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Coinshares Report: Inside Bitcoin’s Cost Crunch—Why Mining Expenses Are Hitting Record Highs

Author: Content Editor
Coinshares' Q3 mining report highlights the challenges and mounting costs faced by the bitcoin mining industry. The report reveals that bitcoin mining costs have reached $49,500 per bitcoin, taking into account cash expenses alone. When factoring in additional costs such as depreciation and stock-based compensation, the production cost averages $96,100. This increase in costs is attributed to higher mining difficulty and infrastructure expansion.

The report also points out the limited access to financing options for miners, worsened by rising interest rates and reduced credit availability due to recent disruptions in the cryptocurrency market. Some miners have resorted to issuing shares to finance operations, resulting in diluted shareholder value.

There is a correlation between the price movements of bitcoin and miner stocks, but miner shares have not fully benefited from the price boosts driven by US bitcoin ETF developments.

Coinshares' analysis projects sustained growth in bitcoin's hashrate, estimating a rise from 684 exahash per second to 765 exahash by the end of the year. The report also theorizes that miners may reach an energy-saturation point by 2050, leading to a potential 63% reduction in carbon emissions if they convert flared gas into usable energy.

Overall, the report emphasizes the need for the mining industry to prioritize efficiency and cost management to remain competitive. It suggests diversifying revenue streams, such as investing in artificial intelligence technologies, as additional miner fee revenue may not meet profitability targets.

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