Argo Blockchain Mining Margin Shrinks to 20% as Natural Gas Prices Rise

Argo Blockchain, a business that mines Bitcoins, reported on Friday that the self-mining margin at its Texas-based Helios plant shrunk to 20% in August because of rising natural gas prices. The factory uses power purchased on the spot market. Therefore, excessive energy costs have harmed profits this year. In January, the margin reached a peak of 74%; by July, it had decreased to 37%. The firm is attempting to negotiate a long-term, fixed-price power purchase deal to reduce its vulnerability to energy market volatility. According to Argo, “Spot power prices in West Texas averaged nearly $0.09 per kWh, which is nearly three times the average price during the month of August in prior years.” Observation Of Mining Expert Wolfie Zhao, a mining expert, observed on Twitter that gross margins for several new mining equipments had decreased due to the market conditions. His estimates show that the Bitmain Antminer S19Pro and S19XP have fallen to 44% and 23%, respectively. At that power rate and current #Bitcoin hashprice, gross margins of even S19Pro and S19XP are down to 44% and 23%, let alone the older models. Argo said the main factor was that natural gas prices were 204% higher than the average price during the month of August 2018 to 2021. — Wolfie Wei Zhao (@WolfieZhao) September 9, 2022 According to the release, Argo also agreed to host up to 10,000 mining equipment at 32 megawatts each. A percent of the net revenue generated b...