Bitcoin (BTC) miners saw mining revenues dwindle to 12-month lows as the Bitcoin network’s April “halving” continues to erode mining output and, in turn, revenues, according to data from Bitbo, a Bitcoin dashboard.
Monthly BTC mining revenues declined to approximately $827 million in August 2024, according to Bitbo. That’s lower than any month since September 2023 and far below pre-halving peaks of almost $2 billion in March 2024.
Roughly every four years, a “halving” event hardcoded into the Bitcoin network cuts the number of BTC mined per “block” in half. The April halving reduced mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block.
Monthly mined BTC has dropped steadily after each halving, from highs of almost 337,000 in May 2011 to less than 14,000 in August, according to Bitbo.
Bitcoin miners are navigating “the 4th Bitcoin halving event, which cut the number of daily coins mined (and all else equal, the daily revenue opportunity) in half, resulting in lower margins and profitability across our coverage universe,” according to an Aug. 23 report by researchers at JP Morgan.
Monthly Bitcoin mining volumes and revenues. Source: Bitbo
The five publicly-traded Bitcoin miners JPMorgan covers mined 5,854 Bitcoin in Q2, down 28% from the prior quarter.
Bitcoin miners have been scrambling to adjust business models in response. Some, such as Core Scientific, Hive Digital Technologies, and Hut 8, are investing in serving artificial intelligence applications to reduce dependence on volatile BTC mining revenues.
Hive notched a 36% uptick in sales in the second quarter of 2024 after diversifying into servicing AI applications.
“The synergy is simple: AI companies need energy, and bitcoin miners have it,” according to an Aug. 16 report by Matthew Sigel, fund manager VanEck’s head of digital assets research.
Others, such as Singapore-based Bitdeer Technologies Group, are investing in next-generation equipment to improve mining efficiency. Bitdeer reported a roughly 50% year-over-year increase in gross profits in the second quarter of 2024, largely as a result of nearly doubling its in-house Bitcoin mining capacity.
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