How crypto winter affected the level of hashrate and bitcoin mining

According to a new insight from mining company Luxor, the numbers associated with Bitcoin mining in 2022 demonstrate the “coin’s resilience.”

Unprofitable mining

2022 has become extremely unprofitable for the miners of the first cryptocurrency. It is noteworthy that a year earlier the market was on an unprecedented rise. At that time, many new players appeared in the industry, which attracted additional finance. This has become a serious catalyst for the growth of bitcoin and most popular high-cap altcoins. Of course, the arrival of institutional investors played a significant role in this. But, as in any other market, a significant increase is always followed by a correction, and sometimes a decline.

Last year proved to be difficult for bitcoin mining in the first place against the backdrop of a downtrend. The bear market led to the fact that the hash price (“hashprice” – an indicator of expected income per day for 1 Tx / s of capacity) was at the very bottom, and many miners suffered losses or even went bankrupt. Despite this, the overall hash rate has grown by 41%, and the mining of the first cryptocurrency brings relative profit even compared to the previous three years.

Luxor specialists presented an advanced analytical review mining industry and cryptocurrency market called “Hashrate Index 2022 Bitcoin Mining Year in Review”. The report covers all these and many other topics in more detail. But the key aspect that is paid attention to in the review is the hashrate level.

Analysis of network indicators

Although 2022 was characterized by many challenges for the mining industry, from the lowest hash price to a series of high-profile bankruptcies of individual companies, and even a snow storm in the United States that affected the decrease in the total computing power in the network, the hash rate still increased. And much more than in 2021 after the negative news background related to the ban on mining and circulation of digital currency in China.

In general, it is interesting to follow the dynamics of the hash price. The maximum of this indicator was recorded on January 1 and amounted to $246.86/PH per day. Since then, there has only been a decline. It is noteworthy that the lowest hash price of $55.94/PH per day was already recorded this year. Thus, there is a direct correlation between the hash price decline and the BTC price decline, but the hash price decline was proportionately higher.

According to the Luxor report, one of the factors that influenced this was the increase in electricity tariffs in the United States. The United States of America still remains the leader in BTC mining, and therefore, changes in electricity tariffs in the country may also affect the dynamics of the total hash rate. However, many states were not affected by the increase in cost, since they had their own large sources of electricity generation. All this led to the fact that in some states, some players gained an advantage and continued to mine cryptocurrency.

The report also emphasizes that miners, due to the specifics of their activities, can use various flexible “energy strategies” and even temporarily interrupt the bitcoin mining process with relatively moderate negative consequences for themselves. Some of these strategies are based on well-adjusted regulation of electricity consumption based on market signals. This was amply demonstrated in Texas, when miners suspended their operations and, without wasting extra electricity, ended up earning almost as much as if they had continued mining.

Thus, during the current crypto winter, many of those who mine cryptocurrency have clearly demonstrated that they are able to “survive” even during the period of depreciation and long-term decline in quotations. Moreover, unlike past crypto winters, lenders are more willing to make concessions and continue to sponsor industry companies (for example, they offer debt restructuring, as in the case of Greenidge Generation). All this can be seen as a positive signal for the market and the conviction of a number of investors in the imminent trend change.

The hashrate index also indirectly indicates an increase in costs from miners. Until 2022, consumption cost about $0.05-0.06 per kilowatt-hour, according to Luxor. But now anything below $0.075 per kilowatt-hour looks like electricity theft given current market conditions.

ASIC

Since the beginning of January, contrary to the predictions of crypto-skeptics, the market has been on an upward trend, and large bitcoin miners have begun to invest even more money, buying new equipment and expanding enterprises. This was facilitated by the falling prices of ASIC miners during 2022. Record high prices for equipment were recorded back in 2021, but as prices declined, so did prices.

In 2022, some major players suffered serious financial damage amid a bearish trend. Giants such as Core Scientific suffered maximum losses. But while some companies went bankrupt, others managed to increase their computing power. Sometimes also due to ASIC sales in the secondary market by less efficient players. Ultimately, the events of the crypto winter did not affect much the stability of the Bitcoin network. As a result, large miners increased the total hash rate. Moreover, this indicator showed growth throughout 2022.

Conclusion

The report shows the “resilience of bitcoin” against the backdrop of the challenges that he managed to face in the past year. Macroeconomic pressure, natural anomalies, and even the high volatility of the shares of some companies (and in some cases, their bankruptcy) could not prevent a significant increase in the network hashrate.

This material and the information in it does not constitute individual or other investment advice. The opinion of the editors may not coincide with the opinions of the author, analytical portals and experts.