Russia sees surge in demand for ASIC miners as prices fall

In the fourth quarter, demand for ASIC miners in Russia surged as prices fell, according to «Коммерсант».

According to distributor Chilkoot, sales in the two months of the fourth quarter exceeded the volume for the entire third quarter, and for the nine months were 65% higher than last year. At BitRiver, demand in the ten months of 2022 rose by about 50%.

“Corporate buyers have started purchasing 30% more equipment in a single deal than at the start of the year,” said Artem Eremin, development manager at the Chilkoot by 3Logic Group distributor.

Experts expect that the exit of large foreign mining firms from the Russian market could increase the supply of cheap used devices over time.

“Demand for ASIC miners in the wholesale segment has risen as procurement prices fell — they have come closest to the cost of production, which is the best entry point for investments,” explained Vladislav Antonov, financial analyst at BitRiver.

From August to October, the price of mining equipment fell by nearly 20%. However, since October, prices have stabilised and have not fallen further, according to Chilkoot.

According to RegBlock analysts, the total market for crypto mining equipment amounts to 3–5 billion rubles, not counting dual-use of industrial computing power.

“With the most modern equipment at a price of $0.07 per kWh, the cost to mine 1 BTC is about $11,000,” said Mikhail Brezhnev, co-founder of 51ASIC.

Analysts expect that entering Bitcoin mining at a depressed market could yield substantial profits in double-digit returns over a three-year horizon.

In May, Russia fell out of the top three in the share of Bitcoin hashrate. It ranks fifth behind the United States, China, Kazakhstan and Canada, according to CCAF.

Follow ForkLog’s Bitcoin news on our Telegram — cryptocurrency news, prices and analysis.