Bitmain cuts mining rig prices amid crypto bear market, energy costs

Bitmain announced on Tuesday that it is cutting the price of one of its latest mining rig models, the S19 Pro, to US$19 per terahash (TH), which is 41% less than the price index shown on the mining rig data website Hashrate Index.

Fast facts

• Terahash is a metric unit of computing power on the Bitcoin network. Cryptocurrency miners are priced in Terahash to allow comparability between different models.

• The price of Bitcoin has fallen by more than 60% so far in 2022, according to CoinMarketCap, and Bitcoin miners now earn the lowest level since November 2020, US$17.9 million per day, according to crypto media Bitcoinist, citing an Arcane Research report.

• As countries launch sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s energy output has declined, driving up global energy prices, adding to the plight of miners that heavily rely on electricity. 

• The price index for the highest-performing models of Bitcoin miners also dropped over 67%, falling from US$101/TH in the beginning of 2020 to US$32.71/TH on Thursday. 
• Still, the hashrate on the Bitcoin network rose to an all-time high in September, meaning competition among miners has reached unprecedented levels.