{"id":70765,"date":"2026-04-13T09:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T02:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/bitcoin-miners-face-a-tougher-road-to-the-2028-halving\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T09:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T02:02:08","slug":"bitcoin-miners-face-a-tougher-road-to-the-2028-halving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/bitcoin-miners-face-a-tougher-road-to-the-2028-halving\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin miners face a tougher road to the 2028 halving"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bitcoin\u2019s fifth halving is roughly two years away, and the mining sector is heading into it with far less margin for error than in 2024, as higher costs, tighter energy markets and clearer regulation reshape the industry.<\/p>\n

At the last halving in April 2024, Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) traded at around $63,000 as rewards fell from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block, according<\/a> to Coingecko. In April 2028, at the next halving, miners face higher input costs for half the new coins, as rewards drop to 1.5625 BTC. That looks tougher in a world of record hashrate<\/a>, higher energy prices and more selective capital.<\/p>\n

Energy security has also become a strategic concern after geopolitical shocks jolted fuel and power markets<\/a>, while regulators from Washington to Europe move from ad-hoc guidance to formal regimes for custody and licensed institutional platforms.<\/p>\n

Those pressures are forcing miners to behave less like pure Bitcoin proxies and more like energy and infrastructure companies, monetizing reserves, cutting costs and rethinking capital allocation ahead<\/a> of the April 2028 Halving.<\/p>\n

The shift is also changing how investors assess the sector, with capital increasingly flowing toward operators that can secure long-term power and build infrastructure that extends beyond mining alone.<\/p>\n

Balance sheets show tougher pre-halving cycle<\/h2>\n

Miners are already adjusting. MARA Holdings sold<\/a> more than 15,000 Bitcoin in March to reduce leverage, Riot Platforms sold<\/a> over 3,700 BTC in the first quarter, Cango sold 2,000 BTC<\/a> to pay down Bitcoin-backed debt, and Bitdeer said its Bitcoin holdings had fallen<\/a> to zero as of Feb. 20.<\/p>\n

Bitcoin Hashrate 2026. Source: <\/em>CoinWarz<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Behind those sales is a broader reset in how miners think about hardware, power and capital. The 2028 halving arrives in \u201can environment that looks almost nothing like 2024,\u201d Juliet Ye, head of communications at Cango, told Cointelegraph.<\/p>\n

She pointed to a widening efficiency gap that is \u201cforcing real decisions around fleet upgrades\u201d and a shift toward long-term energy contracts across multiple regions rather than chasing cheaper tariffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is less room in the middle now,\u201d she said. \u201cOperators with scale and diversification will be fine. Those without will find the next halving very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

GoMining struck a similar note. CEO Mark Zalan told Cointelegraph that \u201ccapital discipline now matters more than hashrate maximalism\u201d and that new deployments now have to clear tougher return thresholds.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/strong><\/em>Mining companies move deeper into AI, HPC as\u00a0MARA\u00a0may sell Bitcoin<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

From a mining pool\u2019s perspective, some of the underlying dynamics remain familiar even as the pressure grows. \u201cThere is actually very little fundamental difference between this mining cycle and previous ones,\u201d Alejandro de la Torre, co-founder and CEO of Stratum V2 pool DMND, told Cointelegraph. \u201cThe same dynamics repeat.\u201d<\/p>\n

He expects mining hotspots to reach their peak, then realign, as \u201cno region keeps dominance for long,\u201d opening the door for more decentralization as mid-size miners expand into new energy partnerships.<\/p>\n

Related: <\/strong><\/em>Genius Group liquidates Bitcoin treasury to pay $8.5M of debt<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Business models shift beyond pure block rewards<\/h2>\n

The economics around the next halving are also shifting away from pure block rewards, which is a \u201cthinner business than it used to be,\u201d Zalan said. He predicted stronger operators will look closer to power and data center businesses, and earn additional revenue through curtailment, grid services and heat reuse.<\/p>\n

Cango is already building toward that model<\/a>. \u201cThe facilities that will matter in five years are the ones that can do more than one thing,\u201d Ye said, using mining to fill capacity while positioning sites to toggle between AI workloads and hashpower.<\/p>\n

Bitcoin Halving Countdown. Source: <\/em>CoinGecko<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Regulation, once viewed mainly as an overhang, is increasingly part of the investment case. Zalan pointed to more specific rules on custody<\/a> and banking access<\/a> in the United States, alongside the European Union\u2019s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA)<\/a> regime and new exchange-traded funds (ETFs)<\/a>, derivatives and settlement rails out of Hong Kong, arguing \u201ccapital moves faster when those rules are clear and usable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zalan said that backdrop is shaping both how miners finance themselves and how institutions position for the next issuance cut. He said he does not believe the market has \u201cfully priced the next halving,\u201d arguing that scarcity will meet a \u201cmuch stronger ecosystem around Bitcoin by the time 2028 arrives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ye sees investors already re-rating miners that lock in high-performance compute contracts, with those operators trading at \u201cmore than double the revenue multiple of pure-play miners,\u201d while de la Torre believes supporting large established operators is \u201cno longer the only logical path.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the 2024 cycle rewarded miners that rode Bitcoin\u2019s price strength, the run into 2028 may favor operators that can manage debt, lock in power and build infrastructure that earns beyond block subsidies.<\/p>\n

Magazine: <\/strong><\/em>AI agents will kill the web as we know it: Animoca\u2019s Yat Siu<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n