The crypto mining sector witnessed significant economic improvements in December, with mining profitability reaching its highest levels in seven months. The hashprice, a key metric for daily profitability of the publicly listed Wall Street Bitcoin Miners, increased by 5% since November’s end.
Daily block reward revenue has climbed to $57,300 per exahash per second (EH/s) in early December, marking a seven-month peak, though still remaining 40% below pre-halving levels. The network’s total hashrate has expanded 6% this month, averaging 773 EH/s.
Certainly, the ongoing rally in major cryptocurrencies is not without significance. Bitcoin has climbed 40% since the beginning of November, testing historic highs above $107,000. Meanwhile, altcoins, including the BGB utility token, have surged by 120% this December alone.
“We note miners earned about $57,300 in daily block reward revenue per EH/s over the first two weeks of December,” analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce from JPMorgan wrote on Monday.
Wall Street Bitcoin miners from the US have significantly strengthened their market position, with their combined hashrate surging 94% year-to-date to 222 EH/s. These miners now control approximately 29% of the global network. However, their aggregate market capitalization experienced a $1.5 billion decline in December’s first two weeks.
Bitcoin Miners News: Behavior and Revenues
Moreover, Bitcoin miners have substantially reduced their holdings, selling over 140,000 BTC (valued at $13.72 billion) in December. This has decreased their total holdings from 2.08 million to 1.95 million BTC. Despite this significant sell-off, Bitcoin’s price has shown resilience, experiencing only minor pullbacks.
So far in December, #Bitcoin miners have sold over 140,000 $BTC, totaling $13.72 billion! pic.twitter.com/1g3sCo6uJM
— Ali (@ali_charts) December 14, 2024
Mining revenue has also reached impressive levels, with daily earnings touching approximately $50 million, the highest since April’s peak of nearly $100 million. However, increased mining difficulty, now at 106T compared to April’s 85T, has created additional challenges for miners.
For example, in November—when Bitcoin was also testing its all-time highs—eight Wall Street miners reported lower BTC production. Although these miners are continually expanding their mining capacity, the increasing difficulty level makes it harder to boost output. The higher the “difficulty” metric, the more computing power is required to extract the same amount of cryptocurrency.
Why are Bitcoin miners selling large amounts of BTC in December?
The primary driver behind the selling appears to be covering regular operational expenses, including electricity bills and other running costs. The selling has been steady rather than panic-driven, suggesting a calculated approach to maintaining operations.
Moreover, with Bitcoin reaching new all-time highs above $107,000, miners are likely capitalizing on favorable market conditions to secure profits. This timing allows them to maximize returns on their mined assets.
Not everyone is selling their Bitcoins, though. An increasing number of publicly listed Wall Street Bitcoin miners are choosing to issue bonds or other debt instruments to raise additional funds and build up their BTC reserves.
For example, on Monday, Riot Platform purchased an additional 667 BTC at an average price of $101,135. As a result, it now holds 17,429 BTC in its vault.
With the additional proceeds from Riot’s upsized $594 million, 0.75% coupon convertible bond issue, the Company has acquired 667 BTC at an average price of $101,135 per BTC. As a result, Riot has increased its holdings to 17,429 BTC, currently valued at $1.8 billion based on the… pic.twitter.com/t68Uy8nbHU
— Riot Platforms, Inc. (@RiotPlatforms) December 16, 2024
By comparison, El Salvador, the first country to make BTC its official legal tender, has accumulated just under 6,000 BTC.
