Bitcoin (BTC) ASIC miners – machines optimized for the sole purpose of mining bitcoin – are currently selling at rock-bottom prices not seen since 2020 and 2021in what is seen as another sign of a deepening cryptocurrency bear market.
According to the latest data from Hashrate Index, the most efficient ASIC miners, those that generate at least one terahash for 38 joules of energy, have seen their prices drop by 86.82% from the high of USD 119.25 per terahash reached on May 7, 2021 to USD 15.71 on December 25.
Mining machines in this category include Bitmain’s Antminer S19 and MicroBTC’s Whatsminer M30s.
The same statement holds true for mid-tier machines; its prices now average $10.23 after falling a whopping 89.36% from its peak price of $96.24 on May 7, 2021.
However, the least efficient machines, those requiring more than 68 joules per terahash, are now priced at $4.72, a 91% drop from their peak price of $52.85. The last time it was priced anywhere near this was around November 5, 2020.
The price decline has largely been attributed to large bitcoin mining companies struggling to remain profitable throughout the bear market, with many filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, falling into debt or selling their assets. BTC holdings and teams to stay afloat.
Companies that have done so include Core Scientific, Marathon Digital, Riot Blockchain, Bitfarms, and Argo Blockchain..
But the sharp price decline has been met with some enthusiastic buyers. Among them are many Russian-based mining facilities, such as BitRiver, that are able to take advantage of relatively low electricity costs.; some upgraded equipment is capable of mining 1 BTC at about $0.07 per kilowatt-hour in the energy-rich nation.
While it is difficult to predict which direction ASIC miner prices will take, Nico Smid of Digital Mining Solutions he pointed in a December 21 tweet that ASIC mining machine prices bottomed out in the last bitcoin halving cycle in May. On May 11, 2020, ASIC mining prices bottomed out in the last bitcoin halving cycle and rose aggressively soon after.something that could be repeated in the next halving cycle, which is expected to take place on April 20, 2024.
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