减半是否会将旧的比特币矿机送入废品堆？

Is the Halving Sending Older Mining Equipment to the Scrapheap?

减半是否会将旧挖矿设备送入废品堆？

With electricity expenses towering as the primary cost, mining behemoths like Marathon Digital Holdings and Riot Platforms are facing pressure to reduce consumption costs to maintain profitability. While their legacy computers may still yield a profit, the US market is becoming increasingly unfavorable.

由于电费成为主要成本，Marathon Digital Holdings 和 Riot Platforms 等矿业巨头面临着降低消耗成本以维持盈利能力的压力。尽管他们的旧计算机仍可能产生利润，但美国市场正变得越来越不利。

The Global Exodus of Mining Rigs

全球矿机外流

"It's an organic migration," explains Taras Kulyk, CEO of SunnySide Digital, a company that has facilitated the sale of used US mining rigs to miners in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Paraguay, and Uruguay. "The halving is accelerating this trend."

“这是一次有机迁移，”SunnySide Digital 首席执行官塔拉斯·库利克 (Taras Kulyk) 解释道，该公司致力于向埃塞俄比亚、坦桑尼亚、巴拉圭和乌拉圭的矿工出售二手美国采矿设备。 “减半正在加速这一趋势。”

According to Ethan Vera, COO of Luxor Technology, a Seattle-based crypto-mining services provider, an estimated 600,000 S19 series computers, which constitute the majority of machines currently in operation, are being shipped out of the US, primarily to Africa and South America.

总部位于西雅图的加密货币挖矿服务提供商 Luxor Technology 的首席运营官 Ethan Vera 表示，估计有 60 万台 S19 系列计算机（构成目前正在运行的机器的大部分）正被运出美国，主要运往非洲和南部非洲。美国。

The Halving's Impact on Mining Economics

减半对矿业经济的影响

In bitcoin mining, specialized machines validate transactions on the blockchain and earn miners a fixed reward in tokens. The anonymous bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, implemented a halving event every four years to limit the total supply to 21 million tokens. The upcoming event marks the fourth halving since 2012, and the reward will be reduced from 6.25 bitcoin to 3.125 bitcoin.

在比特币挖矿中，专门的机器验证区块链上的交易并为矿工赚取固定的代币奖励。匿名比特币创造者中本聪每四年实施一次减半活动，将总供应量限制在 2100 万枚。即将到来的活动标志着自 2012 年以来的第四次减半，奖励将从 6.25 比特币减少至 3.125 比特币。

Bitcoin's price has surged by approximately 50% this year, hovering around $63,500, but it remains below its all-time high of $73,798 reached in March 2022.

比特币的价格今年已飙升约 50%，徘徊在 63,500 美元左右，但仍低于 2022 年 3 月创下的历史高点 73,798 美元。

With the halving just weeks away, deploying more efficient machines has become a pressing necessity, as continued reliance on older equipment could result in electricity costs that approach or exceed mining revenue.

距离减半只剩下几周的时间，部署更高效的机器已成为当务之急，因为继续依赖旧设备可能会导致电力成本接近或超过挖矿收入。

Profitable Haven for Legacy Rigs

传统钻机的盈利避风港

While S19 series and comparable models may no longer be profitable to operate in the US post-halving, "they can still generate respectable profits and extend their lifespan if hosted" in certain parts of Africa, says Jaran Mellerud, CEO of Hashlabs Mining, a Dubai-based company that leases data center space in Ethiopia and provides hosting services to bitcoin miners.

Hashlabs Mining 首席执行官贾兰·梅勒鲁德 (Jaran Mellerud) 表示，虽然 S19 系列和类似型号在减半后在美国运营可能不再有利可图，但“如果托管在非洲某些地区，它们仍然可以产生可观的利润并延长其使用寿命”。总部位于迪拜的公司在埃塞俄比亚租赁数据中心空间并向比特币矿工提供托管服务。

Price Plunge Anticipated

预计价格暴跌

Some buyers are holding off on purchasing older computers until after the halving, anticipating a further price decline, according to Lauren Lin, Luxor's business development director.

卢克索业务发展总监劳伦·林 (Lauren Lin) 表示，一些买家推迟购买旧电脑，直到减半之后，预计价格会进一步下跌。

Luxor, which operates a trading desk for used mining equipment, reports that the price of used S19 models stood at $7,030 in March 2022. The price plummeted to $900 a year later as bitcoin prices tumbled, and it has since dropped to $427 this month, with projections of $356 post-halving in May.

经营二手采矿设备交易台的 Luxor 报告称，2022 年 3 月二手 S19 型号的价格为 7,030 美元。一年后，随着比特币价格暴跌，价格暴跌至 900 美元，本月已跌至 427 美元。 5 月份减半后的预测为 356 美元。

US Miners Seek Alternative Locations

美国矿工寻求替代地点

Some US miners are opting to relocate their equipment to regions with lower electricity costs and third-party data centers rather than selling it. Nuo Xu, who operates two mining facilities in Texas, is traveling to Ethiopia, Nigeria, and other countries this month to scout potential sites for approximately 6,000 older computers.

