As we approach summer temperatures, electricity prices start to climb. For bitcoin miners, volatility can mean the difference between profit and loss in real-time index pricing. Unlike fixed-rate contracts, real-time pricing exposes mining operations to price spikes during hot afternoons, grid congestion, or emergency conditions. These spikes can turn electricity costs from manageable to overwhelming in a matter of minutes.

But volatility doesn’t have to be a threat. Foreman gives miners the tools to not just survive price spikes but use them as an advantage. Through automated control, real-time data feeds, and intelligent curtailment, Foreman allows miners to stay exposed to low-cost power while avoiding unprofitable price intervals with precision. It puts economic control back in the hands of the operator, all through a platform designed specifically for power users.

Foreman Enables Smart Curtailment at Scale

At the core of Foreman’s value is cost avoidance. Every mining site has a price at which it stops being profitable, and Foreman makes it simple to identify that price and act on it automatically. With just a few inputs, users can define their strike price—the maximum electricity cost at which mining still makes economic sense.

Foreman monitors real-time pricing from major ISOs, including ERCOT, MISO & PJM.

No manual interventions. No delay in response. Foreman curtails your operation in real time, ensuring you’re not paying for power that doesn’t return value. Then, as prices drop below your strike price, Foreman brings rigs back online with the same speed and control. The result is a system that protects profitability without needing constant attention from your team.

Curtailment can be full or partial, depending on how you structure your site. Foreman supports granular power-down strategies, from turning off only your least efficient miners to ramping the entire operation offline in a staged, safe sequence. It also works seamlessly with popular firmware and control infrastructure, meaning it can issue commands directly to your hardware without needing third-party systems or complex integrations.

This level of precision is especially valuable during summer, when price swings are fast and unpredictable. What would otherwise be an operational risk becomes a controllable variable, giving miners back the advantage in a dynamic market.

Designed for Index Markets and Built for Speed

Summer volatility hits hardest in real-time index markets—places like Texas, California, and parts of the Midwest, where five- or fifteen-minute intervals can see prices jump from $50 to over $1,000 per megawatt-hour with little warning. For miners operating at scale, every second spent consuming power during those spikes represents lost margin or worse.

Foreman’s response time is measured in seconds. It monitors the market continuously and acts instantly when your profitability is at risk. That kind of speed isn’t achievable through manual oversight or even scheduled actions. Foreman replaces guesswork with precision, turning your curtailment strategy into a fully automated economic engine.

And because it’s built specifically for miners, the platform doesn’t just stop at turning things off. Foreman helps you stage curtailment in layers, prioritize your most efficient rigs, or underclock systems during near-threshold conditions. It supports your business logic while enforcing your financial discipline, and that’s exactly what volatile markets require.

Whether your site is 2 megawatts or 100 megawatts, the platform ensures that price doesn’t control your operation—you do.

Turning Volatility Into an Advantage

Foreman doesn’t just help you avoid bad outcomes. It helps you make better economic decisions every day. Real-time index pricing isn’t inherently risky—it’s flexible. When markets are calm or oversupplied, prices drop, sometimes even going negative. Miners who can stay online during those low-cost windows stand to gain more than their fixed-rate counterparts.

Foreman ensures you can mine when it’s most profitable, pause when it isn’t, and do both without sacrificing efficiency or oversight. It allows you to confidently ride the ups and downs of the market without constant human intervention or overreacting to false signals. It gives your team the tools to operate with data, not instincts, and that’s especially valuable during the high-risk summer season.

The best part is that it’s already proven. Miners using Foreman have saved thousands of dollars in avoided costs during price spikes, while maintaining strong uptime during favorable market conditions. Whether it’s a heatwave, a grid alert, or a routine afternoon surge, Foreman protects your margin by letting your infrastructure respond instantly and intelligently.

Foreman turns summer volatility from a liability into an opportunity. It allows miners to participate fully in real-time index markets while maintaining control over when, how, and why they consume power. Instead of relying on reactive strategies or waiting for demand response calls, Foreman puts you in charge. It automatically curtails when power gets expensive and resumes when it’s worth it.

With summer peak season approaching, the best preparation isn’t guesswork—it’s automation.

Every mining operation has unique energy demands. The right tools should adapt to your strategy, allowing you to seamlessly automate responses, optimize efficiency, and scale operations.

The team at Foreman has done a lot of work to make the Power Control dashboard the standard. On the other hand, the API enables additional programmatic solutions to automate miner operations, create custom dispatches, and implement tailored algorithms. It’s built for businesses looking to move beyond pre-configured options and take a more customized, scalable approach to curtailments and energy savings.

Key Features of the Foreman Power Control API

• Programmatic curtailments via API
• Dispatch Creation
• Custom Algorithms and Strike Prices
• Demand Response Integration

The Foreman team has developed power control options directly within the Foreman Dashboard, allowing for easy setup of cost avoidance, real-time market responses, and Demand Response through a simple point-and-click interface. The API expands on these capabilities, enabling deeper automation, custom dispatch strategies, and fully tailored energy management solutions.

Customers can programmatically wake and sleep miners, enabling automated adjustments to power usage that align with their operational requirements. The API also facilitates dispatch creation through code without needing dashboard input and streamlines energy management workflows. Additionally, it supports the implementation of custom algorithms and machine-specific strike prices, empowering businesses to design tailored curtailment strategies.

Advantages of the Foreman Power Control API

Flexibility for Custom Solutions

The API allows customers to build tailored solutions that align with their requirements. Businesses can implement proprietary algorithms, factoring in real-time market conditions, electricity price adders, and machine-specific efficiency metrics. Advanced sub-client segmentation enables precise control over different operational units, allowing companies to curtail specific sub-clients or machine subsets based on energy costs, performance levels, or contract-specific agreements.

Scalability for Large Operations

For businesses managing substantial miner fleets or complex energy demands, the API scales effortlessly to meet their needs. Its programmatic capabilities make it ideal for large-scale setups looking to optimize energy consumption and maximize uptime.

Secure Data Handling

By using the API, businesses can maintain the confidentiality of their proprietary data, such as strike prices and algorithms, ensuring their competitive edge remains protected.

