Close Menu
  • Coins
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Altcoins
    • NFT
  • Blockchain
  • DeFi
  • Metaverse
  • Regulation
  • Other
    • Exchanges
    • ICO
    • GameFi
    • Mining
    • Legal
  • MarketCap
What's Hot

What Will It Take for Ethereum to Outperform Bitcoin? Bitget’s Chief Analyst Explains

17/09/2025

Kyrgyzstan expands regulatory sandbox to cover crypto banking

17/09/2025

Is Grayscale ETH ETF Staking on the Horizon?

17/09/2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
  • Back to NBTC homepage
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
X (Twitter) Telegram Facebook LinkedIn RSS
NBTC News
  • Coins
    1. Bitcoin
    2. Ethereum
    3. Altcoins
    4. NFT
    5. View All

    Price Breaks All-Time High Record Again – Here’s What We Know

    04/08/2025

    Bitcoin Switzerland? El Salvador to Host First Fully Native Bitcoin Capital Markets

    04/08/2025

    Bitcoin Breaks $119K, but XLM and HBAR Aren’t Impressed by Its Meager Percentage Gain

    04/08/2025

    High-Stakes Consolidation Could Define Q3 Trend

    04/08/2025

    What Will It Take for Ethereum to Outperform Bitcoin? Bitget’s Chief Analyst Explains

    17/09/2025

    Is Grayscale ETH ETF Staking on the Horizon?

    17/09/2025

    Ethereum ETF Frenzy Pushes Investors Toward This New Small-Cap

    16/09/2025

    Ether could see the ‘biggest bear trap’ this month: Analysts

    15/09/2025

    The Sui Ecosystem’s Top 3 Altcoin Performers

    29/07/2025

    Floki Launches $69000 Guerrilla Marketing Challenge With FlokiUltras3

    28/07/2025

    Crypto Beast denies role in Altcoin (ALT) crash rug pull, blames snipers

    28/07/2025

    $1.6 Billion XRP Surge: Here’s What’s Unfolding

    28/07/2025

    LimeWire Acquires Fyre Festival, Plans Fresh Start With a Crypto Spin

    16/09/2025

    American Express Introduces Blockchain-Based ‘Travel Stamps’

    15/09/2025

    NFT sales show modest recovery, Pudgy Penguins jump 110%

    14/09/2025

    Twerk From Home Aims to Become the UFC of Exotic Dancing—With a Crypto Boost

    13/09/2025

    What Will It Take for Ethereum to Outperform Bitcoin? Bitget’s Chief Analyst Explains

    17/09/2025

    Kyrgyzstan expands regulatory sandbox to cover crypto banking

    17/09/2025

    Is Grayscale ETH ETF Staking on the Horizon?

    17/09/2025

    France Warns Cryptocurrency Companies! Bans Are Coming!

    17/09/2025
  • Blockchain

    Can Decentralized Indexing Save Web3?

    16/09/2025

    UFC Expands Web3 Partnership with Fightfi’s Fight.ID Platform

    16/09/2025

    ICB Network Partners with Tectum to Pioneer Zero-Fee PayFi Transfers in Web3

    16/09/2025

    ATT Global Taps For Metas to Advance Web3 Ecosystem

    16/09/2025

    Philippine lawmakers push blockchain budget bills in House

    16/09/2025
  • DeFi

    Welf Finance Taps Orochi Network For Secure and Decentralized Web3 Finance

    17/09/2025

    The real divide in finance isn’t TradFi vs DeFi, it’s control vs coordination

    17/09/2025

    Aave gears up for Aave V4 launch, bringing unified cross-chain liquidity to DeFi

    17/09/2025

    Is Ethereum’s DeFi Future on L2s? Liquidity, Innovation Say Perhaps Yes

    17/09/2025

    Managed DeFi Yield Provider Tesseract Secures MiCA License

    17/09/2025
  • Metaverse

    KaratDAO and SecondLive Partners to Reshape Web3 Identity and Immersive Digital Worlds

    16/09/2025

    Metaverse ‘still has a heartbeat’ as NFT sales jump 27% in August

    12/09/2025

    CreataChain Joins LightCycle to Advance Fashion, Interoperability, and AI in Metaverse

    05/09/2025

    new institutional ‘trust’ layer to boost tokenized ESG investment

    04/09/2025

    Metaverse developer The Sandbox lays off 50% of staff and pivots to meme coin launchpad

    28/08/2025
  • Regulation

    Trump Media Tests ‘Truth Search’ Using Perplexity AI

    17/09/2025

    CZ says stablecoins have defeated CBDCs globally, how come?

