Overview

  • Hashrate demand continues to climb
  • New rigs coming out to increase hashrate

Bitcoin has grinded sideways for most of 2022 while hashrate continues to climb. Demand has seemingly subsided for BTC the asset and ASIC prices have continued to fall – down between 15%-20% over the last 90 days – making spot ASIC purchases increasingly attractive for investors with a bullish outlook.

It could be that the bull market has ended. Or that ample amounts of machines are being produced to fit market needs. But generally, when there is less demand for the asset in the space, mining rig prices follow suit.

After the ‘China ban,’ Bitcoin price dropped dramatically and ASIC prices followed.

Historically, mining prices correlate to the price of Bitcoin. When there is large demand for Bitcoin, bitcoin ASIC prices increase. Over time, new ASICs hit the market, the supply will increase and the price per ASIC will bleed.

Hashrate continues to climb as more miners plug in machines. Difficulty’s rate of growth has slowed over the last few epochs, losing 1.5% and .4% in the last two prior adjustments. Still, difficulty continues its march upward overall. With each difficulty adjustment it gets harder to mine the same amount of Bitcoin.

ASIC prices are grinding down

Hashrate Index ASIC Price Index measures the price per terahash of different rigs based on similar efficiency. Over the last three months, for miners 68 J/TH and under (the S9 series and similar), price has fallen some 15%. For 38-68 J/TH machines (S17 series and similar ), price has fallen 22.5%. And for 38 J/TH and under (S19 series and similar) the price has fallen 11.6%.

So, is the dropping price due to lower demand, or higher supply? At the moment, it's more likely due to Bitcoin’s price. Reports indicate that many miners are still scrambling to find rack space for units, suggesting that supply pressures are not the reason ASIC prices have dropped since the year began.

Even still, there is never a perfect time to purchase machines considering no one can predict Bitcoin’s price in the future. Only one thing is for certain: The longer you wait, the harder it is to mine the same Bitcoin. As the saying goes, “the best time to buy an ASIC was six years ago, and the second best time is now.”