Pricing and Access Teirs for Power Control

The Foreman Power Control API is part of a tiered pricing model designed to cater to varying operational needs. Customers can choose from four options based on their requirements:

1. Standard Power Control (Standard Miner License)
   This option provides manual power control tools through the Foreman Dashboard. Included with a regular license, it is ideal for basic power management without needing advanced automation.
2. Cost Avoidance (Enterprise)
   An enterprise-grade solution focused on reducing energy expenses by automating curtailments and optimizing power usage.
3. Demand Response (Enterprise)
   A feature designed for customers participating in demand, this feature program offers automated tools to maximize savings and streamline operations
4. Power Control API (Enterprise)
   The premium solution for customers seeking full programmatic control and customization. This requires either a Cost Avoidance or DR license (or both) to unlock its advanced capabilities.

The Foreman Power Control API allows businesses to automate miner operations, integrate with Demand Response programs, and implement custom algorithms. Advanced capabilities enable precise energy management, optimizing efficiency and control. Its scalable design supports everything from small operations to large fleets, adapting to evolving energy strategies.

Foreman’s Data Package offers a straightforward solution for integrating essential metrics into your workflow. Designed as an add-on to the standard license, this package provides direct access to the data you need to make informed decisions and streamline your processes, helping you uncover greater efficiency and scalability opportunities.

Foreman’s data package could enable miners to refine their strategies and maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving industry by offering advanced data integration, comprehensive audit capabilities, and seamless reporting. It is particularly powerful for those utilizing Tableau, Power BI, or other BI solutions for business insights. Here’s how Foreman’s Data Package can transform your business.

What is Foreman’s Data Package?

Foreman’s Data Package is an add-on to the standard license, offering data access to critical mining data in configurable intervals of 5 minutes, 1 hour, or daily snapshots. This powerful tool is designed for businesses looking to extract deeper insights from their mining infrastructure by directly integrating raw, real-time data into their existing analytics stack or operational systems.

The package provides actionable metrics across various dimensions of mining performance, including equipment uptime, hashrate, energy consumption, and more, to build whatever solution your team needs.

Streamline Integration and Reporting

Foreman’s Data Package integrates seamlessly into existing systems directly from Big Qeury, consolidating insights into a unified, easy-to-access platform. This integration eliminates the need for multiple tools, improving workflows and ensuring businesses have a complete view of their performance.

The data package also offers robust metrics, enabling users to create customizable summaries highlighting energy savings, operational efficiency, and profitability. These metrics are invaluable for stakeholder communication, internal audits, and strategic planning, allowing businesses to act confidently on their data. The implications are powerful, particularly for companies utilizing Business Intelligence tools.

Refine Mining Strategies with Data Insights

Foreman’s Data Package equips Bitcoin mining businesses with the data they need to refine strategies and maximize efficiency. By providing real-time and historical metrics such as hashrate, uptime, and energy consumption, the package enables team members to identify inefficiencies and fine-tune operations.

These insights empower proactive adjustments to align with market dynamics and optimize resource allocation. For instance, tracking power consumption across your fleet can help prioritize more energy-efficient machines during peak pricing, ensuring cost savings and sustained profitability.

Better Audits and Smarter, Data-Driven Decisions

Foreman simplifies auditing and enhances decision-making by delivering clear, actionable logs of operational data. It also enables teams to share financial metrics or other information across the business for better audits and visibility.  

This robust data set allows businesses to creatively uncover inefficiencies, predict trends, and rapidly respond to market shifts. Foreman’s Data Package empowers Bitcoin miners to transform raw metrics into actionable insights, enabling more insightful strategies, seamless audits, and impactful reporting.

Rising energy costs make power management essential for Bitcoin miners aiming to stay profitable in a volatile market. While this is a problem, there are potential ways to flip this problem into an advantage. Foreman’s Power Control tools can provide miners with automated solutions to optimize energy use, reduce expenses, and maintain uptime without constant oversight.

In this article, we cover Foreman’s key strategies that allow miners to adapt to real-time energy prices, maximize operational efficiency, and focus on the most profitable machines. These tools give miners a critical edge in managing costs and enhancing profitability. Combining them could be an incredibly unique market advantage for any miner.

Scheduled Power Controls

Foreman’s Scheduled Power Controls allow miners to automate power adjustments on a recurring schedule, powering down or up at set times to align with operational goals and cost savings. Users can set daily or weekly schedules, choose specific machines, and adjust for time zones, ensuring seamless, automated curtailment. This feature helps miners optimize energy use and maintain profitability without manual intervention, aligning operations with peak efficiency.

Demand Response

Demand Response (DR) in Foreman offers miners a proactive approach to managing energy consumption, particularly valuable in volatile markets like ERCOT. By participating in DR programs, miners can strategically reduce their power usage during peak demand times, helping stabilize the grid and capturing financial incentives. Foreman’s platform integrates seamlessly with demand response initiatives, allowing for automated curtailment at optimal times and ensuring miners avoid unprofitable periods. The program gives operators precise control through scheduled participation in demand response events or on-demand power adjustments. Demand Response is an enterprise-grade feature available for those with DR added to their contract.

Miners can leverage demand response across various operational areas. For instance, miners can ensure they are strategically aligned with market needs by integrating with local grid programs through Curtailment Service Providers (CSPs) or collaborating with Qualified Scheduling Entities (QSEs) in ERCOT. Foreman’s Demand Response capabilities’ versatility also allows participation in different services tailored to fit specific operational timelines and energy needs. This adaptability makes demand response a powerful tool for maximizing profitability while supporting grid stability.

Cost Avoidance

Foreman’s Cost Avoidance, an enterprise-grade feature, helps miners reduce expenses by automatically shutting down equipment when electricity prices exceed profitability thresholds. This proactive approach allows miners to avoid losses during high-cost periods, operating only when energy prices are favorable. By setting specific strike prices, miners maintain profitability without needing constant monitoring.

Cost Avoidance also extends equipment lifespan by reducing unnecessary operation during unprofitable times, minimizing wear and tear. Foreman’s flexible system supports different fleet needs and pricing thresholds, making it an essential tool for keeping operations efficient and profitable, even in fluctuating energy markets.

