Resurrection of S9: higher bitcoin prices allow miners to reactivate outdated mining rigs

With bitcoin prices hovering around a certain handle, a large number of old ASIC mining rigs produced years ago are starting to become profitable again. Reports indicate that in China, where the average cost of electricity is around $ 0.06 per kilowatt hour (kWh), miners are starting to exploit old miners produced by Canaan, Bitmain and others. Chinese bitcoin miners dealing with electronic component price increases have discovered outdated plants like the Antminer S9 (10-16 TH / s) are now reaping profits again.

The price of bitcoin (BTC) is making it easier for cryptocurrency miners around the world to make a profit, especially after the recent decline in mining difficulties which has slid more than 16% to the bottom.

Additionally, BTC prices jumped from a closing price of $ 11,548 on October 13, 2020 and 30 days later, on November 12, the price closed at a high of $ 16,305 per coin with a rise of 41.19%. Regional reports from China show that high BTC prices between $ 12,000 and $ 16,000 have been calling on Chinese miners to start exploiting old miners again.

Financial columnist Vincent He recently discussed the Bitmain S9 series (10-16 TH / s) and notes that the mining platform is making a profit for Chinese miners today. “The increase in the price of electronic components at the end of the year led to the improved cost performance of the S9,” the author noted on November 11.

Older mining rigs aren’t just making a profit these days with such high BTC prices, notes the columnist. Vincent also says that numerous mines are found in desert regions where dust is high, and some are found in regions such as Sichuan where humidity is above average.

These effects “shorten machine life” and mining rigs such as “S9 has a better stability ratio due to its simple structure and relatively low computing power,” according to the report. Estimates say that at one time the S9 miner (13 TH / s) was so widely used, these four-year-old machines powered about 70% of the BTC hashrate.

BTC prices fell on Friday, November 13 and are slightly below the previous day’s closing price. But data from Asicminervalue.com indicates that a number of older mining rigs manufactured by Canaan, Bitmain and others are profiting at an electricity tariff of $ 0.06 per kWh. Every single Bitmain Antminer S9 with a hashrate between 10 and 16 terahashs per second (TH / s) earns today.

Similarly, three older Canaan-created Avalonminers also profit from it, with the exception of the Avalonminer 821 and 741 series. In addition to the popular S9 and Avalonminers, the obsolete mining rigs created by Bitfury, GMO, Bitfily, Whatsminer, Halong, Ebang, Pantech and other ASICs show profits.

Older mining rigs are also seeing price hikes in secondary markets in the US and Europe on markets like Ebay and Craigslist.

For example, a Whatsminer M3 with 11.5 TH / s is selling on Ebay for $ 500, while old-school Antminer S9s are selling for $ 100- $ 800 per unit. Not so long ago, when BTC prices were lower and the difficulty was higher, obsolete ASICs were selling for $ 50- $ 250 per unit with terahash production between 10-16 TH / s.

Vincent’s report also notes that next-generation ASIC miners with a throughput of 70 to 100 TH / s have more computer cards than previous models. The compact design of older mining rigs like the S9 series helps miners in China with warehouse space issues, as well as reducing power consumption in the details of the report.

What do you think of older generation ASICs like the Antminer S9 that are making a comeback? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments section below.

Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Ebay, Bitmain, Asicminervalue.com, Canaan,