Despite Bitcoin being up over 100% year-to-date (YTD), a recent report shows that this hasn’t necessarily translated to profits for the network’s miners. Instead, these miners seem to be experiencing a downturn in their revenue even as the Bitcoin Halving looms.
Bitcoin Miners’ Revenue Down By Over 30%
According to a report by BanklessTimes, the revenue of these miners is down by over 30% in the past six months. Interestingly, these miners had their most profitable month when Bitcoin’s price was just picking up at the beginning of the year. Their revenue soared to as high as $918.8 million in January.
In the months after that, there was a significant decrease in the revenue earned. Things began to pick up again in October, as that month represented their second-highest monthly earnings of 2023.
They are reported to have earned $885 million in that period. However, the downward trend resurfaced in November as these miners saw a drop in their revenue once again. The total earned in that month stood at $615.1 million.
Commenting on this data, BanklessTimes crypto expert Alice Leetham noted how this has become a cause for concern. This brought about the need to analyze factors that may be contributing to this downward trend.
Factors Contributing To The Trend
The volatile nature of Bitcoin prices has been singled out as the most obvious factor affecting miners’ revenue. Bitcoin’s failure to meet certain price projections has directly impacted the profitability of mining projections.
There is the likelihood that certain miners doubled down on their operations in hopes that the crypto token will hit certain milestones, and that hasn’t happened.
Bitcoin mining difficulty adjustment is said to be another factor for this downward trend. Mining difficulty becomes higher as more miners enter the network. This ultimately leads to a decrease in miners’ revenue as more persons are competing to mine a block. Bitcoin’s popularity hasn’t helped in this regard, as the network continues to attract an increasing number of miners.
Meanwhile, there is also the Bitcoin Halving event, which will be playing in the minds of these miners. This is when miners’ rewards are cut in half. The next one is scheduled for April 2024. With this downward trend and the halving on the way, it isn’t surprising that these miners are looking to diversify their operations.
BanklessTimes, however, believes that things could start looking up once again for these miners. They highlighted the ongoing advancements and increasing acceptance of Bitcoin as factors that might help “counterbalance these difficulties.”
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