From a single case study based on a winter storm in Texas, a 10MW facility could lose up to $25,000 per hour if it isn’t prepared for price spikes. Cost Avoidance can help create a buffer or emergency trigger for these catastrophic events, ensuring you aren’t caught off guard.

Multi-Strike Price

Foreman’s Multi-Strike Price feature enhances cost control by allowing miners to set multiple profitability thresholds across machine groups. This selective curtailment keeps newer, more efficient machines running during price spikes while pausing less profitable ones. Multi-Strike Price helps miners with mixed fleets maintain profitability by adjusting operations based on real-time energy costs, maximizing uptime for high-return machines. This precise approach ensures resources are focused where they generate the highest returns.

Foreman’s Power Control tools equip miners with the strategies to optimize energy use and manage costs in a challenging market. Features like Demand Response, Cost Avoidance, and Multi-Strike Price allow for automated, precise adjustments that keep operations efficient and profitable, even as energy prices fluctuate. With Foreman, miners can confidently navigate market changes, ensuring resilience and maximizing returns across all their operations.

Efficient asset and inventory management can significantly improve the operational success of bitcoin mining facilities. The right tools can streamline maintenance, improve resource allocation, and minimize downtime—all essential factors in a high-demand environment. Foreman’s Inventory and Assets feature provides a robust platform for managing essential resources, from miners and power units to critical spare parts.

This post will explore three practical ways to maximize this powerful tool and two bonus approaches to help miners optimize asset utilization and maintain peak efficiency.

What is Inventory and Assets?

Foreman’s Inventory and Assets feature streamlines managing miners, cables, spare parts, and other resources within a single, organized database. It allows teams to track each asset’s lifecycle—from acquisition to maintenance and disposal—while linking assets to tickets for efficient documentation of repairs and updates. With automated low-inventory alerts and asset syncing with miners, this feature ensures essential supplies and equipment are tracked and accounted for.

1. Enhancing Audit Trails

Maintaining an accurate audit trail is key to ensuring compliance and operational transparency in any mining operation. Foreman’s Inventory and Assets feature supports this by creating detailed records of every action taken on assets, from acquisitions and maintenance to transfers and disposals.

With comprehensive logs available for each asset, mining teams can easily review the entire lifecycle of equipment and consumables, which is especially valuable for internal and external audits. This visibility ensures accuracy in financial reporting and compliance and helps identify areas for improvement in asset management practices.

2. Syncing Assets with Miners

One of the most effective ways to use Foreman’s Inventory and Assets feature is by syncing assets directly with miners. This integration enables seamless tracking of each mining rig, power unit, and supporting equipment, connecting them to specific miners for improved oversight.

When assets are synced with miners, you can track the asset’s value as the miner performs. Mining teams can monitor the depreciation value of an asset correlated to an active, inactive, or decommissioned miner. Viewing the asset’s history can show the miner’s overall value when deciding things such as miner maintenance or repairs, or in some cases, when to retire or even break the asset up into parts depending on its assessed value. This is all about linking the value of the miner on the asset side with the miner’s performance.

How it Works:

• Identify Assets with Unique Tags: Use the miner’s serial number or a custom asset tag to create a unique link between assets and miners.
• Automate Asset Syncing: Foreman’s system can automatically sync assets and miners based on these identifiers, saving time and maintaining accurate records.
• Enhance Maintenance Tracking: With assets linked to specific miners, maintenance tasks become easier to schedule, track, and document.

3. Automating Alerts for Inventory

Managing inventory is crucial in mining operations to minimize downtime and maintain consistent output. Foreman’s inventory alert system enables teams to stay ahead of stock shortages by setting automatic notifications when supplies reach a low threshold.

These alerts allow teams to reorder essential items—such as spare parts, cables, and other consumables—before they run out, preventing costly delays in maintenance and repairs. By proactively managing inventory, mining operations can ensure critical supplies are always available, supporting uninterrupted workflow and operational efficiency.

Automated alerts make inventory management seamless, reducing the risk of unexpected downtime and keeping resources optimized.

Honorable Mentions

Ticket History and Asset History

Foreman’s ticket and asset history tracking capabilities provide mining teams with a clear, accessible record of maintenance, repairs, and operational actions over time. The Ticket History feature documents each ticket’s lifecycle—from issue reporting to resolution—offering insights into recurring problems and enhancing maintenance planning. Meanwhile, Asset History captures each asset’s usage, repairs, and movements, building a complete log of performance and upkeep. This historical view supports proactive equipment management, aids in troubleshooting, and ultimately helps extend asset lifespan and optimize operational efficiency.

Linking Assets with Tickets

Efficient maintenance and issue resolution are essential in mining operations, and Foreman’s ability to link assets directly with tickets makes this process seamless. By connecting specific assets—such as miners, power units, or other critical equipment—to maintenance or repair tickets, teams can easily track the history of issues and the steps taken to resolve them. This linkage streamlines troubleshooting, as technicians can view a detailed log of each asset’s issues, repairs, and status updates in one place. It also supports better planning and resource allocation by highlighting recurring issues and ensuring each asset receives attention.

Foreman’s Inventory and Assets feature empowers mining facilities to optimize equipment management, reduce downtime, and streamline maintenance. From audit trails and asset-miner syncing to inventory alerts, these tools enhance operational efficiency and compliance. By implementing these strategies, mining teams can maintain uptime, manage resources proactively, and drive consistent productivity.

The AI buzzword has been floating around for years, but we are finally at the point where these tools are becoming accessible to the public, allowing everyday people to leverage them. There seem to be many headlines about company partnerships, but will this be the future of Bitcoin mining?

Recently, many large Bitcoin miners, most of them public miners, have announced that they have some level of involvement with AI. But why are they partnering with AI, and will it last? This article will examine the economics and reality of these hedged Bitcoin/AI data centers.

Why are Bitcoin miners suddenly getting into AI?

Bitcoin miners are increasingly forming partnerships with companies to expand their operations into AI due to the remarkable similarities between the two industries. Both sectors demand vast computing power and robust infrastructure, which Bitcoin miners already possess. This partnership allows for a seemingly easy pivot towards AI GPU infrastructure, capitalizing on their existing resources and expertise. Given the rising demand for AI services across various sectors, the transition is not just strategic but potentially essential. Because of this, there are major advantages to utilizing a single management tool in these collocated facilities.

