Bitcoin (BTC) miners remain fatigued at current price levels as data shows the return of large inflows of funds from miners’ wallets.
According to on-chain research firm Glassnode, monthly mining sales in September were around 8,000 bitcoins.
Bitcoin miners see big cuts
In contrast to the June lows, when BTC/USD reached a multi-year low of $17,600, miners are currently selling large amounts of bitcoin.
Miners lost a maximum of 8,650 BTC at the start of the month, according to Glassnode, which tracks miner balance changes for 30 days.
Graph of change in net position of a bitcoin miner. Source: glassnode
Although this number was later reduced to reflect the changes in the price of BTC, miners are still selling more than they are earning on a rolling monthly basis.
As of September 29, the latest date for which full data is available, the total number of miners has dropped to 3,455 BTC in 30 days, which is still the minimum monthly exchange transaction, Glassnode notes.
Bitcoin miners to exchange schemes. Source: Glassnode / Twitter
Mining attracted major media attention this week, with Reuters describing the sector as “stuck in a bear trap”.
“Bitcoin miners continue to face margin squeeze — the price of bitcoin has gone down, mining difficulty has gone up, energy prices have gone up,” Joe Burnett, chief analyst at mining firm Blockware, was quoted as saying.
As the BTC/USD pair is expected to fall more in line with the global macroeconomic debate, miners may face new hurdles ahead.
This will highlight an important component of the Bitcoin ecosystem, which only completed its “capitulation phase” in August to regain some profitability.
Difficulty level in the record
Signs of change are evident in the fundamentals of the network today.
With the last automatic adjustment on September 28, the difficulty of Bitcoin mining fell by 2.14%, the first decline since July.
About it: Old Bitcoin Leaves Wallet After 10 Years of Inactivity
The computation, which gives more insight into the operation of the network and the mining boom, was previously all-time highs.
However, after two weeks, the uptrend is expected to resume, and the final outcome will depend on the price movement in the time interval.
Similarly, the Bitcoin network hash rate is currently at levels somewhat lower than recent peaks, but still close to its own records, according to data aggregated by BTC.com and MiningPoolStats.