一些美国矿商选择将设备转移到电力成本较低的地区和第三方数据中心，而不是出售。徐诺 (Nuo Xu) 在德克萨斯州经营着两家采矿设施，本月他将前往埃塞俄比亚、尼日利亚和其他国家，为大约 6,000 台旧计算机寻找潜在地点。

"There are more risks associated with operating in Africa, but I have to move them there," he says. "Cheaper electricity outside the US means I can recoup my overhead costs much faster," he adds, citing lower labor and construction costs as additional incentives.

“在非洲运营存在更多风险，但我必须将它们转移到那里，”他说。 “美国以外更便宜的电力意味着我可以更快地收回间接费用，”他补充道，并指出劳动力和建筑成本的降低是额外的激励措施。

Hosting Fee Variations

托管费用变化

Miners worldwide who lack their own facilities incur hosting fees that typically cover electricity, labor, and third-party operators.

世界各地缺乏自己的设施的矿工需要支付托管费，这些费用通常包括电力、劳动力和第三方运营商。

Xu has observed that hosting fees in the US range around 7 cents per kilowatt-hour. In Ethiopia, which has relaxed regulations on crypto mining and increased its power generation, the rate is approximately 5 cents, according to Hashlab's Mellerud. This two-cent differential is significant for miners.

Xu 观察到，美国的托管费约为每千瓦时 7 美分。根据 Hashlab 的 Mellerud 的说法，在埃塞俄比亚，该国放松了对加密货币挖矿的监管并增加了发电量，其费率约为 5 美分。这两美分的差异对于矿工来说意义重大。

Electricity itself costs about 3 cents per kWh in Ethiopia, according to Hiwot Eshetu, marketing and business development director at Ethiopian Electric Power. In the US, the range is between 3 and 6 cents, based on estimates from Luxor.

埃塞俄比亚电力公司营销和业务开发总监 Hiwot Eshetu 表示，埃塞俄比亚的电力本身成本约为每千瓦时 3 美分。根据 Luxor 的估计，在美国，这一价格范围在 3 至 6 美分之间。

"Ethiopia is rapidly emerging as a major player in the digital mining ecosystem," says SunnySide's Kulyk, who reveals that his company is negotiating a deal to facilitate the transfer of between 20,000 and 40,000 mining rigs to the East African nation.

SunnySide 的 Kulyk 表示：“埃塞俄比亚正在迅速崛起，成为数字采矿生态系统的主要参与者。”他透露，他的公司正在就一项协议进行谈判，以促进将 20,000 至 40,000 台采矿设备转移到这个东非国家。

US-Based Miners Face Challenges

美国矿工面临挑战

Not all US-based equipment is destined to leave the country. The process can be more challenging for publicly traded companies, which must consider risk-averse shareholders. Concerns about transportation costs, potential damage, and security also contribute to the reluctance to relocate equipment abroad.

并非所有美国设备都注定要离开该国。对于上市公司来说，这一过程可能更具挑战性，因为它们必须考虑规避风险的股东。对运输成本、潜在损害和安全的担忧也导致人们不愿将设备转移到国外。

Publicly traded Bit Digital, one of the largest bitcoin miners, has older-generation computers sitting idle in a Houston warehouse. "These machines essentially gather dust," says CEO Sam Tabar. However, the New York-based company retains them because when bitcoin prices rise, the computers can be brought back online and still generate profits.

上市公司 Bit Digital 是最大的比特币矿商之一，其老一代计算机闲置在休斯敦的仓库里。 “这些机器基本上会积灰尘，”首席执行官 Sam Tabar 说。然而，这家总部位于纽约的公司保留了它们，因为当比特币价格上涨时，计算机可以重新上线并仍然产生利润。

Massive Investment in New Hardware

大量投资新硬件

Miners have been preparing for the halving for years and are investing heavily to replace their aging hardware.

多年来，矿工们一直在为减半做准备，并投入巨资更换老化的硬件。

According to crypto-mining researcher TheMinerMag, the 13 largest publicly traded bitcoin mining companies, including Riot Platforms and CleanSpark, have placed orders for more than $1 billion worth of new machines since February 2023.

据加密货币挖矿研究机构 TheMinerMag 称，自 2023 年 2 月以来，包括 Riot Platforms 和 CleanSpark 在内的 13 家最大的公开交易的比特币挖矿公司已下了价值超过 10 亿美元的新机器订单。

Five of the largest miners raised over $2.7 billion by selling shares in the two years ending December. Since the start of 2023, those same miners have secured an additional $840 million, according to the researcher.

截至 12 月的两年里，五家最大的矿商通过出售股票筹集了超过 27 亿美元的资金。研究人员称，自 2023 年初以来，这些矿商已额外获得 8.4 亿美元的资金。