Shares in major Bitcoin mining firms have surged by more than 17% since April 16 amid Bitcoin\u2019s fourth quadrennial block reward halving.<\/p>\n
According to Google, Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), Riot Blockchain (RIOT), and CleanSpark (CLSK) rallied 17.5%, 17.8%, and 22.6% from last Tuesday\u2019s lows respectively.<\/p>\n
The impressive performances were capped off by strong after-hours trading on Friday, with MARA, RIOT, and CLSK gaining 1.52%, 0.84%, and 0.97%. For comparison, leading U.S. stocks suffered their sixth-consecutive drawdown on the same day, with the S&P 500 dipping 0.88% and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropping 2.05% during the same session.<\/p>\n
The Bitcoin halving<\/a> slashed miner rewards by 50% from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block. The event is intended to bolster scarcity and decrease the inflation of BTC by reducing block rewards by half every four years.<\/p>\n In a recent note to investors, Reginald Smith, an analyst at JPMorgan predicted that the Bitcoin halving would drive \u201cheightened volatility and trading volume\u201d for both Bitcoin mining stocks and BTC.<\/p>\n Data from CoinGecko shows large swings in Bitcoin\u2019s price over the past week, with BTC crashing 9% from April 16 to a local low of $60,181 two days later. However, BTC quickly recovered its losses to last change hands for $65,883.<\/p>\n While the Bitcoin halving is tipped to precede future bullish price action<\/a> by reducing the rate of new BTC issuance, Bitcoin miners must now grapple with their revenue dropping by 50%. Although some miners will maintain profitability by keeping energy costs low or scaling up operations, inefficient miners will be forced to shut down.<\/p>\n Data from Blockchain.com shows<\/a> that Bitcoin\u2019s network hash rate \u2014 the total computational power of Bitcoin\u2019s Proof of Work miners \u2014 has already slumped 3.2% to 629.4 exahashes per second (EH\/s) from an all-time high of 650.3 EH\/s on April 19 as unprofitable miners cease operations.<\/p>\n \u201cMining profitability was lower in the first two weeks of April as network hashrate growth outpaced Bitcoin price appreciation,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n In a recent report, CoinShares found that Bitcoin\u2019s hash rate fell by 9%<\/a> on average during the six months following previous halving events as inefficient miners were purged from the network.<\/p>\n In February, Galaxy Digital predicted<\/a> that between 15% and 20% of Bitcoin\u2019s hash rate from ASIC miners could be forced offline as older machines are rendered unprofitable after the halving. However, a February report from Bloomberg indicated that many Chinese mining firms are shipping outdated mining machines<\/a> to Ethiopia in search of low overheads on electricity.<\/p>\n Despite Bitcoin\u2019s block rewards getting cut in half, many displaced Bitcoin miners may find refuge by migrating to rival Proof of Work networks.<\/p>\n Ryan Song of CoinWestern Ventures, a Bitcoin mining consultancy firm, told The Defiant that many miners are looking to Bitcoin Cash, a Bitcoin fork that shares the same Proof of Work consensus mechanism, to ensure profitability.<\/p>\n \u201cSavvy miners are always seeking profitability, and with the new dynamics post-Bitcoin halving, Bitcoin Cash appears to offer a more lucrative avenue,\u201d Song said. \u201cMiners are beginning to pivot to chains where their chances of earning mining rewards are higher.”<\/p>\nMiners grapple with Bitcoin halving<\/h2>\n
![\"the-defiant\"](\"https:\/\/thedefiant.io\/_next\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.sanity.io%2Fimages%2F6oftkxoa%2Fproduction%2F458686fe6c648d5bc8379bbb0e3af45668391db0-1399x520.png&w=828&q=100\")
Miners migrate to Bitcoin Cash<\/h2>\n