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- US investment firm Kerrisdale has declared an outright war against Bitcoin, offering a scathing review of the business model of the leading Bitcoin miner in the country.
- The Bitcoin community has defended the Bitcoin mining business, highlighting the financial opportunities and environmental benefits.
Kerrisdale Capital, an investment management firm based in the U.S. has declared an outright war against Bitcoin mining, drawing great attention from the crypto community. Revealing its intent on the X platform, the investment firm offered a scathing review of the industry and the leading Bitcoin miner, RIOT Blockchain.
Revealing its plans on a multi-part thread, the firm described the mining industry to be made up of “snake oil salesmen”, pointing out its financial challenge and negative environmental impact.
“Today, we launch a war against Bitcoin miners, an industry of snake oil salesmen that are incinerating both investor capital and the environment and should be banished from America much like the Chinese RTO frauds that we helped kick out a decade ago,” the firm stated.
Speaking on the weak business model of Bitcoin mining, the firm has gone after RIOT Blockchain, a publicly traded Bitcoin mining company.
Like other US listed miners, $RIOT’s biz model is a dysfunctional hamster wheel of cash burn, which is why it loots retail shareholders with non-stop ATM issuance to fund operations. Even with $BTC near all-time highs, post-halving $RIOT’s mining ops aren’t profitable (3/10)
— Kerrisdale Capital (TradFi) (@KerrisdaleCap) June 5, 2024
The firm notes that the business is capital intensive, extremely competitive, a pure commodity product, and increasingly attracting intense regulatory scrutiny.”Despite all it has spent on facilities & equipment, $RIOT‘s BTC production per share and BTC hodl per share have declined. The only way shareholders ever benefit is if bitcoin prices go up – which is a terrible way to invest in bitcoin given the availability of low-fee ETFs” the firm explained.
The firm clarified that while it was shorting RIOT, it was longing for Bitcoin. Throughout the post, the firm applauded the newly launched Bitcoin ETFs. These ETFs have received massive attention, attracting more than $50 billion in investment in less than 6 months.
Crypto Community Defends Bitcoin Mining
The Bitcoin mining industry reacted strongly to criticism from Kerrisdale Capital, a hedge fund with a short position on MicroStrategy (MSTR). Industry figures like Daniel Batten of Marathon and Adam O of Upstream Data dismissed concerns about environmental impact, while Steven Lubka of Swan Bitcoin pointed to Kerrisdale’s own financial struggles.
Investor Simon Dixon countered by highlighting Bitcoin mining’s potential for renewable energy integration and methane emission reduction. Mark Harvey, a Bitcoin educator, offered a simpler solution: buying and holding Bitcoin.
Dig Deeper pic.twitter.com/JQmdIw7SkD
— Simon Dixon (@SimonDixonTwitt) June 5, 2024
Bitcoin mining has faced a lot of backlash, specifically due to its environmental impact and wastage. However, research has proven that Bitcoin mining can help boost economies, create jobs, and act as a catalyst for green energy.
At the time of writing, BTC is trading for $70,700 after a marginal drop in the last 24 hours. The largest cryptocurrency has recorded a 3.5% surge that saw it climb above the $70,000 psychological position.
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