Miners at a Loss: Forced Bitcoin Sell-Off Near $60,000
The decline in Bitcoin (BTC) price to the $60,000 level in early June was a serious blow not only for speculators but also for miners. My on-chain data shows that mining companies have again intensified sales of their reserves to cover operational costs. This is a classic scenario where the asset price falls below the break-even point for producers, forcing them to dump coins, thereby increasing pressure on the market.
Miners are already going through tough times. Since October last year, the network's hashrate has dropped by about 28%. This is direct evidence that some participants have either ceased operations or reconfigured equipment to reduce costs. Over the same period, mining difficulty has adjusted by 20%, which is the protocol's automatic response to the decrease in computational power.
Why miners are forced to sell
To cover rising electricity costs and farm maintenance, miners often sell Bitcoin, and not at the most opportune moment. This is clearly visible from their inflows to Binance. In February, when BTC first dropped below $60,000, sales volumes surged. On February 5 alone, they sent over 24,000 BTC to the exchange, and the monthly average jumped from 5,000 to 8,000 coins. Such a sell-off in a falling market only exacerbated the downtrend.
June: déjà vu
When Bitcoin retested the $60,000 zone in early June, history repeated itself with alarming precision. For more than four consecutive days, miner inflows to Binance exceeded 10,000 BTC per day, peaking at 12,800 coins. The monthly average rose from 4,700 to 7,100 BTC. This indicates that pressure from miners is becoming systemic.
The main reason is the unprofitability of mining. With an estimated cost of around $76,000 per coin and the current Bitcoin price near $65,000, most miners are operating at a loss. They cannot afford to hold the asset while waiting for better times when electricity bills need to be paid now. As a result, their forced sales create significant supply on the market, weighing on the price.
My professional opinion: Until the Bitcoin price returns above the mining cost level ($70,000+), we will see periodic spikes in sales from miners. This creates local pressure points that may keep the market from confident growth. Investors should closely monitor exchange inflows—this is one of the key indicators of sentiment among the mining sector's "whales."