Moreover, the existing infrastructure enables miners to significantly reduce the time to market when launching AI initiatives. Unlike starting from scratch, miners could adapt their facilities to accommodate AI workloads, streamlining operations and optimizing energy use. This agility in utilizing pre-existing resources positions Bitcoin miners favorably in the rapidly growing AI landscape, ensuring they remain competitive and relevant in an evolving technological environment.

“Crusoe, Blue Owl Capital and Primary Digital Infrastructure Enter $3.4 billion Joint Venture for AI Data Center Development” – Yahoo Finance

“Marathon Digital Explores AI Ventures with New Board Appointments”  – TheMinerMag

“Core Scientific Partners with CoreWeave for $6.7 Billion AI Hosting Deal” – Investor’s Business Daily

How are miners participating?

There are a few different ways in which Bitcoin miners are starting to participate, such as adding a hedge to their data center stack. The industry is continually evolving, and according to analysts, these are the current models for participation compared to the general Bitcoin mining model revenue.

AI Hosting Model (Light)

In this model, HPC AI miners lease data center space to large companies that bring and manage their own GPUs. Miners earn around $118 per MWh, with power costs passed to the client. This model is low-cost for miners but generates less revenue.

HPC Deployment Model (Heavy)

In the deployment model, miners invest in their own GPUs and sell computing power to AI clients. It’s more expensive to set up but can generate $1,540 to $3,950 per MWh, offering higher returns than the light model.

General Bitcoin Mining Model and Profitability

Bitcoin mining revenue depends on the efficiency of mining machines. Older machines, like 30 J/th models, generate around $65 per MWh, while newer 26 J/th machines bring in about $77 per MWh. The latest S21 models, operating at 15 J/th, earn around $130 per MWh, reflecting the increasing profitability of bitcoin mining with newer technology.

How much does it cost to enter AI Computing?

In today’s digital landscape, AI computing’s profitability is driven by its capacity to manage complex workloads efficiently. Data centers leveraging high-performance GPUs can yield substantial revenues as demand for AI applications grows. The financial metrics associated with AI workloads reflect significant returns, positioning AI computing as a lucrative avenue for investment, particularly for organizations that already possess the necessary infrastructure and expertise.

The capital expenditure (CapEx) to establish an AI data center could range from $12 million to $20 million per megawatt (MW). This cost range is influenced by several factors, including the facility’s size, design, and specific technology requirements. Various sources indicate that these prices account for the intricacies of developing a data center optimized for AI operations.

In terms of revenue potential, AI data centers can achieve substantial earnings, as reflected above, while also adding quick deployment. This revenue potential, when paired with the existing infrastructure from Bitcoin mining, allows miners to pivot effectively towards AI computing. So it’s no wonder that Bitcoin miners and public ones are doubling down on HPC AI, adding hedges to their current models.

Optimizing profitability while managing fluctuating energy costs has always been a central challenge in Bitcoin mining. Traditionally, miners have relied on a single strike price to determine when to curtail operations, shutting down machines when energy costs exceed mining revenues. While this method works in more straightforward energy markets, it might fall short in dynamic environments with multiple machine generations.

To address these challenges, Foreman’s advanced Cost Avoidance feature — Multi-Strike Price Curtailment — provides a more precise solution. This feature allows miners to assign different machine group strike prices, enabling selective curtailment based on profitability. Miners can maximize efficiency and returns by pausing less efficient machines and keeping the most profitable ones operational. Through specific case studies, this article explores the benefits of Foreman’s Multi-Strike Price curtailment, showcasing its impact on Bitcoin mining operations.

Understanding Single-Strike Price and Its Limitations

For the past few years, Bitcoin miners have relied on a strike price—a predefined threshold where electricity costs exceed mining revenue—to determine when to curtail operations. Once energy prices rise above this point, miners shut down their machines to avoid unprofitable mining. This method has proven particularly useful in real-time or hourly electricity markets like ERCOT, where prices fluctuate dramatically throughout the day.

However, using a single strike price across all machines presents limitations. It treats all mining equipment similarly without accounting for performance and energy efficiency differences. This is good when you have a facility with all the same models. Still, in highly dynamic markets, some machines may remain profitable even as others become unprofitable when a single strike price forces a blanket curtailment. As facilities mix older & newer generation machines, this approach can result in missed opportunities to maximize profitability.

Uptime Comparison of Old and New Gen Machines

Since the most recent Bitcoin halving, revenue per block is down 50%.  To fight this, new gen machines are delivered, replacing the less efficient ones and pushing hashprice even further. The resulting competition has prompted miners to adapt.

Many operations now manage mixed fleets. Despite the varying efficiency of these machines, operators continue to mine and seek ways to further optimize the fleet’s performance.

Foreman’s Multi-Strike Price Curtailment tech allows miners to assign different strike prices based on each machine’s performance. Newer, more efficient hardware—like the S21— remains online during higher energy prices, while older, less profitable machines are curtailed when necessary. This strategy ensures that mining operations with diverse fleets maintain profitability even during price spikes.

Estimated Uptime of Mining Machines

The chart above presents the estimated uptime for three generations of mining machines since the 2024 halving within the average hourly ERCOT electricity prices:

Antminer S21 (200Th): Estimated uptime is 98%, with 2% downtime.

Antminer S19 XP (140Th): Estimated uptime is 97%, with 3% downtime.

Antminer S19j Pro (100Th): Estimated uptime is 94%, with 6% downtime.

The figures reveal an evident trend: newer models like the S21 experience significantly less downtime than older models like the S19j Pro. This difference is crucial in high-stakes mining environments, where even a few percentage points of additional uptime can considerably affect overall profitability. It is clear that in this scenario, a single average strike price is not enough.

In this methodology, the analysis estimates based on hourly data. Real-world  curtailments may vary depending on period delay settings in Cost Avoidance.

