Bitcoin Miners Sell 15,000 BTC, Margins Drop 20%

Bitcoin miners are facing significant financial pressure, leading them to sell more of their mined coins to cover operational costs. According to data firm CryptoQuant, miners increased their selling activities as the price of Bitcoin dropped below $80,000. On April 7, miners sold a total of 15,000 BTC, which is the third-largest daily outflow this year. This amount is valued at approximately $1.12 billion, based on the day's low price of less than $75,000.

Miners, who are typically large industrial operations using specialized computers to process transactions and mint new coins, are rewarded with new Bitcoin for their work. However, when the price of Bitcoin decreases, miners may struggle to cover their costs, forcing them to sell more coins to keep their businesses running. CryptoQuant noted that miner margins have been pressured by lower prices, depressed transaction fees, and a record-high Bitcoin network hash rate, which implies higher mining costs. This has sent their average operating margins down from 53% in late January to 33% today.

Bitcoin remains in one of its least bullish phases since November 2022. The cryptocurrency hit a new high of nearly $109,000 per coin ahead of the inauguration, but has since struggled to rise above $90,000. Currently, Bitcoin is trading for nearly $83,800, a modest jump of just 1% over the past 30 days. However, it has seen an increase of almost 9% over the last week after diving to nearly $75,000.

Despite promises from the administration to support the crypto industry, especially Bitcoin miners, the mining business continues to face challenges. Miners at this year's Mining Disrupt conference expressed concerns that the industry would continue to struggle as mining difficulty and costs increase. The combination of lower Bitcoin prices, higher operational costs, and increased mining difficulty is putting significant strain on miners, forcing them to sell more of their mined coins to stay afloat.