    16/09/2025

    Stablecoin Usage Ramps up in Venezuela Amid Rampant Devaluation

    16/09/2025

    South Korean Tech Giant Unveils Bold Crypto

    16/09/2025

    New ETF Filings Hint at Broader Crypto Product Boom Ahead

    16/09/2025
  • Other
    1. Exchanges
    2. ICO
    3. GameFi
    4. Mining
    5. Legal
    6. View All

    Google and Sui Network Team Up on Next-Gen Payment Standard

    17/09/2025

    Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Teases Exciting Q4 Launches: “Cool New Products” 

    17/09/2025

    Cardano Community’s Crucial Call to Coinbase: Here’s Why

    17/09/2025

    Metamask Taps Transak to Power Stablecoin Deposits, Adds mUSD Support

    17/09/2025

    ICO for bitcoin yield farming chain Corn screams we’re so back

    22/01/2025

    Why 2025 Will See the Comeback of the ICO

    26/12/2024

    Blockchain Games Break Into the Mainstream

    17/09/2025

    DeBox Partners with Mythoria to Merge AI-Led GameFi and Web3 Social Ecosystem

    16/09/2025

    Crypto Games Keep Shutting Down. This $500K Fund Aims to Help Players Recover

    14/09/2025

    Conflux Network and Salvo Alliance Targets Scalable Web3 Gaming Adoption

    13/09/2025

    Bitcoin mining stocks outperform BTC as investors bet on AI pivots

    16/09/2025

    DL Holdings to Enter Bitcoin Mining Through Convertible-Bond Deal

    16/09/2025

    Why Bitcoin Miners Are Powering AI’s Expansion

    14/09/2025

    Bitcoin’s Computing Muscle Flexes Harder

    13/09/2025

    Kyrgyzstan expands regulatory sandbox to cover crypto banking

    17/09/2025

    France Warns Cryptocurrency Companies! Bans Are Coming!

    17/09/2025

    Donald Trump Files $15 Billion Lawsuit Against America’s Most Established Newspaper! “TRUMP Caused Major Damage to Coin!”

    17/09/2025

    Donald Trump is suing the New York Times for harming his memecoin

    17/09/2025

    What Will It Take for Ethereum to Outperform Bitcoin? Bitget’s Chief Analyst Explains

    17/09/2025

    Kyrgyzstan expands regulatory sandbox to cover crypto banking

    17/09/2025

    Is Grayscale ETH ETF Staking on the Horizon?

    17/09/2025

    France Warns Cryptocurrency Companies! Bans Are Coming!

    17/09/2025
  • MarketCap
NBTC News
Home»Mining»Bitcoin Miners Are Still Buying New Hardware Despite Headwinds—Here’s Why
Mining

Bitcoin Miners Are Still Buying New Hardware Despite Headwinds—Here’s Why

NBTCBy NBTC12/09/2024No Comments6 Mins Read
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email


In the midst of shrinking revenues and rising operational costs, industry experts tell Decrypt that Bitcoin miners are continuing to invest in new, specialized hardware, displaying strong confidence in the future of the leading crypto network despite short-term struggles.

According to a Glassnode report released this week, Bitcoin’s hash rate—an essential measure of mining activity—remains near all-time highs, just 1% shy, even though revenues have plummeted.

The mining industry is currently facing a double challenge: increasing mining difficulty and declining transaction fee revenue. As the hash rate rises, so does the difficulty of mining and earning a BTC block reward, thus pushing production costs higher.

This, combined with cooling demand for high-fee transactions like those from Runes tokens and the NFT-like Ordinals, has squeezed miners’ profitability in recent months. Still, miners continue to invest in new ASIC hardware, in part due to the need to stay competitive in an environment where older machines are rapidly becoming obsolete.

One major factor driving this trend is improved energy efficiency in modern ASIC equipment, which helps miners manage operating costs.

Speaking with Decrypt, Illia Otychenko, lead analyst at crypto exchange CEX.IO, said that the energy efficiency of dedicated Bitcoin mining hardware “more than doubled” from 2018 to 2023, “significantly reducing the energy consumption per coin produced.”

This advancement allows miners to mitigate rising electricity costs and mining difficulty, keeping profitability intact even amid unfavorable market conditions.

While the price of Bitcoin remains relatively strong, transaction fee pressure has eased, further squeezing miners’ profits. With transaction fee revenue now a small fraction of what it once was, miners are leaning more heavily on block subsidies to sustain operations.

Interestingly, miners are now shifting their strategies in response to this revenue squeeze.

Historically, they sold the bulk of their mined Bitcoin to cover operational costs, but the report highlights that many are now retaining a portion of their mined supply in treasury reserves. Marathon Digital, for example, announced in July that it would adopt a “full HODL” strategy, saying it would no longer sell mined BTC. In fact, it has bought more from the market, as well.