In the chart above, each bubble represents an unprofitable event where energy prices exceeded the machine’s ability to mine profitably. Following the halving in April 2024, there was a marked increase in unprofitable events. As a result, older machines were curtailed more frequently, driving a higher utility value for cost avoidance on those machines. Cost Avoidance staves off this un-profitability longer by avoiding those events altogether, extending the life of older machines.

30MW Facility Scenario

When analyzing the average ERCOT load zone (LZ) prices, the total cost avoided per megawatt-year (MW-year) for a mixed fleet can be significant, as demonstrated by the figures above. For a 30MW facility with 10MW allocated per machine type, the estimated cost avoidance amounts to ~$500,000 annually. This is broken down as follows:

Antminer S19j Pro (100Th): ~$220,000, contributing 44% of the total cost avoidance.

Antminer S19 XP (140Th): ~$160,000, accounting for 32% of the total cost avoidance.

Antminer S21 (200Th): ~$120,000, representing 24% of the total cost avoidance.

Older generation machines, such as the S19j Pro, contribute the largest cost savings, primarily through strategic downtime. While these machines experience more curtailment due to their lower efficiency, Multi-Strike Price technology saves operators significant costs by shutting them down when energy prices spike, thereby avoiding unprofitable operations.

In contrast, the newer, more efficient machines like the Antminer S21 maintain more uptime, contributing less overall cost savings through curtailment but delivering consistent profitability by staying online longer. This mixed-fleet strategy ensures that new and older generation machines are utilized optimally, balancing uptime with cost avoidance to achieve the highest possible profitability in dynamic markets like ERCOT.

Foreman’s Multi-Strike Price addition to Cost Avoidance gives Bitcoin miners a more precise tool for managing energy market volatility. By assigning different strike prices to various machine generations, miners can curtail less efficient machines, reducing unprofitability while keeping more profitable equipment running. This strategy not only maximizes uptime but also has the potential to extend the lifespan of older machines by preventing unnecessary operation during energy price spikes. This technology helps miners maintain profitability and adapt to changing conditions in dynamic markets more efficiently.

The efficiency of Bitcoin mining machines has grown so much that it’s hard to keep up. Facilities must continually replace old machines with new ones as their profit changes relative to the market. But what if we could peer into the industry average machine types and find out how profitable the industry remains?

This article will explore machine growth in efficiency and its dynamic relationship to industrial average electricity costs. There are multiple factors, and it is impossible to predict the exact measure precisely, but the article should help paint a general picture of where the industry stands as of July 2024.

Many leaders in the mining industry have done great work to advance our understanding, and their work continually enable understanding in our fast-paced world of Bitcoin mining.

Machine Growth Through Time

As the Bitcoin mining industry develops, ASIC manufacturers have become increasingly efficient at making new generations. Much like the computing industry, Moore’s Law is reflected in new chips and fabrication.

When looking at mining from an infrastructure perspective, mines are built in specific locations and tend to have unchangeable electricity rates due to geography. As a result, efficiencies need to be increased in other areas, the first being the machine. Each machine model is more efficient than the last; thus, old generations have become obsolete for specific facilities and locals as time has progressed.

Facilities can also increase their efficiency in other ways, such as employing optimal power strategies and Demand Response. Miner management systems like Foreman have improved the overall optimization of facilities, but there is no alternative to replacing an efficient machine.

Measuring The Industry Average Efficiency

It has been notoriously difficult to understand the mixture of machines simply because there isn’t a native measurement for this in the Bitcoin network. However, CoinMetrics and @karimhelpme found a way to identify the specific types of Bitcoin mining machines by analyzing patterns in the data they produce. They discovered that each machine type leaves a unique “fingerprint” in the nonces they generate. Collecting and examining many of these nonces, we can accurately determine which machines are being used and in what proportions. One of the results is a general average efficiency of the Mining network.

Creating the Mining Revenue Index is one way to utilize this industry average. Currently, hashprice is a metric that shows the dollars per hash the average network produces. This is great, but it does not show that the average changes over time. So, the metric’s meaning diminishes as the average machine efficiency and difficulty increase.

To account for this, the Mining Revenue Index considers both hashprice and the growing efficiency of machines. It also aligns with energy rates by calculating the $/MWh in revenue form. That way, there is a solid alignment with energy markets.

Now, let’s compare the Antminer S9 Revenue to the evolving Network efficiency. When S9s were the most prevalent ASIC on the network, the average efficiency was about the same. But as time passed, new machines were plugged in, and the efficiency increased. As a result, difficulty went up, and hashprice dropped. The gap between the S9 and the Mining Revenue Index widened as a result, and eventually became out of sync.

Combining Industry Average Electricity Rates To Find Profitability

The energy industry is a century or more old and has had plenty of time to mature. Outside of large localized events, the electricity rates don’t seem to change much in the medium term or even over the past 10 years. Excluding abnormally high rate states, energy electricity rates stay around $60 per MWh on average.

The above data comes from EIA on a state-by-state basis for industrial electricity prices. The rates show a normal range by excluding many states, including NY and CA, for abnormally high electricity rates and ones that don’t seem to have a large mining presence. This range is between $100/MWh and $40/MWh.

Electricity rates rose on average after the start of 2021 due to multiple factors, including inflation and money printing, and the energy crisis due to sanctions on Russia. These factors boosted electricity prices in the short term, but we might see them return due to elasticity.

Combining the Mining Revenue Index with the industrial average electricity rate of around $60/MWh shows a bottoming effect. The result of estimating an average electricity rate and comparing it to the Mining Revenue Index is that every time profitability gets to a certain level, there is a reflex.

Because hashprice combines both Bitcoin price and difficulty, the industry will naturally turn off when it is unprofitable. That is apparent in the above graph and could confirm the hypothesis that the current average electricity rate for the Bitcoin mining industry is $60.

The above graph should not be treated as an exact science, but as an estimate of where the industry starts to feel higher pain levels. I imagine this metric could be useful for many things as it relates to the industry. The Mining Revenue Index gives us insight into a once-concealed segment of our industry.

The Bitcoin halving is a predictable event with unpredictable consequences. For older-generation machines, the reality is that profitability grows tighter and tighter. But in real-time electricity markets such as ERCOT, miners still capture optimal pricing and reduce overall volatility.

