A growing number of analysts are raising alarms about the impact the ongoing war in Iran is likely to have on Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) miners.
Miners such as Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: $RIOT), Marathon Digital (NASDAQ: $MARA), and TeraWulf (NASDAQ: $WULF) could take a hit as crude oil prices rise above $100 U.S. a barrel, impacting energy prices.
Bitcoin mining remains an energy-intensive industry. And while 50% of the world’s miners operate on renewable power sources, half are impacted by rising crude prices.
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At the same time, the war with Iran is leading to heightened volatility in equity and crypto markets, a development that can also impact Bitcoin mining profitability.
Research shows that macroeconomic events and geopolitical shocks pose a significant risk to crypto miners.
Higher oil prices can increase inflation and influence interest rates, potentially pushing investors toward lower-risk assets such as bonds and away from volatile assets such as crypto.
Price volatility can affect mining profitability by compressing the metric known as “hashprice,” which measures revenue earned per unit of computing power.
Market data shows that this dynamic already playing out.
Hashprice fell to an all-time low of $27.89 per PH/s/day in February after Bitcoin’s price declined 23.8% from $78,000 U.S. to $65,000 U.S.
With the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continuing to rise and fall sharply, analysts are urging caution when it comes to the stocks of mining companies.
RIOT stock has declined nearly 10% over the past month, while the stock of MARA has fallen 24% over the last year.