Cryptominers unplug rigs as bottom falls out of market

Nguyen Binh, a cryptominer in the southern Dong Nai Province, said his rigs can mine almost one Ethereum (around $2,000) a month, but hardly breaks even.

"Electricity bills have taken away half of what I earned. With depreciation and operation and maintenance costs, I am losing money.

"If prices of Bitcoin or Ethereum (the two largest cryptocurrencies) cannot recover in the next few months, more miners will have to shut down their machines."

Cryptominers sell their mining rigs on Facebook. Photo courtesy of Facebook

Minh Nghia, administrator of a mining group, said some miners have disassembled their rigs to resell but are unable to find buyers despite falling prices.

He estimated that miners are losing 30-40 percent on selling graphic processing units, a key component in mining.

"Some told me they sold all their hardware and tokens but still cannot recoup their losses.

"Financially independent miners can keep mining and wait until prices increase, but those who borrowed are finding themselves in hot water: They either sell their equipment and suffer losses or keep mining and cannot pay electricity bills and interest."

Experienced miner Tan Ha said many have unplugged their rigs.

"GPUs, like other electronic devices, have a certain lifespan. It is not ideal to keep them running amid a plummeting crypto market, and so some miners choose to power down operations until prices recover.

He said there is a high chance that prices might not recover for a long time.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has fallen to $28,720 on May 18, the lowest in two years and down by half compared to its all-time peak of over $68,000 last November.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies overall have lost nearly $800 billion in market value in the past month, according to data site CoinMarketCap, as investors fret about tightening monetary policy.