The price history of hardware to mine bitcoin so far in 2022 looks negative for many. However, this sector has two faces, one is that of fiat currency (such as USD or EUR) and the other is that of bitcoin (BTC).
Analyzing the prices of bitcoin ASIC miners during the current year and in fiat currency is like seeing the first downward slope of a roller coaster, only in this case it does not go back up (at least not so far).
According to Bitcoin Hashrate Index mining data analysis website USD prices for ASIC mining hardware have fallen by as much as 66% this year. However, if prices are evaluated in BTC, this same statistic does not exceed 30%. In fact, some equipment shows slight increases in its price if you want to pay with bitcoin. It should be noted that the figures on which this analysis is based are taken from the reseller market.
The prices of high-end hardware to mine bitcoin
The first on the list is one of the most named ASIC miners today, the Antminer S19 from the manufacturer Bitmain. It is one of the most powerful and efficient bitcoin mining devices available today.
Bitmain released the S19 on the market in May 2020. The price of this equipment in BTC went from averaging about 0.24 bitcoin in January of this year, to about 0.21 BTC today. Its price in US dollars during the first days of January this year was between USD 9,500 and USD 9,800. Today it is available on the secondary market for around USD 4,000.
Another high performance ASIC miner is the Whatsminer M30S. MicroBT, its manufacturer, launched it on the market in April 2020. In early 2022, this team averaged a price close to USD 9,500 and 0.23 bitcoins. Today, the price of this miner fell to USD 4,800, but in bitcoin it did the opposite, that is, it rose to 0.24 BTC.
The prices of mid-range hardware to mine bitcoin
Mid-range ASIC miners have been on the market since 2019. One of them, Bitmain’s Antminer S17, came out in April of that year. Its price in January 2022 was about USD 2,750, while in bitcoin it was around 0.065 BTC.
Currently, the price of the Antminer S17 is down to $1,500, although it was below $1,400 several weeks ago. The cost of this equipment in bitcoin shows an increase that takes it to a current price of about 0.08 BTC.
A competitor to the S17 is MicroBT’s Whatsminer M20S, which was released in August 2019. As of January 2022, it was priced at $4,100 or 0.1 bitcoins on the secondary market. The fall in the price in fiat money was 75%, which dropped to USD 1,500. The cost in bitcoin is also lower today, but with a less pronounced slide of 25% that leaves it at 0.075 BTC.
Antminer S9, the “hard to kill”
Bitmain’s Antminer S9 model began generating mining power on the Bitcoin network in November 2017, but its level of efficiency compared to later equipment has allowed it to remain active until now. At the start of 2022, an Antminer S9 cost about $350 or 0.018 BTC. Its price has currently fallen in both currencies, in fiat money it can reach USD 150 and in bitcoin at 0.008 BTC.
Despite the fact that this specific model shows a drop in its price in both USD and BTC, Other devices of a similar range have kept the balance in favor of bitcoin between its price in January of this year and the current one.
CriptoNoticias recently reported that the drop in hardware prices to mine bitcoin could mean an opportunity for new miners to enter the ecosystem or for the expansion of large farm operations. Nevertheless, the low profitability of bitcoin mining today may keep many at bay before purchasing mining hardware.