Post-halving, Bitcoin miners see reduced profits amid high network hash rates. The hash price, measuring earnings per hash, hits its lowest since October 2023, dropping from $0.12 to $0.07.
Miners have encountered an unexpected reality after achieving all-time highs on Bitcoin halving day: decreased revenues and a high network hash rate exert downward pressure on profits.
Since October 2023, the average revenue a miner earns per performed hash, also known as the hash price, has been at its lowest point. After reaching a peak of $0.19 on the halving day, the hash price for miners decreased from roughly $0.12 in early April to $0.07 post-halving.
The block reward for miners was reduced from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC due to Bitcoin’s halving. In contrast, the sector’s operational expenses remained unchanged. Ki Young Ju, the chief executive officer of CryptoQuant, estimated that the price of mining with Antminer S19 XPs would escalate from $40,000 to $80,000 after the halving.
Since the halving event, the total network hash rate has remained stable, indicating that Bitcoin mining remains profitable at current prices despite the reduction in rewards. Since April 19, the market indicates Bitcoin has maintained its value above $64,000.
“Although it is still too early to see any long-term effects of the halving on the network hashrate, miners seem to be running operations at the same rate as before the halving,” CryptoQuant noted in a report, as the total network hash rate held flat at 617 EH/s post-halving.
Transaction fees peaked at an unprecedented level in proportion to the overall revenue generated by miners on the day of the halving. On the day of halving, transaction fees constituted 75% of the overall miner revenue, amounting to approximately $80 million. It has decreased to approximately 35% of total miner revenue since then.
Although the immediate consequences demonstrate constancy, the enduring effects on the hash rate and overall miner activity remain susceptible to modification. In previous halving periods, miners withdrew from the industry due to the exorbitant operational expenses. Elasticity in the electricity sector and fluctuations in Bitcoin prices are anticipated to influence the mining industry significantly.