Foreman’s Enterprise Power Control Features, specifically Cost Avoidance, have allowed users to avoid volatility. But what exactly does that look like in the 5th epoch? Below, we walk through a historical analysis comparing apples to apples from the past. The results show the increasing need to avoid high prices in real-time pricing environments and prove the capabilities of cost avoidance in volatile scenarios.

Analysis

For the below analysis, the methodology takes into account several different factors.

• Antminer S19J Pro Efficiency level at 29.5 J/th
• Real-time 15-minute index prices, averaging on the hour, reducing granular volatility
• Either over the past 6 months or for all of 2023
• Utilizing hourly Hashprice, comparing 6.25 Epoch to 3.125 Epoch

Let’s first look at the average electricity rate in ERCOT, specifically in LZ West. In 2023, Electricity fluctuates widely, mostly in the summer and winter. This is due to factors such as weather and congestion, along with natural energy sources like wind and solar.

The histogram above shows the percentage of time each electricity price occurred over the year. Prices over $100 happened 7% of the time, while negative pricing was 8%. Looking at the bell curve, you can assume that average prices were around $22 per MWh with some volatile events.

Comparing the 4th and 5th Epoch

When looking at profitability between epochs at a time frame of the past 6 months. If you were to mine the same machine types on a per MW basis, the cost and profitability between Epochs would be drastically different. The left graph shows the 6.125 Epoch being relatively low in unprofitability. Each Red mark is an unprofitable hourly event based on current hashprice and real-time pricing.

The right chart has visibly more curtailment events. Assuming the Hashprice was cut in half (mostly) from 6.25 Epoch to 3.125 Epoch, the S19J Pro would have had to avoid many more pricing events.

Let’s look at the past six months from a reference to uptime and compare 6.25 to 3.125 block subsidies. If you took the profitability and avoided all negative profitability events by using Foreman’s Cost Avoidance, the above are the results. The left side is pre-halving, with an uptime of 98% and an increase of only .2% with low-power mode machines.

If the past six months’ hashprice occurred with a subsidy of 3.125 BTC, it’s a different story. After halving, we had a 94.3% uptime on normal power mode and 95.1%  in low, with an increased efficiency rating. On a cumulative basis, this comes out to tens of thousands of dollars per MW while using Cost Avoidance.

While real-time index pricing has major benefits, like lower electricity rates ($22/MWh), miners still need to avoid high-volatility time frames. Programmatic real-time curtailments with Cost Avoidance can help users as the 5th mining Epoch continues. With the right power strategy and the right tools, miners can be confident that their profit is at the most optimal level.

As the 2024 Bitcoin halving unfolded, the volatility observed in the Hashprice and the fee market was noteworthy—almost reminiscent of an emerging currency or GameStop stock. This year’s halving was distinct from its predecessors, marked by pivotal changes and a dramatic yet predictable return to the mean in Hashprice dynamics. But why did this happen, and what implications does it hold for the future?

In this analysis, we will dissect the crucial role of the fee market in shaping the Hashprice dynamics and explore what the future holds for miners as we enter the 5th Epoch of Bitcoin mining.

Runes and BRC-20 at the Halving

The hot “new” thing in town is a new way to make Crypto and NFTs on Bitcoin. Since Taproot was implemented, Ordinal Theory, BRC-20, and Runes have started to emerge and pre-halving, people found a way to make crypto on Bitcoin (again).

The main thing to understand is that these cryptos have been added to Bitcoin’s base layer through a proxy of ordinal theory, whether BRC-20 or Runes. That means you need to mint them through a real Bitcoin transaction, which in turn, spikes fees.

At Block height 840,000, or the halving block, a new protocol built by the creator of ordinal theory reduced the size of the minting transactions for BRC-20s, allowing users to create meme coins more efficiently. They are called Runes, and after the halving, there was a dash to “mint” or transact on Bitcoin to capture tickers, almost like domain names.

Halving and Hashprice

In the 4th epoch (2020-2024) bear market environment, Bitcoin transaction fees were around 1-3%. In a normal market, it would continue, and at halving, it would rise to roughly 2-6% of the total block reward. But the fee environment has completely changed since Ordinal NFTs, BRC-20s, and Runes are on Bitcoin. In the short-term at least.

Breaking down Hashprice into two separate categories can help us understand the fee environment better while still looking at Hashprice as a whole. The subsidy is stagnant and only changes during halvings (in BTC terms). But fees (yellow) are much more volatile, changing based on Mempool congestion, and the fee market.

There have been a few significant changes to Hashprice over the past 12 months, and during the bear market, fees started spiking, pushing miner profitability and price upwards. The first spike was when ordinals were released and users started minting NFTs. The Second was BRC-20 tokens, otherwise known as meme coins. The final Spike was the Runes tokens, a more efficient version of BRC-20.

After the halving block, fees spiked as runes took off, and users spent millions minting new Rune Tokens. Some thought the frenzy would last much longer, but minters quickly lost steam, functionally pushing us into the 5th Epoch of Bitcoin mining.

What’s In Store For The 5th Epoch

Of course, there is no way to predict the future. But historically, bull markets come every four years due to the halving, which causes a supply crunch. With this comes new adoption and more buyers of Bitcoin, driving up demand for blockspace.

Each bull market brings significant demand for blockspace. But this bull market is functionally different solely because a new type of user has entered the game. People are now minting NFTs and creating tokens on Bitcoin, which could make up a more significant portion of fees than before—at some points, more than 50% of total fee share. Now that there is much more demand for the Bitcoin Fee market it will be interesting to see what happens in this Epoch. A fee market frenzy is surely on the horizon; the real question is, comparatively, how much more?

In the competitive arena of Bitcoin mining, firmware emerges as a crucial yet often misunderstood element. While commonly associated with efficiency enhancements, the role of Firmware is far more comprehensive. “The Miners’ Guide to Firmware” aims to demystify firmware in Bitcoin mining, explaining the multifaceted role and important features beyond mere efficiency improvements.

