Exclusive interview with BTC.COM Zhuangzhong at the 2020 Digital Mining Summit: Mining will move towards specialization and scale

On June 1, 2020, BTC.COM, Bitmain , Antminer, AntPool, BTC.COM and BitDeer jointly held a digital mining summit in Chengdu. BTC.COM Zhuangzhong, as the host of the roundtable forum, discussed the theme of "Joint Mining, Starting a New Journey of Mining" with the experts. After the roundtable, reporters from Mars Finance, Bochain Finance, Star Media and Liandede conducted a joint interview with Zhuangzhong. The following is the transcript of the interview:

Mars Finance: What is the biggest impact of this Bitcoin halving on mining pools?

Zhuangzhong: The direct impact of the halving on the mining pool is the corresponding reduction in revenue, as well as the impact of the change in the mining industry on the computing power market share after the halving. Mining pools require very stable services and necessary R&D investment, and the reduction in revenue will have an impact on the survival of the mining pool. Finding new profit points has also led to various mining pools trying to provide one-stop services in this currently congested track.

Mars Finance: What preparations have the mainstream mining pools made to cope with this Bitcoin halving?

Zhuangzhong: The main demand of miners is stable high returns. In addition to continuing to optimize services and improve stability, mining pools are also increasing miners' returns through machine gun pools and other means. The optimization of mining machine firmware and the integration of mining farm management software can also improve the efficiency and online rate of machines at the mining farm level. One-stop service also includes helping miners connect to various high-quality resources and reduce costs.

Mars Finance: What major moves will BTC.COM make this year?

Zhuangzhong: Recently, we have been promoting the machine gun pool service in terms of mining pool functions, which can automatically switch between BTC/BCH/BSV currencies to obtain higher returns, and the settlement method is flexible. During the flood season, we launched optimized overclocking and downclocking firmware for the S17/T17 series mining machines, which can also help miners increase their profits. We have newly added a data subscription function, which can regularly generate reports related to computing power and income. In terms of business, we are also helping users connect resources and provide one-stop services. We are also very willing to cooperate extensively with the industry in the development of new businesses.

Mars Finance: There have been many mining conferences in Chengdu in recent days. According to Mr. Zhuang's observation, what are the new changes in this year's mining market compared with last year? What are your expectations for the mining market in the second half of the year?

Zhuangzhong: A significant change this year is that the payback period and expected life cycle of new mining machines are much longer than previous miners' experience. Mining is no longer an industry where you can get rich quickly. The entry threshold is much higher, and the industry has always said that mining will move towards specialization and scale. From the recent conference, we can also feel that the number of retail investors has decreased significantly, and there are more and more professional users and service providers in the industry segment. In the second half of the year, in addition to new mining machines and market conditions, the mining circle expects more stable and high-quality electricity resources to reduce policy uncertainty.

BoChain Finance: Bitcoin is halving for the third time. Judging from the on-chain data, what are the similarities and differences with the previous two times? As an old driver in the mining circle, how do you view the future market of Bitcoin?

Zhuangzhong: The market after the halving has brought congestion that has not been seen for a long time. It has not been relieved until the past few days. The activity and duration are still far less than the previous bull market. The number of transactions on the chain is also tending to normal. Compared with the past, this halving has brought about huge changes in both the industry and the players. The market seems to have been sideways for a long time. The breakthrough of the market still depends on landmark events or the improvement of infrastructure, which will bring in more new players and funds.

Star Media: It has always been a popular saying in the mining circle that people depend on the weather for their livelihood. How do you think miners can ensure their income in this year's market situation?

Zhuangzhong: Miners need to be prepared for long-term layout and cannot blindly rely on the increase in coin prices. They need to use financial tools reasonably to ensure legal currency income, safe cash flow and moderate expansion of mining machine investment. Financial tools should be used with caution, leverage ratios should be controlled, risk awareness should be increased, and extreme situations similar to the 3.12 market situation should be consciously hedged.

Liandede: How long can the legendary S9 last?

Zhuangzhong: We can support the market for a long time based on the price of coins and difficulty, according to the electricity price during the flood season. Our complete withdrawal depends on whether the new mining machines are widely available during the flood season next year and whether we can completely clear out the older models.