ANALYSIS: Bitcoin Computing Power Growth May Slow This Summer

The halving has resulted in a 50% reduction in mining rewards, while hash rates continue to hit record highs, and miners are finding their margins squeezed in an already crowded industry. However, this continued growth momentum will slow in the coming months as North America enters the summer months, accompanied by a heat wave. The problem of mitigating heat becomes more acute during the summer months as companies need more power to cool their machines and/or shut down operations due to high demand from energy consumers to turn on their air conditioners. Many miners have had to curtail operations during the summer, partly because of overheated mining machines, but also because residential energy consumption reaches high enough levels to activate demand response clauses in miners' power purchase agreements.