All-Time-High Difficulty Deflates Network Hashrate + Moar M&A
W37 '24 | 9.9-9.15.24 | Issue XCVII | Block Height 861479
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W37 ‘24 Vibe Check
The Overview Vibe
Weekly Industry Metrics
Headlines & News
The Media Vibe
Energy Corner
The Meme Vibe
The Overview Vibe
Bitcoin rallied over 10% towards $60K this week as macro tailwinds from the upcoming FOMC meeting and general vibes picked up this week. With the upward difficulty adjustment on Monday that followed the all-time-high hashrate peak last week, difficulty hit a new all-time high of 92.47 T. While BTC price rallied, hashprice was blunted at ~$40/PH/Day thanks to the difficulty adjustment.
Hashrate dropped to 635 EH/s from last week’s all-time high of ~700 EH/s. With break-evens of retail/less competitive rates of 6c/kWh approaching 28J/T (THANKS LUXOR FOR THE DOPE ASS DATA), we can imply that over 60 EH of economically marginal mid-gen ASICS (S19/M30) or older came offline this week. I will be interested to see if hashrate continues to climb during a period of stagnating BTC price (which would imply new-gen ASICs energizing), or if hashrate upswings with BTC appreciation (which would also imply older-gen ASICs re-energizing).
M&A vibes kept churning this week as CleanSpark acquired 85MW across 7 turnkey sites in TVA for a total of $27.5M (or ~$324K/MW). CleanSpark not only furthers its footprint in TVA ( compounding on their GRIID merger), it allows for 85 MW of rackspace to receive yet-to-be-energized new-generation ASICs from their fleet. This move is well-timed and complements their greenfield site pipeline as CLSK looks to accelerate growth amongst the large-cap public miners.
Bitfarms doubled down on their Stronghold Digital acquisition with a 10,000 ASIC hosting deal at their merger targets facilities in PA. This move will bring on 2.2 EH/s of T21 ASICs immediately as BITF looks to grow strategically across the PJM ISO. With the promotion and addition of key operational and infrastructure members of the management team, it will be interesting to see the different growth strategies across both greenfield and existing SDIG assets in PJM.
I hope everyone had a great weekend with their family! Remember to call your mom, drink water, and stunt-on all your opponents in your fantasy football league! Keep balling out y’all!
Bitcoin/Mining Metrics
BTC price2: ~$60,044.21 @ EOW. +10.73% WOW.
Hash price1: $41.22 PH/Day @ EOW. +7.20% WOW.
Network Hashrate (SMA 7 Day)1: ~635 EH/s @ EOW. +-9.29% WOW.
Difficulty1: 92.47 T @ EOW. +3.35% WOW.
ASIC Retail Price (s19/m30 family)1: $6.27/TH/s @ EOW. 0.00% WOW.
Sources: Hashrate Index1, Bitbo2
Headlines & News
Featured
Nvidia, OpenAI, Anthropic and Google execs meet with White House to talk AI energy and data centers - CNBC.
The World’s Biggest Bitcoin Mine Is Rattling This Texas Oil Town - WIRED.
Bitcoin Miners Are Still Buying New Hardware Despite Headwinds—Here’s Why - Decrypt.
Revolutionizing Bitcoin Mining: The Power of Three-Phase Systems - Bitcoin Magazine.
Bitcoin Mining Shutdown Sparks 20% Hike in Norwegian Town Energy Bills - TheMinerMag.
General PubCo Updates
August Production & Operational Updates
CleanSpark to Add 5 EH/s and Increase 2024 Guidance With Acquisition of Seven Additional Bitcoin Mining Facilities in Tennessee - Press release.
Bitfarms Enters into 10,000 Miner Hosting Agreement with Stronghold Digital Mining - Press Release.
Operations & Site Updates
Compass Reaches 5 EH/s After Energizing 3k Bitcoin Miners - TheMinerMag.
Bitfarms Enhances Operations Teams - Press Release.
Capital Markets & M&A
Bitfarms Reschedules Special Meeting of Shareholders - Press Release.
Sphere 3D Corp. Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire a 12.5 MW Site in Iowa Featuring Average Sub -4c Energy, Set to be Operational by December 2024 - Press Release.
Research/Reports/Newsletters
Bitcoin outshines Ethereum, rate cuts begin: TBL Weekly #110
The Miner Weekly - $820M M&A Deals for 1.2 Gigawatts of Power
Hashrate Index - Weekly Hashrate Market Update (September 09, 2024)
Hashrate Index - Hashrate Derivatives Monthly Lookback - August 2024
The Media Vibe
Energy Corner
The Meme Vibe
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