Bitcoin (BTC) Miners Capitulate, Dump 30,000 BTC Worth $1.71B in 72 Hours

Bitcoin (BTC) miners play a fundamental role in securing the network and also producing new coins. Since the fourth Bitcoin halving earlier this year, BTC miners have been readjusting their operations to match the rising difficulty.

Bitcoin (BTC) miners serve the crucial function of securing the network and generating new coins. Following the fourth Bitcoin halving earlier this year, BTC miners have been adjusting their operations to cope with the increasing difficulty. As a result, the Bitcoin block reward has decreased from 6.25 coins to around 3.125 units every ten minutes, making it challenging for current mining rigs to remain profitable.

The Adjustment Process of Bitcoin Miners

After the fourth Bitcoin halving in April, the mining hash rate dropped from over 643 EH/s to a low of around 561 EH/s in June. The significant hash rate drop was attributed to Bitcoin miners switching off their rigs in preparation for powering up new-generation hardware.

Since June, the Bitcoin hashrate has recovered and recently scaled to a new all-time high of about 698 EH/s earlier this month. However, the Bitcoin hash rate has since stabilized around 573 EH/s as the mining difficulty rallied to a new all-time high of about 92.67 T on Tuesday, September 11.

Capitulation in Progress

Despite the higher odds of interest rate cuts in the United States next week on Wednesday, the possibility of further Bitcoin price drop still exists. Moreover, some experts believe next week’s economic shift could turn out as a sell-the-news event, leading to further sell-offs.

Bitcoin miners have sold over 30,000 $BTC in the last 72 hours, amounting to about $1.71 billion! pic.twitter.com/OuaiIo7QZ9

Consequently, on-chain data shows that both short-term Bitcoin holders and miners have been selling recently. According to on-chain data provided by Santiment, Bitcoin miners have sold over 30k BTCs, valued at over $1.7 billion, in the past three days.

However, the massive Bitcoin sell-off from miners and short-term holders has been absorbed by whales, led by U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs.