Bitcoin prices have more than doubled production costs, but miners are not selling their holdings. That’s what Cryptoquant CEO Ki Young Ju recently highlighted in the example of Marathon Digital (Mara).
The company currently mines Bitcoin at around $51,700 per coin, but BTC is over $105,000. Despite these margins being very large, chain data shows that miners are rarely on sale.
A closer look at Mara’s operating costs reveals what Ju means. In the first quarter of 2025, it cost an average of $51,726 to produce one BTC. This diagram was determined using an operating hashrate rather than a theoretical full capacity.
Meanwhile, the market price of Bitcoin continues to well above the $100,000 level. That’s almost double the profit, but the pressure on sales is still really low.
Mara Mines #Bitcoin makes double profits at around $51,000, but they and most miners sell very little. pic.twitter.com/xj2kif4z3v
– Young July 2nd,
Miners were not in a hurry to liquidate even if fees and block fees fell to multi-year lows in June. They don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to be optimistic about their long-term potential or understand that they hold their investments for good reason.
why?
There are several reasons why this may be happening. Larger miners may be relying on future price growth, using mined BTC as collateral or having stronger financial positions after halfway through 2024. Operational hashrates are also growing, from 6.9 EH/s in early 2023 to 46.1 EH/s in 2025, referring to increased efficiency and capacity.
Main Takeaway: Bitcoin Miners are not reactive sellers chasing price surges like they have in the past.
In this cycle, they behave like long term participants rather than short-term for-profit craftsmen. Mining costs are stable and market prices are rising. Therefore, their convictions could only be tested if the margins start to get closer again. For now, they hold strong.