Bidding war for top Bitcoin mining machines heats up again

This article comes from The Block, original author: Wolfie Zhao

Odaily Planet Daily Translator | Nian Yin Si Tang

summary:

- Since the beginning of December, Bitmain has increased the pre-order price of its flagship S19 series by 20%, with delivery scheduled until June next year;

- Some people who pre-ordered the January 2021 batch of miners three months ago are now trying to resell them at a premium of at least 75%.

As the price of Bitcoin breaks through a new high above $20,000, the bidding war over top ASIC mining machines is heating up again.

Although Bitmain has raised prices for its mining machines by at least 20% since early December, large pre-orders for its flagship ASIC mining machines are still booked until early third quarter of next year.

The Beijing-based mining machine manufacturer recently updated the prices for the latest batch of mining machines that are available for pre-order, which will not start shipping until at least June 2021. This indicates that the current delivery queue has been extended by two months.

Bitmain has increased the pre-order price for the June batch by 20% compared to the April batch.

The pre-order prices for the Bitmain AntMiner S19 Pro and S19 are $3,095 and $2,276, respectively. Just a week ago, archived quotes for Bitmain’s April/May batches seen by The Block were $2,581 and $1,897, respectively.

The mining machine index tracked by crypto mining pool Luxor shows a similar trend. The most efficient and powerful mining machine models have risen in price by 25%, with the price per unit of computing power (TH/s) rising from $28 in mid-November to $35 now.

The January batch of mining machines has a premium

Bitmain’s main competitor, Shenzhen-based MicroBT, told The Block that it has not yet announced pre-orders for the next batch of its flagship WhatsMiners, but expects prices to adjust to match bitcoin’s recent price gains.

As reported last month, pre-orders for mining machines from both leading manufacturers through April 2021 have sold out following a surge in Bitcoin prices since November.

Notably, some buyers who pre-ordered Bitmain’s January 2021 batch of miners in September and October are posting offers to resell the soon-to-be-shipped miners at price premiums of up to 75% to 90%.

Quotes obtained by The Block from several Chinese bitcoin mining machine dealers show that the Antminer S19 Pro, which was available in January, is priced at around $4,200, although the quantity is small. Similarly, the S19 is priced between $3,250 and $3,500.

Archived information from Bitmain shows that the pre-order prices for the January batch of S19 Pro and S19 three months ago were $2,387 and $1,770, respectively.

Price list from a Chinese mining machine dealer on December 15

9-digit order

As The Block reported last month, institutional capital — particularly from Western funds — has been one of the main drivers of Bitcoin mining equipment purchases in recent months.

In fact, U.S.-based Bitcoin miner Core Scientific said Thursday that it has “signed an agreement with Bitmain” to support its hosting customers’ purchase of more than 58,000 Antminer S19 and S19 Pro products. The delivery cycle will last until September 2021.

Core Scientific did not disclose details such as the transaction price or the buyer. But the execution of the agreement suggests that the two parties may reach a price lock agreement to reduce costs below the market average.

Even assuming that Core Scientific purchased the miners at an average cost of $2,000 (less than the S19 Pro’s price when it launched in April), the purchase would have cost at least nine figures in U.S. dollar terms.

Core Scientific purchased 17,000 S19 and S19 Pro units from Bitmain in June this year, which were allegedly delivered in October.

In total, more than 75,000 S19 series miners – fully delivered and plugged in – will provide more than 7 EH/s of hashrate to Core Scientific’s hosting customers.

“Since our last acquisition agreement with Bitmain in June, Core Scientific has seen a surge in demand from new and existing clients, as well as a significant uptick in institutional interest in digital asset mining in North America,” Core Scientific President and CEO Kevin Turner said in a press statement.

Core Scientific said in July that it was expanding the mining capabilities it provides to U.S. investment firm Horizon Kinetics, which manages $5.3 billion in assets as of June.

Core Scientific also recently signed an agreement with Foundry, the mining subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, to obtain a $23 million loan to finance its mining operations and meet customer needs.

This article is translated from https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/88151/bitcoin-mining-hardware-bidding-war. If reproduced, please indicate the source.