Bitcoin Sees First Difficulty Drop in 2 Months as Miners Sell 8K BTC

The past few weeks have caused further headaches for miners, who at one point were reducing their balances by over 8,500 BTC per month .

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Bitcoin (BTC) miners remain under pressure at current price levels as data shows the return of large outflows from miner wallets.

According to on-chain analytics firm Glassnode, monthly miner sales totaled around 8,000 BTC in September.

Bitcoin miners see strong selling

Unlike the June lows, when BTC/USD hit its current multi-year low of $17,600, miners are currently selling considerable amounts of BTC.

According to Glassnode, which tracks 30-day miner balances, at the start of the month miners had lost a maximum of 8,650 BTC from the previous month.

Bitcoin Miner Net Position Change Chart . Source: Glassnode

Although this has subsequently decreased, given the evolution of the price of BTC, miners are still selling more than they are earning on an ongoing monthly basis.

As of September 29, the last date for which full data is available, miners had lost a combined 3,455 BTC over 30 days, which nonetheless capped a one-month low in FX transactions, Glassnode noted.< /p>

Bitcoin miners trading flowchart. Source: Glassnode/Twitter

The miner squeeze even got mainstream media attention this week, with Reuters describing the industry as "stuck in a bear pit".

"Bitcoin miners continued to see their margins squeezed - the price of bitcoin fell, mining difficulties increased, and energy prices soared," reads the publication.