Key Points
- The top five Bitcoin mining firms are holding onto their Bitcoin (BTC), despite the upcoming halving event.
- Bitcoin miner revenue saw a 30% increase in Q1 2024, despite a projected decrease in mining rewards due to the halving.
The largest five firms involved in mining Bitcoin (BTC) are not selling their holdings, even in light of the impending Bitcoin halving event which will see a 50% reduction in supply issuance.
Bitcoin Sales at a Two-Year Low
In the first quarter of 2024, these top five mining firms sold a total of approximately 2,000 BTC, marking a two-year low. This is a significant decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 when over 7,000 BTC were sold.
The upcoming 2024 Bitcoin halving will reduce the rewards for mining blocks from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This, combined with an increasing Bitcoin hash rate, could potentially impact the profitability of these mining firms.
Revenue Increase Despite Halving Event
Despite this, Bitcoin miner revenue increased by 30% quarter-over-quarter, reaching over $4.5 billion. This is triple the low seen in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Laurent Benayoun, CEO of Acheron Trading, suggests that despite the halving, Bitcoin mining revenue may not necessarily decrease. He believes that the reduction in mining rewards could be offset by an increase in network fees.
Historically, however, Bitcoin miner revenue has tended to decline in the months following halving events. After the 2020 halving, revenue dropped by 40% in the subsequent month, and a similar decline of over 51% was observed after the 2016 halving.
Marathon Digital, one of the top five mining firms, generated over 2,500 BTC in the first quarter of 2024, down from over 4,000 BTC in the previous quarter. Despite this, Marathon Digital also had the highest mining cost per BTC at $22,249, compared to Cipher Mining’s average cost of $8,626 per BTC.
Currently, Bitcoin miners worldwide hold over 700,000 BTC, which represents 3.4% of the total Bitcoin supply. The majority of Bitcoin supply, 57% or 12 million, is held by individuals.