The chart below shows the Bitcoin Miners' Position Index (MPI), which measures total miner outflows relative to its one-year moving average. The index spiked on Tuesday, which could mean that miners are selling more coins than usual. Further, while miner outflows surged, miner flows to exchanges have been relatively stable. That suggests miners are choosing to sell BTC over the counter, directly between two parties, without the supervision of an exchange, according to CryptoQuant. Typically, large MPI spikes occur around BTC price peaks as miners sell to realized revenue gains.
The latest price jump coupled with an all-time high in Bitcoin's hashrate, or the total combined computational power that is being used to mine and process transactions on the blockchain, has been a boon for miners. For example, Canadian crypto miner Bitfarms (BITF) reported revenue of $60 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, up 33% from $45 million in the third quarter and up 426% from the fourth quarter of 2020. While miners' revenue gains have been plentiful, a pullback in BTC's price could weigh on future returns. For example, Bitcoin's hashrate growth has slowed in recent weeks despite BTC's recent breakout above $46,000, according to data compiled by CoinMetrics. Ethereum’s hashrate has also moved higher this year, although growth has slowed recently.