This week, on the World Digital Mining Summit, bitcoin
rig producer Bitmain unveiled its newest mining rig, the Antminer S23 Hydro. Scheduled for launch in early 2026, the machine provides an vitality effectivity of 9.7 joules per terahash (J/TH), a brand new benchmark in mining expertise. For context, the primary devoted bitcoin ASIC miner launched in 2013 consumed roughly 1,200 J/TH.
However whereas the S23 Hydro represents a leap ahead in {hardware} design, it arrives at a time of rigidity within the mining economic system, analysts at TheMinerMag wrote in a Thursday report. In previous market cycles, main effectivity upgrades had been timed with bear markets, giving miners a head begin forward of bitcoin halving occasions. This launch breaks that sample: bitcoin not too long ago surged previous $100,000, however miner profitability hasn’t saved tempo.
The core situation is hashprice, the analysts stated. Regardless of the rally, hashprice has remained low, dipping under $39/PH/s earlier this 12 months. Going through smaller and smaller margins, a number of massive corporations have paused hashrate enlargement plans.
As a substitute of fueling community enlargement, the S23 Hydro and comparable rigs could also be used to improve present fleets. That’s a notable shift. As older fashions get retired, the general energy effectivity of the Bitcoin community might enhance — presumably even lowering whole energy consumption, a primary within the protocol’s historical past.
The brand new machine’s launch indicators a brand new period the place effectivity positive aspects are about surviving squeezed margins, not simply chasing progress. If hashprice doesn’t get better to pre-2024 halving ranges of round $100/PH/s, miners might face steeper headwinds in future downturns. The Antminer S23 Hydro could also be cutting-edge, however the financial terrain it enters is extra unsure than ever.
