Most Official Bitcoin Mining Firms Survive Halves: Analysis

Experts say Bitcoin's surge—interrupted, for the time being, by a deep plunge—paved a safe path for Bitcoin mining companies after the halving.

In January, Cantor Fitzgerald estimated an “all-in” cost per coin for several publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies after a reduction in April, which would cut mining revenues in BTC terms by half. At the time, Bitcoin was trading at $40,000, leaving only two of the 13 firms in the profit zone.

At today's price of $67,000, however, every company analyzed — including Marathon Digital ( MARA ), Riot Platforms ( RIOT ) and Iris Energy ( IREN ) — would be firmly in the green.

Self-reported performance figures from the miners seem to back that up.

In an investor update in February, Iris Energy's electricity costs were $20,158 per BTC, indicating that after the halving, the coin would cost nearly $40,000.

It's a promising sign for long-term buyers of mining stocks, whose investments have bled sharply since the launch of the Bitcoin Spot ETF in January.

While other Bitcoin equity proxies like MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) and Coinbase ( COIN ) have rebounded sharply from post-launch dips, most miners are reeling from fears that the entire industry is being halved.

CleanSpark (CLSK) stands alone as one with a 57% year-to-date gain, similar to BTC's own gain. According to both the company's metrics and Cantor's analysis, CleanSpark's mining costs remain below $37,000 per coin — and will likely be much lower.

Anthony Power, CEO of Energy Mining Analysis, told Decrypt that “CLSK is doing things well, growing fast and liquidating, which is probably the best way.” “CLSK is up 6.0% (60%) YTD – that's why the share price is higher.”

Hail named BitDeer as another very efficient competitor, saying it is “a fully vertically integrated BTC mining company.” Between its own mining fleet, hosting services, cloud-based mining and ASIC production, the company's “cash spend” on Bitcoin mining stood at $18,319 in the third quarter of 2023, according to analysts' calculations.

“Cash expenses are things you need to pay for in cash,” he explained. “Excludes depreciation and stock compensation.”

Cantor's January estimates put Bitdeer's cost per coin at just $17,744 post-half discount, significantly lower than all competitors.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa.