Bitcoin Mining Revolution

The Bitcoin network algorithm assumes that a block is found every 10 minutes, which is regulated by changes in difficultycalculations about once every two weeks.Until 2017, crypto enthusiasts were predominantly engaged in mining, because of this, after a significant price correction, a large drop in the network hashrate was observed. The miners turned off the equipment when it stopped generating income. Now we see how, with a 50% correction from the historical maximum, the complexity continues to update records.

Image Source: Cryptocurrency ExchangeStormGain

During the 2017 rally, mining was pulled upinstitutional investors and publicly traded mining companies emerged. And since 2020, investors with investments from $1 million have become the main source of funding for the crypto environment.

 

Image Source:BofAGlobalResearch

The approach to evaluation has completely changed.profitability. Having collected the farm “on the balcony”, the miner tried to squeeze the maximum out of it. With the price drop, it didn't occur to him to buy more powerful hardware and push payback periods further, just to stay online. Another thing is a publicly traded company, where investment attractiveness depends on the generated capacity.

On his desire to become #1 public miner forearly 2023 last year announced Marathon Digital, which extended the loan in November by an additional $100 million to buy the latest Antminer S19 XP ASICs from Bitmain. Its total processing power should reach 23 EH/s by the end of the year (12% of the world's hashrate). Over the past four financial years, Marathon Digital has not turned a profit.

But Marathon Digital's wish doesn't seem to be destinedcome true. NuMiner today unveiled the NM440 Antminer Killer with a record-breaking 440 TH/s. According to the presentation, the NM440 is 4.5 times more profitable than existing ASICs, and if miners use only this model, the global network energy consumption would decrease by 75%.

Image Source:numiner.com

And today it became known about the placement of SphereA 3D order from NuMiner for 60,000 NM440s worth $1.7 billion. Once deployed, the total hash rate will be 32.4 EH/s (16% of the global hash rate). Now Sphere 3D claims to be the #1 miner in 2023.

The market greeted the news with enthusiasm:the company's shares jumped 25% post-market. The arms race continues, and computational complexity is increasingly out of touch with the value of Bitcoin. Curious if Sphere 3D succeeds or will it be the same as Marathon Digital?..

 

 

Analytical group StormGain

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