The relocation of digital asset mining companies from China triggered a drop in the bitcoin hash rate by more than 50%. What is happening with the mining market now and is it worth it for new players to enter it.
Over the past two months, several important events have taken place in the cryptocurrency mining market. By the end of June, the hashrate of the bitcoin network has dropped by more than 50%, compared with the values of mid-May.
This is due to the fact that in June more than 70% of Chinese miners were forced to stop working.
The PRC authorities are tightening the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the PRC. In June, four Chinese provinces completely banned cryptocurrency mining.
Banks and other financial institutions in China are now banned from transactions related to cryptocurrency, as well as cooperation with companies whose activities are related to digital assets.
On June 6, it became known that another large cryptocurrency mining company, IBC Group, is closing data centers in China and transporting equipment to the USA, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Iceland and the countries of South America.
During the last recalculation, the difficulty of Bitcoin mining fell by a record 27.94% (to 14.36 terrachesh).
According to the forecast of BTC.com, during the next recalculation, the difficulty of mining the first cryptocurrency will decrease by another 28%.
Mining difficulty is a parameter inherent in the blockchain that sets the required amount of power to find one block. The complexity of the network correlates with the hash rate. The higher the hash rate, the greater the difficulty of mining and vice versa.
Auspicious moment to enter
Now a unique situation has developed in the mining market: prices for equipment have decreased, and the profitability of mining has doubled, says Sergey Arestov, co-founder of industrial mining operator BitCluster.
According to him, thanks to this, a favorable moment appeared for entering mining. The main question is where to place the equipment, since the demand for sites outstrips supply dozens of times, Arestov noted.
After recalculating the complexity of the bitcoin network, miners began to receive more profit than before the massive shutdown of equipment in China, explained Roman Nekrasov, co-founder of the LAZM data center.
According to him, all this benefit is being eaten up, as bitcoin has fallen in price over the past two months.
“This is how the internal calibration of the bitcoin network works: the network provides incentives for miners when the coin rate falls and some of the miners decide to stop mining coins. The hashrate falls, the remaining miners get more coins, this attracts new miners to the network, “Nekrasov explained.
Also, the co-founder of the LAZM data center recalled that bitcoin mining is one of the most expensive methods of mining cryptocurrency, as this means buying specialized, expensive equipment, finding and renting a suitable site connected to power grids, and servicing.
Time to recover
Migration of miners from China to other countries could continue for two years, the co founder of industrial mining operator BitCluster predicted.
According to him, in order to accommodate everyone, you need to build huge data centers, and this process is slow and costly.
“Some data centers in North America are signing contacts for placement as early as 2023,” Arestov added.
How to enter the market
To start mining bitcoin effectively and reduce the risk of equipment breakdown, you should start by purchasing 500 modern miners like Antminer S19, the co-founder of industrial mining operator BitCluster recommends.
According to Arestov, with such volumes, production will be significant, and the risk of getting a loss due to breakdowns is minimal.
There is currently no way to purchase the Antminer S19 on the manufacturer’s website Bitmain, since they are all sold out on pre-orders before the end of the year.
In the secondary market of Russia, the cost of one Antminer S19 ranges from $ 6.5 thousand to $ 7.9 thousand. The average purchase price of 500 miners will be $ 360 thousand. To this amount, you must add the cost of renting a data center, paying for electricity and maintaining equipment. These costs can vary greatly and depend on various factors.
At the end of June, it became known that Bitmain had suspended the sale of mining equipment in order to move production and employees from China to other countries.
The co-founder of the LAZM data center recalled that there are many other coins that allow you to earn money by mining.
According to him, the threshold for entering mining on video cards is much lower. Nekrasov claims that 3-5 video cards will be enough for a start, which can be purchased for 300-500 thousand Dollar.
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