• Public Bitcoin miners are in better financial health despite a 12.1% YoY drop in BTC holdings.
• The shares of several miners have risen by three figures on the year-to-date (YTD) metric and miners are selling their BTC to exchanges at extremely low levels compared to previous years.
• Bitcoin hash rate rose 34% on the year-on-year metric, making mining bitcoin cheaper.
Public Bitcoin Miners Improve Finances Despite 12.1% Drop
Glassnode data analyzed by CryptoSlate shows that Bitcoin miners are beginning to enjoy some respite in the current year after struggling in 2022. As of January 2022, Bitcoin miners held 36,003 BTC with mining firms like Core Scientific, Riot, Hut8, Marathon and Bitfarms holding over 30,000 coins; however the landscape appears to have changed in the current year as Hut 8, Marathon and Riot are now dominant miners controlling 87% — 27,760 BTC — of miner’s BTC holdings according to research from CryptoSlate.
Shares Rise Three Figures Year-to-Date
CryptoSlate’s analysis showed that miner’s appear to be in a healthier position compared to last year with shares rising three figures YTD for miners such as Hut8, Riot and Iris among others who all saw an increase of over 100%. This is likely due to profitability returning for the industry as Bitcoin’s price has risen by around 50%, briefly trading above $25000 for the first time since August 2022 on February 16th.
BTC Hashrate Hits Record High
The Bitcoin hash rate rose 34% YOY and hit a new all time high of 300 TH/s indicating current strength and consistency of the network. Mining bitcoin is now cheaper than ever before due to Difficulty Regression Model which measures cost associated with mining crypto assets being at its lowest level since November 2020 according to Glassnode data analyzed by CryptoSlate.
Miners Sell Low Levels Compared To Previous Years
Miner’s seem content selling their coins back into circulation at much lower rates than previously seen with Glassnode data showing they are selling their BTC into exchanges at “extremely low levels” compared to prior years indicating a growing sense of comfortability when it comes market certainty for these organizations which may indicate an overall rise in confidence within the space this year so far when it comes industry leaders participation within it.
Conclusion: Financial Health Improving For Miners
Overall it seems that 2021 will bring more good news than bad for public bitcoin miners who have been able to take advantage of rising prices coupled with lower costs associated with mining operations giving them increased flexibility when it comes how they manage their funds going forward this year
