The World Digital Mining Summit 2023 (WDMS 2023), a top event for crypto mining hosted by BITMAIN in Hong Kong from September 22 to 23, attracted a number of renowned mining organizations, including Core Scientific, BitCluster, and TeraWulf.
At the event, a total of 48 speakers, including CCAF’s Alexander Neumueller, Litecoin Foundation Co-founder Xinxi Wang, and Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino, presented us with fascinating insights into crypto mining. They shared their expertise on a wide range of topics, covering ideal mining strategies for the current bear market, potential trends following the 2024 BTC halving, the relationship between governments and BTC, the sustainability of crypto mining, as well as opportunities and the future of renewable energy. As a sponsor, ViaBTC was actively involved throughout the event. Today, let’s review the five major highlights of WDMS 2023.
Highlight 1: ANTMINER S21 Series Launch
BITMAIN unveiled two new mining rigs at WDMS 2023: the ANTMINER S21 and ANTMINER S21 Hyd, both equipped with TSMC’s 7nm custom chips. This was one of the most notable highlights of the event. The S21 Hyd features a liquid cooling system with two water pumps and a water tank, effectively reducing the operating temperature and noise of the rig. The S21, on the other hand, employs an air-cooling system with two high-performance fans, similarly lowering temperatures and reducing noise. BITMAIN COO Cunyong Yang noted that liquid-cooled models would be a key trend for the development of future ASIC mining rigs.
According to the data released by BITMAIN, the S21 Hyd offers a hashrate of 335 TH/s and a power consumption of only 16 J/TH, while the S21 offers a hashrate of 200 TH/s with a power consumption of 17.5 J/TH. From the initial breakthrough of 100 J/T with the S9 to the 2x J/T benchmark set by the S19 Pro and the S19 XP, the S21 will once again transform the global mining industry, leading us to the 1x J/T era.
Highlight 2: Potential Trends Following the 2024 BTC Halving
Though we have already entered the second half of 2023, Bitcoin, the crypto leader, still struggles to stabilize at $30,000, a key price mark. Amidst low trading volumes and negative market sentiment, multiple indicators suggest that cryptos, including Bitcoin, have yet to emerge from the bear market. Bryan Johnson from Minto shared his conservative prediction that BTC will likely fluctuate around $26,000 next year due to macro uncertainties. No one knows what actions the SEC and the Federal Reserve will take.
Bryan Johnson also pointed out that the third BTC halving in 2020 resulted in about a 10% drop in network difficulty. The trend lasted for two months until the figure started to rebound. If, in early 2024, the BTC price, hashrate, and difficulty were to follow a similar trajectory as the one we witnessed in early 2023, the fourth halving in 2024 would influence difficulty and hashrate in a way that resembles how the third BTC halving impacted the network in 2020. In other words, the BTC difficulty would plummet and remain at a lower level for months.
Highlight 3: Impending BTC Halving and Its Market Impact
Data from ViaWallet shows that Bitcoin will undergo its fourth halving around April 26, 2024, which will reduce block rewards from the current 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Kevin Zhang, Foundry’s VP, said that once the halving occurs, BTC miners will immediately suffer a 50% drop in revenue. This means that it will be difficult for them to bear existing operating expenses, and less competitive miners or companies with high operating costs may struggle to survive.
Luke Rossy, the representative of HIVE Blockchain Technologies, shared a similar perspective. He noted that the halving is a natural evolution for BTC mining, and companies with high operating expenses and poor mining efficiency will face tough times. Meanwhile, for miners, choosing the right time to purchase mining rigs will be crucial, as low-cost operations are the key to making handsome profits.
Taras Kulyks, CEO of Sunnyside, suggested that both miners and mining companies should consider what they can do with their existing assets, or bitcoins, at this stage, adding that they should explore hedging strategies, options, or other investment avenues that can generate additional income. Mining companies, for example, could even venture into the traditional sector of data centers. In a nutshell, both individual and institutional miners should make the most of their existing resources.
Niklas Leck, Founder of Penguin, shared his viewpoint from the broader market perspective. He emphasized that the current market is at the quietest stage, potentially followed by a long-awaited Bitcoin surge. Next year, external events, such as favorable factors arising from possible actions by the US, could trigger a genuine bull market.
Highlight 4: BTC Mining Is Driving Adoption of Renewables Across Sectors
Many of the speakers shared their views on the sustainable development of BTC mining, debunking the “environmentally harmful” narrative with real data. Max Hua, CFO of BITMAIN, stated that a few weeks ago, a mining analyst released a report showing that the increase in total hashrate is not proportional to the rise in CO2 emissions. This suggests that a huge amount of new, clean, and renewable energy is entering the market.
On this topic, Prof. Haitian Lu from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University pointed out that BTC mining has seen efficiency improvements over the years and has adopted cleaner energy sources. History teaches us that per capita energy consumption has kept rising, as humanity transitions from agricultural societies to industrialized ones and to a future world driven by the digital economy. The key lies in our ability to enhance the utilization of renewable energy for sustainable development.
Highlight 5: BTC’s Relationship with the Hong Kong Government
King Leung, the Head of Fintech at Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), said that the Hong Kong government plans to bring about revolutionary changes using digital assets. Hong Kong’s finance sector, in particular, will embrace this transformation. Additionally, King Leung also provided a detailed overview of the government’s support policies for blockchain technology and emphasized Hong Kong’s potential to become a blockchain tech hub.
As of July 2023, more than 70,000 companies have forayed into the burgeoning crypto market in Hong Kong, and the figure is expected to surpass 100,000 in the near future. The Hong Kong government has remained committed to supporting emerging technologies like blockchain and cryptocurrencies through legal and regulatory measures.
* Go to YouTube for the full content of WDMS 2023:
https://www.youtube.com/live/yrMgo08Jpiw?si=MkvaG4jllqRIVLZ8
Disclaimer: The article offers no financial advice.