The largest cryptocurrency is down more than 50% since the beginning of the year.
Bitcoin miners who are forced to sell could affect its price for some time, estimates JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Miners listed on exchanges – which account for about 20% of the total – have already disclosed bitcoin sales in May and June to increase liquidity, cover costs and possibly deleverage, the firm’s analysts wrote in a note on Friday.
Those not listed may have sold more to cover current costs and may be less leveraged because of their more limited access to capital markets, they said.
“The selling of bitcoin by miners to cover current costs or pay debts could continue into the third quarter if their profitability does not improve,” the strategists wrote.
This development “has likely already burdened prices in May and June, although there is a risk that this pressure will continue.”
The biggest cryptocurrency has fallen more than 50% since the start of the year as the Federal Reserve begins to raise interest rates and inflation remains high.
The problems are compounded by the collapse of the ecosystem Terra/Luna, as well as concerns about the hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.
One element could mitigate price pressures, according to JPMorgan: a drop in production costs from a range of about $18,000-20,000 earlier this year, to 15.000 dollars this month.
Estimates of the cost of Bitcoin mining, however, vary. The production cost for a large mining company is about $8,000, assuming average electricity prices and several new machines, according to Arcane Crypto.
However, Securitize Capital says that factoring in infrastructure overhead and interest rates, the total cost for some can already be over $20,000.
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