Bitcoin will enter its fourth halving in April 2024, a process that will halve the rewards for mining new blocks.
This event, which happens every four years, is seen as a catalyst in the rise in the price of Bitcoin as it reduces the supply of new coins and increases the rarity of BTC.
However, the next halving poses significant challenges for BTC miners as well.
According to the analyst, the price of Bitcoin must rise between $ 50,000-60,000 in order for the miners to make no loss
According to analysts, almost half of miners will face profitability problems after the halving as their operating costs will exceed their income. The current reward for mining a block is 6.25 Bitcoin, or about $188,876 at today's prices. After the halving, this figure will drop to 3,125 Bitcoins, or $94,438.
Kevin Zhang, senior vice president of mining strategy at crypto mining firm Foundry, said that the price of Bitcoin should rise to $50,000-60,000 next year in order to avoid losses for miners.
In the last three halvings in 2012, 2016, and 2020, the price of Bitcoin had increased by about 8,450%, 290% and 560% in the following year, respectively.
But ahead of the next halving, the mining economy looks more troubled than before, as competition among miners intensifies and power costs rise. According to data from btc.com, mining difficulty reached a record level in June. This means that miners have to invest more in hardware and electricity to keep up with the network.
Jaran Mellerud, a cryptocurrency mining analyst at Hashrate Index, said that about 40% of miners have operating costs per kilowatt-hour higher than the breakeven point of six cents/kWh after halving.
He noted that miners with less efficient operations and smaller scale will struggle to stay afloat. “For many miners with less efficient operations, net profits will turn negative,” he said.
To prepare for the halving, miners are taking various measures to reduce their costs and secure their income.
Some prefix electricity prices with their suppliers, while others increase their cash reserves and cut capital expenditures.
JPMorgan Chase & Co., chaired by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou. In a June 1 note, strategists wrote that the halving would double Bitcoin's cost of production to around $40,000, which could serve as a support level for its price in the future.
*Not investment advice.