Bitcoin miners could be among the largest profit-takers as BTC’s price struggles near $43,000, data shows.
The latest figures from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode confirm mass offloading is continuing into year-end.
Analyst: Bitcoin miners “absolutely printing”
Since mid-October, Bitcoin miners have been reducing their BTC balances on a practically constant basis.
In the 24 hours to Dec. 28 — the latest date for which Glassnode numbers are available — the BTC balance in miner wallets declined by 700 BTC.
Versus a local top on Oct. 22, miners’ balances are down 12,700 BTC.
In that period, BTC/USD has risen from $30,000 to near $45,000, subsequently consolidating into the yearly candle close.
For popular trader and social media commentator Ali, however, the impact of miner activity could be weighing on the odds of bullish price continuation. Citing separate numbers from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, he called the balance reductions “substantial.”
Miners have enjoyed a significant revenue boost in Q4, with Ordinals inscriptions spiking fees amid the highest BTC price levels since April 2022.
Analyzing their cost basis, Charles Edwards, founder of quantitative Bitcoin and digital asset fund Capriole Investments, underscored just how profitable the sector currently is.
“Bitcoin miners are absolutely printing,” he summarized in a post on X (formerly Twitter) this week.
“With Miner Price at $64K, they are making 50% extra on top of the Bitcoin price.”
An accompanying chart showed production costs versus profit margins per Bitcoin, per Capriole data.
Bitcoin’s “most important” halving
As Cointelegraph reported, the upcoming block subsidy halving is being keenly eyed by market participants as a key point in Bitcoin’s lifespan.
Filbfilb, co-founder of trading suite DecenTrader, predicts that miners will attempt to hoard BTC stocks in advance of the block reward dropping by 50% to 3.125 BTC.
In an interview earlier in the year, Edwards, meanwhile, called the April halving event the “most important” and a “transition point.”
“In 2024, Bitcoin will become the hardest asset in the world with certainty. The inflation rate of Bitcoin will drop to half that of gold, overtaking gold as the best store of value,” he told Cointelegraph.
