The worst month in crypto mining history has passed since Bitcoin miners recorded their lowest levels in the last 19 months. Bitcoin miners received only $195 million in profit from mining in February, marking a 10-percent decrease from January.
Gross margins also took a hard beating – the difference between the earnings from mining and the cost of goods fell from 94 percent last year to a low of 32 percent in January 2019.
However, in February 2019 the market showed signs of improving, and the gross margins increased to 39 percent, according to the research company Diar.
The gross margins are calculated based on the value of the profit, cryptocurrency prices and electricity costs. With those factors in mind, there is an apparent reason why more mining operators are switching to ASIC chip-based platforms and equipment.
The newest ASIC mining equipment is, at least for the moment, more reliable and cost-efficient than older, GPU-based mining rigs. Also, the ASIC chips deliver more power, thus – greater results per kilowatt of power.
The recent gross margins increase is primarily due to the switch from GPU to ASIC mining and the decreased volatility in the cryptocurrencies market. Most of the older mining facilities were taken offline, while the stable crypto prices managed to keep mining operators in the game.
And with the recent price updates, the crypto mining may see better days, but for now, the future of excavating digital gold remains uncertain.