitfarms and Argo Blockchain.

But the steep price fall has been met with some keen buyers. Among those include many Russian-based mining facilities like BitRiver who are able to capitalize on relatively low electricity costs, with some up-to-date hardware capable of mining one Bitcoin (BTC) at about $0.07 per kilowatt-hour in the energy-rich nation.

While it’s hard to predict what price direction ASIC miners will head toward next, Nico Smid of Digital Mining Solutions pointed out in a Dec. 21 tweet that ASIC miner prices bottomed at Bitcoin’s last halving cycle in May. 11, 2020 and moved up aggressively shortly after — something which could play out in Bitcoin’s next halving cycle which is expected to take place on Apr. 20, 2024.

BTC miner CleanSpark scoops up thousands of miners amid ‘distressed markets’

November 2, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Antminer S19J Pro Bitcoin Mining Machines

CleanSpark bought over 3,800 mining machines at $15.50 per terahash – far below the current market price of $22.94 and an 85.4% discount from the all-time high costs of $106.62 in Dec. 2021.

Sustainability-focused Bitcoin (BTC) mining company CleanSpark has snapped up another 3,843 cryptocurrency miners amid a backdrop of mining industry consolidation.

The $5.9 million purchase of the Antminer S19J Pro Bitcoin miners announced by the company on Nov. 1 came at a price of $15.50 per terahash — far cheaper than the current market price of $22.94 for a machine with the same efficiency according to data from Hashrate Index.

The purchase has brought its total number of machines to around 50,000 according to the company.

CleanSpark said it's purchased 26,500 miners since the start of the "bear market conditions" — a time when many mining firms have been forced to sell off mining equipment or even consider filing for bankruptcy.

There is a possibility that the miners were purchased from competitor Argo Blockchain as an Oct. 31 update from Argo shows it sold 3,843 Bitmain S19J Pro machines, the exact amount and miner model that CleanSpark purchased.

Cointelegraph contacted CleanSpark and Argo Blockchain to confirm if a transaction took place between the companies but did not immediately hear back.

While other Bitcoin miners are struggling in the prevailing market conditions, CEO Zach Bradford said an “unwavering focus” on sustainability, a strong balance sheet, and its operating strategy has enabled CleanSpark to “acquire machines at incredible prices, grow our hashrate, and increase our daily Bitcoin production.”

In an earlier interview with Cointelegraph Matthew Schultz, executive chairman of CleanSpark, said one of CleanSpark’s operating strategies has been to view Bitcoin mining as a “potential solution for creating more opportunities for energy development.”

For example, CleanSpark partners with various city councils in the United States to buy excess energy in order to improve the efficiency of its mining operations – but it also cuts down energy costs for those communities too, Schultz explained:

“These cities essentially become our utility provider. They make a margin on every kilowatt hour we buy to conduct our mining operations. Yet, we are buying such high quantities of energy that it brings down energy costs for the communities we work with.”

But with Bitcoin mining difficulty increasing and profitability decreasing, mining companies will need to look for new ways to diversify their revenue streams in order to stay afloat, while some companies may have no option but to consolidate to stay in the game.

That was the case with Colorado-based Bitcoin miner Crusoe Energy Systems, who bought the operating assets of portable BTC mining operator Great American Mining (GAM).

CleanSpark also bought a 36MW facility in Washington, Georgia in Aug. 2022, and recently acquired an 80MW facility in Sandersville, Georgia in Oct. 2022 to go alongside its two existing mining facilities.

Despite CleanSpark’s recent success, its stock price dropped 6.32% to $3.26 on Nov. 1 according to Yahoo Finance — however, the fall was representative of the broader Bitcoin mining sector.

Hashrate Index

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