Bitmain, the largest manufacturer of application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), the machines used to mine proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrencies, has reportedly slashed prices on several generations of mining hardware amid sector-wide turmoil for the mining industry.
The company is offering bundle deals and discounts across the board, including on its S19 and S21 series machines that would have been considered “distressed sales” earlier in 2025 when Bitcoin (BTC) was rising in price, according to TheMinerMag.
Even newer, flagship mining hardware like the S21 immersion-cooled ASICs were offered at discounts of $7 per terahash-second (TH/s), and some hardware bundles were auctioned off to mining operators that could “name their own price,” TheMinerMag said.
The discounts came amid one of the worst profit margin environments for the mining industry, as hashprice, the expected revenue per unit of computing power expended to mine a block, fell to a multi-year low of nearly $35 per terahash/second per day (TH/s/day).
A margin of $40 per TH/s/day is considered the breakeven point for miners, forcing operators to consider shutting down operations until economic conditions improve.
The sales reflect the stressful economic realities for the mining industry, which is highly competitive even during favorable market conditions, but must now grapple with a BTC market downturn, rising energy costs, regulatory issues and supply chain risks.
Related: Bitcoin mining’s 2026 reckoning: AI pivots, margin pressure and a fight to survive
The mining industry has been pushed to the breaking point
Mining companies are turning to renewable energy to cut variable costs, following the April 2024 halving event, which reduced the block subsidy by half, to 3.125 BTC per block.
The reduced block reward every four years is typically offset by rising BTC prices; however, 2025, which was forecast to be a meteoric year for BTC, ended in the red, with price crashing from a high of over $126,000 in October to an $80,000 low in November.
Bitcoin’s price at the time of this writing is over 7% lower than it was on the first day of 2025 and nearly 20% lower than the January 20 high of over $109,000, the day of the US presidential inauguration.
Magazine: Bitcoin mining industry ‘going to be dead in 2 years’: Bit Digital CEO