Below, we’ll cover…

• History
• Technical Overview of Mining Firmware
• How Foreman Plays a Role
• Major Mining Firmware Providers
• Firmware and Mining Efficiency
• The Future of Firmware

Our guide will dissect firmware’s complexities and strategic importance in mining operations. By delving into the intricate relationship between firmware and mining hardware performance, we reveal how firmware is an important tool for maximizing efficiency, hash rates, and equipment longevity.

Historical Context and Evolution

In the early stages of Bitcoin mining, firmware—the integral software that controls mining hardware—was exclusively provided by the hardware manufacturers themselves. The original, manufacturer-supplied firmware was designed to ensure seamless compatibility and stable operation of the mining devices. Tailored specifically for each model of ASIC miner, stock firmware focused on delivering a balance of performance, efficiency, and reliability, ensuring that miners could operate their equipment right out of the box with minimal setup. These initial firmware versions set the foundation for the complex mining operations we see today, prioritizing the core needs of stability and efficiency in an ever-evolving mining landscape.

As the Bitcoin mining industry matured and competition intensified, the limitations of manufacturer-supplied firmware began to surface, leading to the emergence of third-party firmware. This development was driven by the miners’ growing demand for enhanced control, customization, and performance optimization beyond what the stock firmware offered. Third-party developers identified an opportunity to address these needs, creating firmware that enabled additional capabilities such as advanced overclocking, underclocking, and more precise hardware tuning. Custom firmware options aimed to maximize the efficiency and hash rate of mining rigs, offering a competitive edge in the increasingly challenging mining environment. The advent of third-party firmware marked a significant shift in the mining landscape, reflecting the community’s desire for more autonomy and higher performance in their mining operations.

Technical Overview of Mining Firmware

Tuning and Increasing Efficiency

The tuning process involves a meticulous assessment of each individual chip’s performance within a miner. This is typically done by testing the efficiency, measured in joules per terahash (J/TH), of each chip.

In the first phase of the tuning process, each chip is individually evaluated to determine the optimal operating frequency and voltage. This evaluation is crucial because each chip may have slightly different characteristics and performance capabilities, often due to variances in manufacturing. By testing each chip, the tuning software can identify the most efficient operating point for that specific chip in terms of energy usage and hash rate output.

The second phase involves adjusting the operating parameters based on these individual assessments. The firmware or tuning software will set the frequency and voltage for each chip to its identified optimal point. Due to this, some chips might operate at higher frequencies if they are more capable, while others may be dialed back to lower settings to prevent excessive power consumption or overheating.

A granular approach to tuning ensures that each chip in the miner operates at its most efficient point, thereby optimizing the overall performance of the mining rig. The result is a finely-tuned machine where each chip contributes its best possible performance in terms of hash rate while also maintaining energy efficiency, ultimately leading to a more profitable and sustainable mining operation.

Deployment Methods of Firmware

SD Card

Deploying firmware to machines using SD cards is a controlled and secure method, ideal for smaller operations or individual miners. The process involves:

• Downloading Firmware
• Preparing the SD Card
• Transferring Firmware to SD card
• Inserting SD Card into each individual miner

Advantages include enhanced security due to the need for physical access, reducing the risk of remote attacks, and direct control over the firmware installation.

Considerations to keep in mind are the time and labor required for updating multiple miners individually and the necessity of physical access to each miner, which may not be practical in larger or remote mining setups.

Network Deployment

Network deployment of firmware in larger mining operations is efficient and scalable, allowing remote updates of ASIC miners over a network. This process involves:

• Firmware Management tool (Like Foreman.mn)
• Deploying firmware to Miners over network

Advantages: Network deployment is highly efficient for large-scale Bitcoin mining, offering quick, simultaneous firmware updates across many miners. This method significantly reduces the time and effort required for manual updates, optimizing operational efficiency.

Considerations: Key factors include network security, essential for safeguarding against attacks during updates, and the need for a reliable network connection to ensure successful, error-free firmware installations.

Control Boards and Network Deployment

Newer generations of ASIC miners are typically equipped with control boards that are fully capable of network-based firmware deployment. These modern control boards come with advanced network interfaces and enhanced processing power, specifically designed to facilitate the efficient and straightforward updating of firmware over a network. This feature is particularly advantageous in large-scale mining operations where manual updating would be impractical.

The integration of user-friendly web interfaces allows for easy firmware management directly through a network-connected browser. Additionally, these newer control boards are often designed to be compatible with various mining management software, like Foreman, enabling seamless and bulk firmware updates across multiple devices. The network deployability feature in the latest generation ASICs is a significant step forward in terms of operational efficiency and ease of maintenance.

How Foreman Plays A Role In Firmware

In the Bitcoin mining sphere, the collaboration between mining hardware and tailored firmware is becoming as crucial as the partnership between ASUS and Microsoft in the laptop market. The analogy highlights a trend where the full capabilities of mining rigs are unlocked through specialized firmware, much like how Windows powers ASUS laptops. The synergy between hardware makers and firmware developers is key to enhancing the efficiency and output of mining operations, extending their lifespan and improving overall productivity.

Foreman is central to this shift, acting as the bridge that connects sophisticated mining hardware with the latest firmware innovations. The Foreman platform allows miners to easily update and manage firmware across their devices, ensuring each miner is optimized for peak performance. This approach not only ensures that mining operations run on the most advanced and compatible firmware but also showcases the leverage and value of miner management software.

Major Mining Firmware Providers

In the Bitcoin mining realm, firms like Vnish, Braiins, and LuxOS stand out as some of the most well-known firmware providers. They have earned their reputation by enhancing mining efficiency and optimizing hardware performance. Each of these companies brings innovative solutions from different corners of the globe, contributing significantly to the advancement of the mining industry.

Vnish has gained recognition for its custom firmware solutions designed for an array of ASIC miners. While the specific location of Vnish is not widely publicized, their offerings have a global reach, providing features such as overclocking and underclocking that allow miners to tailor their hardware’s performance to their specific needs. Vnish’s firmware is also known for its focus on security and user-friendly interfaces, helping miners to not only optimize their operations but also to do so with ease and peace of mind.

