Closely watched measure of Bitcoin mining revenue is approaching historic low
A closely watched measure of bitcoin mining revenue is approaching a historic low as the price of the largest digital asset stagnates and competition intensifies.
The so-called hash price dropped to US$0.06 per computing power unit per day on Sunday, according to Hashrate Index data.
It is near the record low recorded at the end of 2022 when major publicly traded mining companies warned of a liquidity crisis, and some filed for bankruptcy.
Miners now have more room to maneuver despite falling revenues, having raised significant capital by selling shares and minting coins earlier this year during a price rally.
However, a sustained retreat of the digital asset and increased competition in the sector may wreak havoc on Bitcoin miners.
Bitcoin mining is an energy-intensive process where companies use expensive specialized computers to validate transaction records on the blockchain and earn token rewards.
Thousands of computers, or Bitcoin mining platforms, are stacked on top of each other in data centers that consume large amounts of electricity.
The largest cryptocurrency barely changed around US$26,000 at 11:26 a.m.
in New York and traded at an average price of about US$26,200 this year. Bitcoin fell 64% in 2022, ending the year at US$16,500.
The price reached a record high of nearly US$69,000 at the end of 2021.
Mining difficulty, an indicator of the computing power used to mine Bitcoin, hit a record last week, according to btc.com data.
This indicates that miners are producing more computing power than ever to compete for a fixed amount of Bitcoin rewards issued by the blockchain to miners, their main source of income.
Miners are scaling despite current prices, partly due to an upcoming Bitcoin code update called “halving.”
The update halves the Bitcoin rewards to miners every four years and maintains the 21 million coin supply cap.
The next halving will occur in 2024. Mining companies must increase their computing power and remain competitive to compete for even fewer rewards after the event.
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Live Market IntelligenceCrypto — Live Market Board
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Crypto — Live Market Board
-0.26%
| Instrument | Last | Change | YoY | Prev. | High | Low | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTC | 63,384 | -0.26% | -47.24% | 63,552 | 64,346 | 63,305 | 22,774,743,040 |
| ETH | 1,886 | +0.26% | -58.90% | 1,881 | 1,920 | 1,879 | 7,916,475,392 |
| SOL | 75.89 | -0.40% | -60.44% | 76.20 | 76.99 | 75.39 | 1,473,821,056 |
| XRP | 1.01 | -1.15% | -69.07% | 1.02 | 1.02 | 1.01 | 1,144,044,416 |
| BNB | 609.60 | -1.12% | -26.81% | 616.50 | 619.30 | 609.23 | 1,266,706,432 |
| ADA | 0.18 | -1.98% | -78.22% | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.18 | 238,085,632 |
| DOGE | 0.07 | -1.56% | -70.00% | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 553,256,192 |
| AVAX | 6.38 | +1.04% | -74.11% | 6.32 | 6.42 | 6.21 | 248,470,560 |
| LINK | 8.77 | -0.06% | -62.73% | 8.77 | 8.87 | 8.68 | 317,054,880 |
| DOT | 0.78 | -0.75% | -81.11% | 0.79 | 0.80 | 0.78 | 43,490,492 |
| LTC | 45.08 | -0.85% | -65.45% | 45.47 | 45.59 | 44.98 | 143,727,712 |
| BCH | 213.85 | +0.10% | -65.44% | 213.64 | 215.69 | 212.54 | 137,956,688 |
| TRX | 0.34 | +0.28% | -4.73% | 0.33 | 0.34 | 0.33 | 436,576,064 |
| XLM | 0.16 | -1.33% | -64.46% | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.16 | 89,559,864 |
| HBAR | 0.07 | -0.53% | -74.67% | 0.07 | 0.07 | 0.07 | 22,546,186 |
| NEAR | 1.65 | +2.42% | -40.55% | 1.62 | 1.68 | 1.61 | 187,591,264 |
| ATOM | 1.40 | -2.36% | -70.15% | 1.44 | 1.44 | 1.40 | 18,626,964 |
| AAVE | 89.06 | +0.93% | -72.33% | 88.24 | 90.20 | 88.19 | 129,099,704 |
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