Bitcoin Miners Must Own Power—or Die Trying Before Next Halving, MARA CEO Says

The bitcoin mining sector is facing increasing challenges due to competition, rising energy costs, and diminishing profitability, warns Fred Thiel, CEO of MARA Holdings. As more miners add capacity, profit margins narrow, primarily driven by energy expenses. Thiel emphasizes that only miners who can secure low-cost, reliable energy or pivot to alternative business models, like AI or high-performance computing, will prevail. Looking ahead to the 2028 halving, Thiel notes that the reduction in block rewards to just over 1.5 BTC could render many current mining operations unsustainable unless bitcoin prices or transaction fees rise significantly. Small miners are particularly vulnerable as larger players adapt by controlling energy resources or innovating, while the overall global hashrate continues to increase, pressuring smaller operators further. Thiel asserts the industry must evolve, with survival depending on energy autonomy or partnerships with energy providers, marking an end to conventional grid-dependent mining operations.

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