Data shows the Bitcoin mining bear market has a ways to go

Bitcoin (BTC) mining is the spine of the BTC ecosystem and miners’ returns additionally present perception into BTC’s value actions and the well being of the broader crypto sector.

It’s well-documented that Bitcoin miners are struggling within the present bear market. Blockstream, a number one Bitcoin miner lately raised funds at a 70% low cost.

Present mining exercise shares similarities to historic BTC bear markets with a couple of caveats.

Let’s discover what this implies for the present Bitcoin cycle.

Evaluation exhibits that primarily based on earlier cycles the bear market could proceed

Bitcoin mining profitability might be measured by taking the miner’s income per kilowatt hour (kWh). In response to Jaran Mellerud, a Bitcoin analyst for Hashrate Index, a BTC mining bear market has a sustained interval of income per kWh of lower than $0.25. Underneath his assumption, he calculates utilizing essentially the most environment friendly Bitcoin mining machine in the marketplace.

The 2018 bear market lasted almost a 12 months, sending kWh to a backside of $0.12. Following the downtrend, a brief bull market commenced till the 2019 bear market started.

In response to Mellerud, the 2019 bear market produced all-time low income per kWh of $0.083 and lasted 463 days, whereas Bitcoin value dropped to $5,000.

The newest mining bear market began in April 2022 in response to Mellerud’s evaluation of income per kWh. As of Dec. 8, the present bear market has lasted for 225 days with a minimal income of $0.108 per kWh. The quantity is greater than in earlier bear cycles attributable to excessive power costs.

Evaluating the present bear mining cycles, a minimal of 138 bear market days could proceed earlier than the market turns. The distinction between this era and previous cycles is that beforehand, miners have been primarily self-funded whereas now, there are lots of miners that funded their speedy development with debt.

Public mining shares really feel the ache

At its peak, Bitcoin mining shares reached a cumulative worth of over $17 billion within the 2021 bull market. The bull market elevated investor curiosity and spurred development in BTC mining shares skyrocketed from $2 billion in Nov. 2020.

After reaching the bull market peak in 2021, crypto mining shares are below immense strain, with many falling by 90%.

The immense quantity of debt taken on by public mining corporations taken at Bitcoin’s all-time excessive is creating a large debt-to-equity ratio.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’re the strongest public #bitcoin miners of all of them? pic.twitter.com/pnpypsxcAu

— Jaran Mellerud (@JMellerud) December 5, 2022

A terrific instance of how the bear market is growing miners’ reliance on debt, is to have a look at Core Scientific. Earlier than the mining bear market in April, Core Scientific had a mere 0.6 debt-to-equity ratio. Because the begin of the bear market, that quantity has grown to over 24.2 debt-to-equity.

With the Bitcoin mining bear market anticipated to proceed primarily based on previous historic BTC developments, extra public miners will face fairness squeezes. As miner debt continues to develop, traders could get spooked, creating much more depressed costs within the inventory market.

The views, ideas and opinions expressed listed below are the authors’ alone and don’t essentially mirror or signify the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.