Mining companies: Bitcoin mining is basically unaffected by the epidemic, and the price is the most worrying

Recently, some of the world’s largest mining companies said that Bitcoin mining activities have been largely unaffected by COVID-19 - except for the drop in the price of Bitcoin.

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Four bitcoin mining companies told Decrypt that while the supply chain for some newer mining machines has been disrupted, they have not faced many problems. One company has fully adapted to the situation and now all employees are working remotely. As the COVID-19 situation in China improves, the current situation is beginning to return to normal.

“More people are going to offices, restaurants, and going out. Of course, everyone is taking Covid-19 very seriously and wearing masks, but things are gradually returning to normal. So regarding the supply chain in the near future, I don’t foresee any problems in China,” Thomas Heller, global business director of F2Pool, told Decrypt.

Despite the impact of the lockdown, some miners have found new ways to adapt. According to mining company Argo Blockchain, the entire company has moved its work online.

“Our company and employees are now working remotely, and all of our mining facilities are able to continue operating normally,” an Argo spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said:

“So far, we have not had any issues with our mining equipment supplier. At the moment, the increase in demand we are seeing is more due to the Bitcoin halving in May than to Covid-19. We are hopeful that our latest order of 1,000 S17+ miners can eventually be delivered and installed on time.”

However, the shutdown of global supply chains has had an impact on some Bitcoin mining companies.

Covid-19 still brings some headaches

Several miners have experienced supply chain issues in acquiring new machines.

Heller explained:

“During February, some mining operations in China faced some challenges due to transportation restrictions. In some locations, damaged machines could not be delivered to on-site repair centers. Shipments of new mining machines were also delayed by about two weeks in early February due to mining plant shutdowns.”

Whatsminer, a Chinese mining rig manufacturer that reported similar disruptions, told Decrypt that the lockdown had affected their supply chain.

“Since factory workers did not return from the February holidays, this slowed down manufacturing and made it difficult to get parts such as spare PSUs.” But Whatsminer had already delivered its m30 series mining rigs, so it was not greatly affected.

Genesis Mining head of operations Phill Salter said that while there has been some confusion, it is an issue most mainstream companies have to deal with.

“Supply chains are on hold worldwide, so our new projects are progressing slower than planned. But it’s the same for everyone right now.”

Demand for mining machines is falling

While the supply of mining machines has been largely unaffected, demand for new ones is falling. Mining experts blame the drop in bitcoin prices ahead of the bitcoin halving in May, which will cut mining revenue in half.

An Argo spokesperson said:

“What we know about the market is that demand for the newest and most efficient mining machines has slowed as many mining operations have chosen a more cautious approach ahead of the halving.”

Genesis Mining added that this can be seen in the reduction in Bitcoin hashrate (the total computing power used by Bitcoin miners to keep the network running). A reduction in mining difficulty means that fewer miners are mining.

They added:

“The difficulty has dropped, not as a direct effect of Covid-19, but because of the drop in prices. This has made it unprofitable for many miners, and they have had to shut down their rigs.”

Price, not Covid-19, is what Bitcoin miners are most worried about.

This article is compiled and published with the permission of Decrypt.

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