Bitcoin mining isn’t a sustainable business anymore, and industry participants are slowly stepping away.
The process of validating transactions and securing the network by solving complex cryptographic puzzles to earn new Bitcoins is no longer sustainable.
Higher network difficulty, reduced block rewards after the halving, and unstable energy costs have squeezed profitability across the sector. It has turned into a capital-heavy competition.
Today’s large-scale miners must invest aggressively in infrastructure, secure cheap power, and optimise operations just to protect margins. For many, simply holding onto mined Bitcoin (BTC) is no longer an easy decision.
That’s why Bitdeer’s latest move caught attention.
Related: Explained: What is sustainable Bitcoin mining?
Bitdeer (NASDAQ: BTDR), one of the largest Bitcoin miners by computational capacity, has fully liquidated its corporate Bitcoin holdings.
The company notified in an X post on Feb. 21 that it sold not just newly mined coins but also the remainder of its reserves.
While miners routinely sell a portion of production to cover operating costs, completely clearing out treasury holdings is far less common.
Bitdeer’s profitability narrowed year-over-year despite strong revenue growth. At press time, the stock was down 32.64% year-to-date, while it has dropped by 40.61% over the past 12 months.
Expansion plans, infrastructure upgrades, and power acquisition all require liquidity.
The company is also raising hundreds of millions of dollars through debt and equity offerings to fund datacenter growth and expand into high-performance computing and AI infrastructure.
The liquidation comes just days after JPMorgan analysts highlighted Bitdeer as an emerging leader among public miners.
According to analysts led by Reginald Smith, Bitdeer surpassed MARA (NASDAQ: MARA) in self-mining hash rate, allocating more computational power to its own operations than its rival.
January was described as an especially strong month, driven in part by the deployment of the company’s proprietary SEALMINER hardware.
Unlike many competitors that rely heavily on third-party suppliers, Bitdeer has invested in developing its own mining equipment, a strategy aimed at improving efficiency and long-term competitiveness.
Company leadership insists the decision reflects liquidity management, not a loss of confidence in Bitcoin.
