From the beginning of 2020, the subsequent Black Thursday crash, and the following recovery, Bitcoin has certainly seen its fair share of ups and downs this year.
Bitcoin miners were currently earning $1,000,000 per hour. As noted by the blockchain intelligence company, Glassnode, the figures saw an increase of 185% since the block reward halving. The last time the miner revenue figures recorded such a high figure was back in July 2019 during which the block rewards were twice as high as they are today.
Undoubtedly, it was the surging Bitcoin price that prompted this effect. This is because higher bitcoin prices essentially push up the revenues from each block and hence the amount users are willing to spend to mine a block. Therefore, a higher price would induce miners to buy more mining hardware and increase electricity use.
Bitcoin miners had previously generated an estimated $522 million in revenue in the month of November, which was up by nearly 50% from October. The steep rise in the revenue figures came as Bitcoin soared through November, setting a fresh peak by month’s end after accumulating massive gains along the way. It was earlier reported that the monthly aggregate revenue in November touched the highest level since September 2019.
Bitcoin Mining Sees A Shift: China’s Dominance Dwindling?
Meanwhile, shares of the Bitcoin-mining firms such as Riot Blockchain and Marathon Patent Group surged significantly as the cryptocurrency went on a fresh rally over the holiday weekend. It is important to note that, as the price surges, the mining devices become more difficult and expensive to procure. Hence, in recent times, several mining companies have revealed major purchases of new equipment.
For instance, the US firm, Marathon Patent Group has reportedly agreed to purchase 70,000 Bitcoin mining units from Bitmain, which happens to be a Chinese ASIC manufacturing giant. According to the reports, the deal is worth approximately $170 million and Bitmain is slated to supply Marathon with 7,000 S-19s in July 2021. Following which, 63,000 units will arrive in December of the same year.
Not until very recently, a few major mining operators have set up on the US soil. Interestingly, China’s mining dominance has been touted as a potential security flaw by many critics in the past years. Besides the US, the Nordic region has once again has become a lucrative place to mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which can be attributed to a substantial decline in electricity prices.
As the cryptocurrency reaches new all-time highs every week, the current market dynamics do give miners alternatives to countries such as China, Kazakhstan, and Canada where cryptocurrency mining is most prominent.