you could argue gold has same things.
and just pretend the cost to mine gold has no power over the market. and the rest is just speculation of utility and desire.
but thats just downplaying the cost of production..
sorry but i have been looking at different markets for years and there is a fundamental value line based on the acquisition costs.
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Gold is different. If the price drops then production drops. If the price rises, then production rises. Bitcoin production is the same regardless of the price.
production doesnt stop.
bitcoin mining farms and gold mining quarrys have long term contracts
gold has land leases and year contracts of employment
bitcoin has facility leases and electric supply contracts
they dont just stop daily or hourly because of the whims of exchanges
again you seem to think the price is the value
so lets imagine it this way
the PRICE is $7.3k.. it it.. understand it?
the value is $6.5k
so if the price goes down to $7.2.. $7.1... $7k the miners are still profiting
did you know that no where in the past has the price dropped below the cost
in 2017 when bitcoin was $20k.. the cost was not $15-$20k where pools were making a loss when it went down to ~$8k
the cost was $5.6k during that summer and the price never went down below that in the summer
then with the next gen asics being released(s15-17) and selling off of second hand S9 made the cost go down to the $3-$4k range
yep cost went down FIRST and then after the bitcoin price went down.
but yet again even in the $3-4k slump the price did not go below the cost
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what your not adding to your scenario is the concept of the industrial mining. you seem to be stuck in the cncept of hoby mining by basement dwellers who get emotional to pool hop to altcoins.
im sorry to inform you that the hobby miners are not involved in the cost base area.. they are involved in the speculative area.
i know some argue that population of people numbers has many hobby miners, and yes there are more 'people' managing their hobby rigs. but its like
100,000 people managing 100,000 rigs
where as the industrial mining is
1000 people managing 1,000,000 rigs
bitcoin mining is about RIGS not people so the 1m rigs has more influence than what hobby mining does
if you do the math. just to cover labour hobby miners say they need $1000 a month profit per asic. to cover labour of industrial farming only needs $1 per asic to ensure the manager gets his $1k a month
and then electric. hobby mining uses residential/retail rates of electric. where as industrial mining uses wholesale rates of electric
meaning industrial mining have less costs so they can survive even when prices are low because the price remains higher than costs
basically if a hobby miner can even get to having lets say $7k cost and looking to make $1k profit.. ofcourse they are not mining right now on bitcoin. because the price is not $8k.
yet industrial mining is at $6.5k cost and $1 profit need so they are still mining.
industrial miners dont just give up due to the whims of the market price
just like vegetable farmers do not give up due to the whims of a retailers special offer retail price.
because the retail price is not the same as the cost to the farmer