Bitcoin Halving: How Miners Are Preparing for Lower Block Rewards

As the latest bitcoin halving approaches, miners are upgrading equipment, optimizing arrangements, conserving power and more in the race to dominate.

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How are bitcoin (BTC) miners strategizing for the upcoming halving event, in which block reward subsidies will be cut by 50 percent?

On this week’s episode of “Bitcoin Halving 2020: Miner Perspectives,” Kristy-Leigh Minehan and Pavel Moravec give an in-depth explanation of what miners are doing to maximize profits and increase operational efficiency. 

Since October, Minehan explains, bitcoin mining farms have been getting on “the upgrade train” and purchasing state-of-the-art ASIC machines such as the Antminer S17 and S19. Moravec says bitcoin miners have also been looking at creative ways to cut electricity costs by leveraging surplus energy from certain cities’ power grids. 

What started primarily as a hobby in 2009 has flourished over the years, gained broader adoption and ultimately evolved into a new, professional industry. 

See also: New York Power Plant Sells 30% of Its Bitcoin Mining Hashrate to Institutional Buyers

“We’ve gotten to a point in bitcoin’s history where the government is paying attention and has started to realize bitcoin isn’t going away,” Minehan said. “Mining is not going away. And it’s in their best interest to start working with miners.”

Teaming up with local governments and utility providers is another miner strategy both Minehan and Moravec have seen on the increase in recent years. This is why Minehan believes even the geographic distribution of miners, which was discussed in depth in an earlier podcast episode, may further stretch the industry into North America and Europe. (China remains the dominant locale.)

Listen/subscribe to the CoinDesk Podcast feed for unique perspectives and fresh daily insight with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, IHeartRadio or RSS.

For more information about the bitcoin halving, CoinDesk Research recently published a 30-page report that features additional commentary from Minehan, Moravec and other mining industry experts. The report is free to download on the CoinDesk website.