# Not just investors, Bitcoin price fall tests Crypto miners too | Tech News (HT Tech) > Crypto miners are facing a crucial test in the wake of the Bitcoin price's 50% plunge from a record. # Not just investors, Bitcoin price fall tests Crypto miners too ## Crypto miners are facing a crucial test in the wake of the Bitcoin price's 50% plunge from a record. Aug 21 2022, 23:49 IST ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook.png) ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook-hover.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Share.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Shareclicked.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp-hover.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter-hover.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook-hover.png) ![Bookmark](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmark.png) ![Bookmarked](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmarked.png) ![Bitcoin](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2022/01/25/1600x900/FINTECH-CRYPTO-WEEKLY-1_1643110930273_1643110951304.JPG) Bitcoin miners to face a crucial test as the token takes a 50% plunge from an all-time high. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic) ![Author Photo](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HTTech-new-circle-logo.png) ### By HT TECH Crypto miners are facing a crucial test in the wake of the Bitcoin price's 50% plunge from a record. While many mining operations made a handsome profit during Bitcoin’s runup last year, the recent decline could punish those with less efficient operations. Mining -- which uses powerful computers, or servers, to solve math problems and order transactions on Bitcoin’s blockchain -- is a costly business, fraught with regulatory and environmental concerns, and a price drop only complicates the situation. Miners that aren’t as efficient, or signed more expensive power contracts, could get pushed out or gobbled up, said Matt Schultz, executive chairman of miner CleanSpark Inc. “When oil prices drop, the less-efficient producers in West Texas shut down. Same thing is happening here,” he said. The selloff comes at a vulnerable time for the industry as Russia’s central bank has proposed a a ban on miners -- meaning about 15% of all Bitcoin mining power may need to relocate, by some estimates -- and while the sector was able to bounce back after a similar block in China, there could be more casualties this time around. Shares of CleanSpark, Marathon Digital Holdings Inc., Bitfarms Ltd. and Hut 8 Mining Corp. are all down more than 30% this year. However, companies that have used their excess cash -- either from Bitcoin’s rally, public offerings or newly issued debt -- to buy more efficient mining equipment are likely to fare better. Also read click here. With Bitcoin trading near $36,700, miners with older machinery -- which makes up about 23% of computers supporting the network -- are dangerously close to the threshold where they may not make enough to cover electricity costs, let alone labor and other expenses, research from BitOoda, a digital asset fintech firm, shows. Meanwhile, those with newest mining servers would only be threatened with a shutdown if Bitcoin were to fall as low as $20,000, BitOoda said. That means companies like CleanSpark that have recently sprung for more efficient machines, mostly the Bitmain S19 Pro, have less to worry about. CleanSpark, with operations in Georgia and upstate New York, mines about 10 Bitcoins per day and spends between $5,000 and $6,000 in operating costs to mine each coin. “So even at $33,000 per Bitcoin we’re still tremendously profitable,” Schultz said. Such actions also put pressure on less efficient competitors, as adding more computers to the network makes it more difficult to earn tokens. Even it Bitcoin’s price were to stay constant, miners’ revenues by the end of 2022 are expected to fall by a third simply due to increased competition, according to BitOoda. However, an industry shakeout could disrupt those expectations. “We are all competing for the same amount of Bitcoin every day,” said Charlie Schumacher, a representative for Marathon, which recently ordered more mining gear. “If we find ourselves in a situation where it’s unprofitable for other miners to operate because they have much higher cost, we -- because of our size and scale -- would earn more Bitcoin in that situation.” During the crypto winter of 2018, when many businesses shuttered and sold their machines, daily miner revenues dropped about 85% and Bitcoin’s network hashrate -- a measure of the computing power supporting it -- dropped by more than 80%, according to Blockchain.com. Already there are signs of similar pressure. Current prices on the older mining equipment have been sliding for months, per Hashrate Index. Additionally, Bitcoin’s network hashrate has begun to fall after hitting an all-time seven-day-average high on Jan. 19, Blockchain.com data shows. “Over time, if price declines continue -- or if Bitcoin’s price stagnated at current levels and hashrate increased -- some of the miners would eventually have to shut down older-generation machines,” said Sam Doctor, chief strategy officer of BitOoda. “But overall network hashrate is high enough that even large declines in it should not threaten the integrity of the network.” ©2022 Bloomberg L.P. Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel. 25 Jan, 22:56 IST cryptocurrency bitcoin ![HT Tech Awards](https://tech.hindustantimes.com/ht-tech-power-list-awards-2026/httech-awards-banner-new.webp) ### Related Stories 29 Sept 2026 71,643,106,378,712 NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Tips & Tricks ![Ghibli-style art](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/03/28/414x233/ChatGPT_Ghibli_style_images_1743161814450_1743161814596.jpg) ### How to turn your photos into Ghibli-style art with ChatGPT for free: Step-by-step guide ![How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/02/14/414x233/invites_1738728829564_1739543695649.png) ### How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide ![Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2025/02/13/414x233/unnamed_1739426557335_1739426567634.jpg) ### Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it ![Vodafone Idea OTT plans](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Vodafone Idea users can now stream 17 OTT apps with one subscription: Here's how ![Android data transfer methods](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to transfer data from one Android to another using Google backup, USB-C cable, and more ## Editor’s Pick ![iPhone 16e launched with A18 chip, Apple AI—bringing flagship power on a budget: Check specs, price](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 16e launched in India: All details about the new budget mobile from Apple ![DeepSeek was founded in China with only a fraction of the budget of the top AI companies in the US.](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### DeepSeek AI: How it works, who’s behind it, how it’s different from ChatGPT, and its big US market impact explained ![iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on ![Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini ![iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update ## Trending Stories ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside keep up with tech ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ![Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-twitter.png) ![WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-whatsApp.png) ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ## Gaming ![Check out these five gaming monitors under ₹20,000,](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Top 5 gaming monitors under ₹20000 you should consider ![gaming consoles](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Grab gaming consoles at discounted rates during Amazon Great Indian Festival: Up to 72% off ![Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025 to bring Grimmsnarl family, Shiny Hatenna, and global challenges ![Shade Silver](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Shade Silver free on Steam for a limited time: Here’s how to get it ![Call of duty](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 skips Switch 2 at launch, release date and price leak ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Trending News ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ## Trending Gadgets Mobiles Laptops Tablets ![HT Tech](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HT_tech-new.gif) - https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/not-just-investors-bitcoin-price-fall-tests-crypto-miners-too-71643106378712.html