Bitcoin (BTC) mining earnings took a major dive in the first half of September as the Bitcoin price remained below $60,000, according to a JPMorgan research report.
JPMorgan Says Bitcoin Mining Profitability Hits All-Time Low as Prices Fall and Hashrate Rises
The report highlights that Bitcoin’s Hashrate (a measure of the total computing power used to mine and verify transactions) has increased by 4% this month, returning to pre-halve levels.
The increase in hashrate points to increased competition in the mining industry. However, this rising hashrate is weighing on profitability as the hash price, or daily earnings of miners, has fallen by 2% year to date and is currently 50% below pre-halving levels.
JPMorgan analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce noted that the decline in hash rate, combined with seasonal outages (power outages during peak demand periods), could lead to a slowdown in hashrate growth in the near term.
Despite the overall challenges, the share of US-listed Bitcoin miners in the global network hashrate reached a record 26.7%, marking the fifth consecutive month of growth.
However, the combined market value of the 14 U.S. miners tracked by JPMorgan fell 3% in September to just under $20 billion.
Among US mining companies, Hut 8 (HUT) outperformed with an 11% gain, while CleanSpark (CLSK) was the worst performer of the group with a 12% decline.
JPMorgan also noted that miners have traded at just under twice their proportionate share of the four-year block reward opportunity, an average of over 1.6 times since January 2022.
Another Wall Street bank, Jefferies, warned that Bitcoin miners could face difficulties in September as well, with further declines in profitability.
*This is not investment advice.
