Bitcoin BTC/USD miners continued to cash out their holdings this week, significantly contributing to the downside pressure on the market.
What happened: According to an X post by prominent cryptocurrency analyst and trader Ali Martinez on Wednesday, miners dumped over 30,000 Bitcoins in the last 72 hours. The liquidated supply was worth more than $1.7 billion as of this writing.
The compulsion to sell likely stemmed from the increasing mining difficulty, which was at its all-time high as of this writing, according to data from the Hashprice Index.
The difficulty has seen two consecutive positive adjustments over the last two weeks, making it tougher and more expensive for miners to add new blocks.
To make matters worse, Bitcoin's price has plunged nearly 10% in this period, severely impacting miners' revenues, and prompting them to dump their holdings to generate cash.
Why It Matters: The mining industry has encountered significant headwinds since Bitcoin's halving event in April.
The 50% reduction in block subsidies, or rewards given to miners for adding a new block to Bitcoin’s ledger, put a strain on their finances since they were receiving far less than before with operating costs remaining the same.
In fact, revenues from the once-lucrative sector sank to an 11-month low in August, down 57% from March peaks.
Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $58,147.18, up 3.04% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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