$30K BTC price has 'severe impact' on Bitcoin miner profits — analysis
Bitcoin (BTC) is squeezing its miners this month as suppressed prices threaten to impact profitability.
The latest data shows both narrowing profit margins and miners waiting longer to recoup their initial investment.
While Bitcoin miners have largely held off on major distribution as BTC/USD descends from all-time highs, the picture now appears precarious.
Calculations from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant reveal that miners’ production price — how much it costs to mine a single bitcoin — could be right where current spot price resides.
While “raw” costs may be around $22,000 per BTC for miners in North America, which is home to the lion’s share of hashing power, additional costs could put the total at more like $30,000.
“We estimate cost basis for bitcoin miners in North America around $22K per bitcoin mined. This estimate includes the direct cost of mining and S&A expenses. It does not include depreciation and amortization charges,” CryptoQuant senior analyst Julio Moreno confirmed to Cointelegraph in private comments.
Fears of a “capitulation” event among miners should spot price deteriorate remain a talking point. So far, however, only the May dip below $24,000 saw a noticeable reaction from the mining community.
“Our data shows increasing bitcoin flows from miners to exchanges during March 2022 and then a sharp spike in flows during the first week of May. This is in line with bitcoin selling reported by some mining companies in Q1 2022,” Moreno added.
In January, miners' production cost appeared to be at around $34,000, separate data showed.
Continuing, mining firm Luxor’s Hashrate Index metric produced more interesting insights.
Related: Bitcoin miners say NY ban will be ineffective and 'isolate' the state
The Index,
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