Jeffrey Hu, head of investment research at HashKey Capital, sees this as a sign of confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term value.

“Miners retaining a portion of their mined supply suggests they are banking on future price appreciation,” Hu told Decrypt. “It’s a sign of confidence and could reduce selling pressure in the market, potentially supporting prices.”

However, Hu also cautions that this strategy comes with risks, particularly if miners are forced to sell reserves during downturns, which could exacerbate sell pressure.

Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget Research, attributed the reasons behind the rising hash rate partly to the reintroduction of older mining rigs, which are becoming profitable again with Bitcoin’s price gains over the past year.

“Older machines are being brought back into operation as Bitcoin’s price makes previously unprofitable hardware viable. This, combined with new investments in more efficient machines, is driving the total hash rate higher,” says Lee.

He also points to recent regulatory support in regions like Russia, along with positive signals from figures like former President Donald Trump, who has come out in support of Bitcoin and the crypto industry amid his latest run to return to the White House. Such shifts have bolstered the hash rate by reducing market uncertainty, Hu noted.

While these factors help offset some of the revenue challenges, experts agree that miners need to explore alternative revenue streams to ensure long-term profitability. When Decrypt surveyed the mining landscape at Bitcoin 2024 in July, there was a sense that firms were weathering an “identity crisis” of sorts—but it’s one that could ultimately help them in the long run.

Livepeer co-founder and CEO Doug Petkanics suggested that Bitcoin miners are well-positioned to diversify into AI computing, which demands vast amounts of compute power.

“The demand for AI compute power is growing exponentially. With their existing energy and cooling infrastructure, miners could tap into this market by adding GPUs and providing a new revenue stream,” said Petkanics.

Diversification could be key to surviving the increasingly competitive landscape of the mining industry. Firms like Core Scientific and Bitdeer are among those who are providing computing power for AI needs to shore up potential shortcomings with their Bitcoin business.

Otychenko predicts further consolidation, with capital-rich miners outlasting smaller operations.

CleanSpark’s acquisition of GRIID for $155 million in June this year, is a prime example, boosting its hosting capacity as part of its growth strategy. Similarly, Bitfarms recently acquired Stronghold Digital Mining, while Riot Platforms has acquired a 19% stake in Bitfarms to influence its direction.

Companies like Marathon Digital also see future acquisition opportunities to secure low-cost energy and scalable infrastructure.

“We may see further mergers and acquisitions as larger miners absorb struggling competitors to expand their market share,” he notes. For those unable to adapt, the rising operational costs may prove unsustainable, leading to a shake-up in the industry.

Hu also points to the possibility of new financing products designed to protect miners from market volatility, as well as innovative ways for mining pools to generate additional revenue, such as merged mining for new layer-2 solutions on Bitcoin.

“The mining industry might also grow in regions like the Middle East, where natural resources and a rapidly growing crypto business present new opportunities,” he adds.

However, even with diversification, miners’ profitability remains heavily reliant on block rewards, which currently account for over 90% of their revenue.

“Transaction fees only become significant during fee spikes, as we saw with Runes and Ordinals, but such events are temporary,” Otychenko said. “Block rewards are still the main revenue driver.”

Lee echoed this sentiment, warning that miners will eventually need to rely more on transaction fees as block rewards diminish with each halving cycle. He predicted that Bitcoin’s price could surge during the next bull cycle, potentially reaching $150,000.

This would attract more retail participation in mining, as smaller players enter the market by purchasing older, more affordable machines.

“While larger miners may shift toward asset management,” Lee said, “retail miners could generate consistent cash flow if Bitcoin’s price continues to rise.”

Edited by Andrew Hayward and Ryan Ozawa

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
NBTC

Related Posts

Bitcoin mining stocks outperform BTC as investors bet on AI pivots

16/09/2025

DL Holdings to Enter Bitcoin Mining Through Convertible-Bond Deal

16/09/2025

Why Bitcoin Miners Are Powering AI’s Expansion

14/09/2025

Bitcoin’s Computing Muscle Flexes Harder

13/09/2025
Add A Comment

Comments are closed.

Top Posts
Get Informed

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest news from NBTC regarding crypto, blockchains and web3 related topics.

Your source for the serious news. This website is crafted specifically to for crazy and hot cryptonews. Visit our main page for more tons of news.

We're social. Connect with us:

Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn RSS
Top Insights

What Will It Take for Ethereum to Outperform Bitcoin? Bitget’s Chief Analyst Explains

17/09/2025

Kyrgyzstan expands regulatory sandbox to cover crypto banking

17/09/2025

Is Grayscale ETH ETF Staking on the Horizon?

17/09/2025
Get Informed

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest news from NBTC regarding crypto, blockchains and web3 related topics.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.