Bitcoin holding above $20,000 offers miners hope as margins become healthier

Last year was tough for cryptocurrency markets as many prices plummeted. But bitcoin has had a strong rally so far this year, and some mining experts see this as an opportunity for the space to stage a comeback.

When bitcoin prices dropped to $16,000 in late 2022, profits were getting squeezed, Andy Long, CEO of bitcoin mining-focused White Rock Management, told TechCrunch. However, things may be looking up: Bitcoin’s price has increased about 39% to around $23,000 year to date, according to CoinMarketCap data.

That means margins are expanding, said Christian Lopez, director of fintech investment banking and head of blockchain and digital assets at Cohen & Company Capital Markets.

The cryptocurrency is still down from around $44,100 on the year-ago date, but industry members see a silver lining. “If you said to someone this time last year, ‘How would you feel about $23,000 for bitcoin?’ They would be horrified,” Long said. “We have fairly short memories, so in a year’s time. we will look down the barrel, and we’ll be at or over an all-time high hopefully, and over $100,000 by the end of 2024.”

Given the bitcoin price increase, miners are breathing a collective sigh of relief, Christopher Bendiksen, Bitcoin research lead at CoinShares, told TechCrunch. “The price recovery has relieved the worst pressure from many miners, and margins are looking much healthier.”

Bitcoin holding above $20,000 offers miners hope as margins become healthier by Jacquelyn Melinek originally published on TechCrunch