1. Alephium ASIC Profitability and Price Analysis as of August 6, 2024
Just two weeks ago, on July 22, 2024, I posted an article about Alephium ASICs. However, today, August 6, 2024, there have been significant fluctuations in the price of Alephium and its ASICs. The volatility of the cryptocurrency market is unpredictable, and Alephium is no exception.
On August 5, 2024, Alephium’s price dropped sharply due to concerns over a U.S. economic recession, which caused both the U.S. stock market and the cryptocurrency market to collapse.
Until August 2, 2024, Alephium was hovering around $2, but on August 5, it plummeted to $1.14 before recovering to $1.46 as of 7 PM on August 6, 2024.
Alephium Coin Basic Information (as of August 22, 2024):
- Name: Alephium
- Ticker Symbol: ALPH
- Launch Date: 2021
- Founder/Development Team: Cheng Wang and Research Team
- Market Capitalization: Approximately $250,000,000
- Circulating Supply: Approximately 14,000,000 ALPH
- Max Supply: 100,000,000 ALPH
- Exchange Listings: Gate.io, BitMart, etc.
- Consensus Algorithm: Proof of Less Work (PoLW)
- Official Website: https://alephium.org
2. Analysis of Alephium ASIC Prices and Performance by Model
Currently, the Alephium ASIC market is led by Goldshell, which released the first model, and Bitmain and IceRiver, who are preparing to launch their products by the end of August 2024.
In April 2024, Goldshell released the first Alephium ASIC model, the “Goldshell Albox I,” which was traded at around $2,800 in the market.
However, as the Alephium network’s hashrate surged, the price of the ASIC decreased, and the expected return on investment (ROI) became less attractive. Consequently, the price of Goldshell Albox I began to decline.
Unlike Kaspa, within just three months, Goldshell released an upgraded model with twice the performance, the 720 Gh/s model, Albox II.
However, IceRiver, a leader in Kaspa ASICs, launched a 400 Gh/s ASIC for $800, and Bitmain, a major manufacturer of Bitcoin ASICs, began selling a product with over 15.6 Th/s performance, more than 20 times the performance of existing ASICs. As a result, the Alephium ASIC market is shifting from individual consumers to large mining companies.
At this point, I will provide a brief summary of the prices and performance of Alephium ASIC devices by model, along with guidelines for further purchases.
3. Bitmain (BITMAIN): ANTMINER AL1
Bitmain is undoubtedly the world’s largest ASIC manufacturer. Many investors who purchased Goldshell’s Albox I Alephium ASIC device chose the product expecting the release cycle of Alephium ASIC devices to follow a pattern similar to that of Kaspa. However, contrary to expectations, Bitmain announced the release of the ANTMINER AL1 model, which boasts a hashrate powerful enough to threaten the ecosystem, just three months after the release of Goldshell’s first Alephium ASIC, the 360 Gh/s Albox I. This caused panic among many investors.
The Bitmain ANTMINER AL1 provides a hashrate of 15.6 Th/s with a power consumption of 3510W, making it extremely powerful for Alephium mining. As a result, Goldshell and IceRiver’s Alephium ASIC devices cannot compete with Bitmain’s ANTMINER AL1 in terms of power efficiency (watts per Gh/s) and price.
The ANTMINER AL1 is available for pre-order at $32,000, and including taxes and additional costs, the total cost exceeds 50 million KRW, making it difficult for individual investors to purchase. It is expected that large-scale mining companies will dominate the market with Bitmain’s Alephium ASIC device.
4. Goldshell (GOLDSHELL): AL BOX II
Goldshell, which first launched Alephium ASICs, introduced the AL BOX II with 720 Gh/s, doubling the performance of its first product, AL BOX I, within three months. Although it was released at a high price, Goldshell quickly adjusted the price and began sales after the news broke that IceRiver and Bitmain would launch Alephium ASICs in mid-August 2024.
Although there are no official statistics, it is estimated that sales of Goldshell’s AL BOX II have been poor. As IceRiver and Bitmain begin shipping their ASICs from the end of August 2024, it is likely that Goldshell will have leftover stock of AL BOX II.
Therefore, Goldshell is expected to gradually lower the sales price of AL BOX II to clear out inventory, depending on sales and the price trend of Alephium.
Typically, the actual deployment date of ASICs is often delayed compared to the official announcement. Considering the time it takes for products to be delivered to consumers and go through customs procedures, it is expected that new ASICs will be fully operational by the first week of September 2024.
5. Goldshell (GOLDSHELL): AL BOX I
Goldshell’s AL BOX I was sold for approximately $5,700 until mid-June 2024. However, after IceRiver and Bitmain announced their Alephium ASICs, Goldshell gradually lowered its sales price, which dropped to $1,400 by the end of July 2024. It appears that all stock has been sold out, as the official website and major ASIC sellers now display “SOLD OUT.”
Since there is still about a month left before the actual deployment of IceRiver and Bitmain’s ASICs, purchasing AL BOX I for $1,400 may seem like a viable option for mining during this period.
However, the estimated amount of Alephium that can be mined in a month is around 200 coins, and even at a price of $2 per coin, this would only generate $400 in revenue for the month.
Therefore, even if you purchase AL BOX I for $1,400, it is uncertain whether you can recover the remaining $1,000 after subtracting the expected $400 mining revenue. Considering these factors, it may be wiser to invest that amount in purchasing Alephium coins rather than buying AL BOX I.
6. IceRiver (ICERIVER): AL0
IceRiver, which successfully sold Kaspa ASICs, has now started selling its first Alephium ASIC miner. The AL0 model, boasting a hashrate of 400 Gh/s with a power consumption of 100W, offers much better power efficiency than Goldshell’s ASIC.
The appearance is identical to the Kaspa KS0 series, and aside from the mining chip, the rest of the components seem to be the same. Like Kaspa, the AL0 is expected to be overclocked through a separate program, potentially achieving up to 600 Gh/s in mining performance.
The AL0 is popular among individual home miners due to its small size, low noise, and relatively affordable price. Additionally, many users who previously purchased IceRiver’s Kaspa ASICs were satisfied with their performance, leading to continued high trust in IceRiver. For these reasons, the AL0 model, IceRiver’s new Alephium ASIC miner, is expected to continue selling well.
7. Alephium ASIC Miner Investment Strategy
The release cycle of Alephium ASIC miners is unfolding in a completely different pattern compared to Kaspa. In the case of Kaspa, it was mined with GPUs for a long time before IceRiver released the first Kaspa ASIC miner, gradually improving ASIC mining performance. As a result, Kaspa’s network hashrate steadily increased until July 2024, and now high-performance ASICs have taken over the network, with large mining companies dominating Kaspa mining.
On the other hand, for Alephium, just three months after the release of the first ASIC, Goldshell’s AL BOX I, Bitmain has released a high-performance ASIC with 15.6 Th/s, leading large mining companies to quickly take control of the Alephium network.
In such a situation, a few large mining companies will likely hold a large quantity of Alephium coins, which could lead to significant price volatility. Therefore, more cautious investment is necessary.
However, the fact that a major mining company like Bitmain has released a dedicated ASIC suggests that Alephium is transitioning from a small altcoin to a mainstream cryptocurrency. At this point, purchasing a few IceRiver AL0 ASICs as a hobby or investing in Alephium coins may be a wise decision. Since Alephium is still in its early stages, considering a dollar-cost averaging strategy until the next bull market could yield significant long-term profits.
