Bitcoin Mining Rig Prices up 35% Since Start of November — Shortages Force Miners to Turn to Secondary Market

The prices of the latest generation mining rigs have gone up 35% since the beginning of November, according to Hashr8. The observed price increase comes as Bitmain and Microbt are reportedly sold out until May 2021. As a consequence of the supply of mining rigs failing to meet the demand, some miners are now forced to turn to the secondary market.

In a blog post, Hashr8’s John Lee Quigley wrote that the bitcoin mining machine market is heating up because “everybody is bullish on bitcoin and the rise in the price of mining machines is certainly reflecting that.”

While Bitmain and Microbt are sold out, Quigley reveals that one firm, Marathon Patent Group, did manage to secure “a purchase agreement for latest-generation rigs.” According to Quigley, Marathon will receive 6,000 Antminer S-19J Pro rigs in August 2021 and another 4,000 in September 2021. The purchases will raise Marathon’s total hash rate output to 3.56 EH/s.

Meanwhile, Quigley shares his thoughts about the prospects of the mining market. He says:

With large firms like Marathon buying bulk amounts and sentiment indicators showing all-time highs for bullish outlooks, it doesn’t look like the market for mining machines will be slowing down anytime soon.

As more institutional investors join the bitcoin buying frenzy, bitcoin analysts predict this will push the value of the digital currency further upwards. When bitcoin’s price significantly increases, everything in the mining industry ramps up.

Meanwhile, as Quigley explains, rising BTC prices only help to encourage “current miners to expand their operations to capitalize on wider profit margins.” On the other hand, “new miners also seek to enter and secure a slice of the lucrative mining conditions.”