Bitcoin Miners Saw 33% Revenue Increase in December

Miners earned an estimated $692 million last month.

AccessTimeIconJan 9, 2021 at 8:28 p.m. UTC
Updated Mar 6, 2023 at 3:29 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

Bitcoin miners generated an estimated $692 million in revenue in December, up 33% from November, according to on-chain data from Coin Metrics analyzed by CoinDesk.

Extending November’s own 48% increase, miner revenues continued to soar as bitcoin rallied over 300% last year, briefly trading above $29,000 for the first time ever on New Year’s Eve. 

Revenue estimates assume miners sell their BTC immediately.

Measured by per terahash per second (TH/s), miner revenues nearly tripled in the past three months, reaching $0.284 Thursday, per data from Luxor Technologies, its highest level since August 2019, as CoinDesk previously reported

Network fees brought in $68.3 million in December, or nearly 10% of total revenue, a slight percentage decrease from the 10.5% of revenue represented by fees in November. 

Fees were quite volatile in December, bouncing between $4 to all the way to above $12 throughout the month, per Coin Metrics. 

Notably, fees as a percentage of total revenue continues a strong upward trend since April, prior to the network’s third-ever block subsidy halving in May. Increases in fee revenue are important to sustain the network’s security as the subsidy decreases every four years.

Bitcoin fees as a percentage of monthly miner revenue since January 2016
Bitcoin fees as a percentage of monthly miner revenue since January 2016

Taking advantage of the revenue increase, miners are bringing more machines online, pushing the network’s difficulty to record highs after Saturday’s adjustment. 

What’s more, miners have ordered so many new machines to capitalize on the period of increased profitability that leading manufacturer Bitmain, for example, has sold out until August even after nearly doubling the price of some models. 

As heavyweight investors offer six-digit price predictions for bitcoin amid its ongoing parabolic rally, miners eye continued revenue growth through early 2021 and beyond.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.