Bitcoin Miners Expect Post-Halving Price Surge, Hold Reserves
Bitcoin miners are anticipating a post-halving price rally, with major firms holding onto their Bitcoin stash instead of selling, according to Bitwise’s Q2 report.
Since April, large mining companies have been retaining their Bitcoin, contrasting with earlier trends where miners sold significant holdings post-halving to maintain operations.
In Q1 2024, the top five Bitcoin mining firms sold around 2,000 BTC, the lowest in two years, compared to over 7,000 BTC in Q4 2023. This trend intensified by June, with minimal selling activity.
“Institutional investments are seen as a validation of Bitcoin’s value and potential, leading to increased demand and price stability. Miners, recognizing this trend, prefer to accumulate rather than sell, anticipating a more favorable market environment in the near future,” said [QUOTE SOURCE]
However, smaller miners are struggling to stay afloat in the post-halving market due to increasing mining difficulty, necessitating hardware upgrades and forcing them to sell portions of their holdings. CryptoQuant’s head of research, Julio Moreno, highlighted this trend in a recent X post.
Some miners have ceased operations or moved to less competitive markets, such as artificial intelligence, to leverage their existing infrastructure and survive the increased operational costs.
Bitcoin Miners Are Recovering
The situation is improving as July ends. According to a Bitfinex Alpha report, Bitcoin miners have returned to profitability, signaling a recovery. The Bitcoin hashrate, previously slumping to lows seen during the 2021 China mining ban, is now improving, according to Matrixport.
Marathon Digital Holdings added $100 million worth of Bitcoin to its reserves in late July, reflecting confidence in the market’s stability. Other top miners, like Riot and CleanSpark, have also held onto their reserves, showing a trend of asset accumulation among major players.
Loka Mining’s Handika expects miners to continue accumulating Bitcoin, anticipating limited selling pressure near the next all-time high. Elastos’ Hargreaves believes selling pressure will emerge around the $125,000 mark per Bitcoin, roughly an 86% increase from the current price of $66,928.
“The timing of this will depend on the speed of price growth—if [the price of Bitcoin] accelerates quickly, it could happen by the end of this year, or it might extend into 2025,” Hargreaves explained.
Green Mining DAO’s Grumbach noted that Bitcoin’s recent trading volume overshadows new mining output, suggesting minimal selling pressure from miners in the short term.