Braiins is based in Prague, Czech Republic, and is the pioneering force behind Braiins Pool, the world’s first Bitcoin mining pool. The company offers Braiins OS and Braiins OS+, an open-source firmware that grants miners full control over their ASIC devices. Braiins OS is acclaimed for its ability to reduce power consumption while maintaining high hash rates, featuring auto-tuning and advanced monitoring functionalities. This makes Braiins OS an ideal choice for miners who prioritize efficient, sustainable mining operations.

LuxOS, headquartered in the United States, specializes in firmware that focuses on enhancing the efficiency and lifespan of mining equipment. LuxOS firmware is engineered with an emphasis on power efficiency and stability, catering to miners who value reliability and long-term performance. The firmware’s user-centric design and intuitive interface make LuxOS a popular option among miners who seek straightforward, effective solutions for their mining rigs.

How Do Firmware Companies Get Paid?

Firmware companies have devised a variety of revenue models to support their business and continue innovating. One common method is through a development fee. This model provides miners with continuous access to firmware updates and dedicated support, ensuring their mining operations remain efficient and up-to-date for a recurring fee.

The developer fee in firmware operates similarly to a pool fee in mining pools, taking a small percentage of mining rewards as compensation. The developer fee allows miners to use advanced firmware features without upfront costs, sharing a portion of their earnings with the firmware developers in exchange.

For those seeking a more transactional arrangement, a one-time licensing fee is an attractive option. This straightforward approach allows miners to purchase the firmware outright, granting them permanent access to the software without any recurring charges.

Custom solutions represent another significant revenue avenue, particularly for larger mining operations with unique requirements. Firmware companies offer bespoke services, tailoring their software to meet specific needs and charging accordingly for the customization and additional services provided. This model caters to clients requiring specialized solutions that go beyond the standard firmware offerings.

Efficiency and Longevity

Custom firmware, tailored specifically for ASIC miners, introduces a suite of optimization features that go beyond mere performance enhancements. Auto Tuning capabilities, for instance, allow miners to fine-tune their hardware’s power consumption and improve their operating efficiency. By operating at lower power levels, the mining rigs generate less heat, which is a primary contributor to hardware wear and tear. The reduction in thermal stress not only preserves the integrity of the mining hardware but also enhances its energy efficiency, striking a balance between immediate gains and long-term sustainability.

Furthermore, firmware updates can mitigate the mechanical wear induced by constant vibrations, primarily from cooling fans. By optimizing the fan speed and improving the overall thermal management of the device, the firmware reduces the physical strain on the hardware components.

In regions like Texas, where miners face the challenge of large fluctuations in temperature from scorching heat to sudden cold spells, autotuning can be particularly beneficial. Custom firmware with autotuning capabilities allows for dynamic adjustment of the mining hardware’s operating parameters in response to ambient temperature changes.This ensures that mining rigs run at optimal efficiency regardless of external temperature variations, maintaining performance without overstressing the hardware. By continuously adapting to the environmental conditions, autotuning helps sustain mining operations at peak efficiency, protecting the hardware from the thermal extremes that can lead to accelerated wear or reduced longevity, thereby securing a more stable and efficient mining operation in such volatile climates.

Risks to Firmware and Auto-tuning

Autotuning in Bitcoin mining, though beneficial for optimizing ASIC performance, carries significant risks. By pushing each chip within a miner to its operational limits, autotuning can lead to increased stress, accelerating wear and reducing the hardware’s longevity. The process risks pushing chips beyond safe thresholds, heightening the chance of immediate failure.

Beyond the immediate risks of thermal stress and potential chip failure, autotuning in Bitcoin mining introduces additional considerations:

1. Voltage Stress: Autotuning often involves adjusting the voltage supply to the chips to achieve higher efficiency or performance. Overvolting can lead to increased power consumption and heat, while undervolting, although reducing heat, might lead to instability and unexpected shutdowns.
2. Firmware Reliability: The effectiveness and safety of autotuning heavily depend on the quality and reliability of the firmware being used. Flaws in firmware design or implementation can lead to incorrect tuning, risking hardware damage.
3. Warranty Voidance: Using custom firmware for autotuning may void the manufacturer’s warranty on the mining hardware. This leaves miners without support or recourse in case of hardware failure linked to autotuning practices.
4. Compatibility Issues: Autotuning settings optimized for specific conditions might not be universally beneficial across all mining setups. Factors like ambient temperature, humidity, and airflow can affect the optimal settings, potentially leading to suboptimal performance or increased risk under different conditions.
5. Dependency on Specific Pools: Some autotuning solutions might optimize performance for specific mining pools or protocols, potentially limiting flexibility and choice for miners.

Security Aspects of Mining Firmware

Installing third-party firmware on ASIC miners, akin to jailbreaking a cell phone, carries inherent risks due to the process of exploiting vulnerabilities in the base firmware to gain root access. This method exposes the mining hardware to potential security threats, as it bypasses the original manufacturer’s safeguards and protocols. The act of ‘breaking into’ the firmware to develop a custom version might introduce unintended security gaps, leaving the miners susceptible to attacks, including the risk of hashrate theft, malware, or remote hijacking of mining operations. Additionally, the reliance on third-party firmware developers for updates and patches means that miners must trust these entities to maintain high security standards and respond promptly to any emerging vulnerabilities. This added layer of complexity in network security management underscores the need for rigorous security practices and due diligence when considering the deployment of custom firmware on mining hardware.

The Future of Mining Firmware

The potential integration of advanced firmware with mining hardware emerges as a potential outcome for the industry’s future, reminiscent of the symbiotic relationships in the computing world, such as between ASUS and Microsoft. This collaboration has the potential to dramatically enhance mining operations by unlocking new levels of efficiency and performance, akin to the impact of an operating system on a laptop’s capabilities. While still on the horizon, this development is seen as a probable step in the industry’s evolution, offering the promise of significantly boosting mining rig productivity, prolonging their operational lifespan, and optimizing overall performance.

Envisioned as a key milestone in the sector’s growth over the next decade, the combination of sophisticated firmware with state-of-the-art mining hardware is expected to catalyze a wave of innovation. This prospective shift aims to keep the Bitcoin mining community at the cutting edge, reinforcing the network’s security while facilitating sustainable advancement in the ever-changing landscape of digital currencies.