I wouldn't say it's drying up, PB Mining is still bringing in ~BTC60/day.
Are they really... if you do taint analysis on their new address:
https://blockchain.info/taint/1PBMyo8kLhwtxKdNwSdjwvA377D6M5EgzSYou notice
a lot of payments can be traced back directly to (former) PB addresses. They cant be sales.
Moreover if you look at the transactions, like for instance this one:
https://blockchain.info/tx/61008764c6d120d557a758530afe20275b85be8cf3b48216b7a1de867c0583a0Thats not a purchase. Thats more likely part of a mixer. No sales happened here, nor in the majority of transactions I can see.
Seems to me like PB is trying to reinflate the bubble; by creating fake revenue its trying to reassure at least those that knowingly invested in a ponzi, that its not on the verge of collapse. The unexplained (and unbelievably: unnoticed until just now!) reduction in payouts tells a different story.
That one transaction likely isn't, but it's a fairly minor amount.
Most of the 1Piggy's have some taint back to other ones. It's hard to say whether it's change being swept up into the new address or just cycling things around in the system. It would be helpful if walletexplorer was updated more regularly.
There's still a decent bit of coin into the latest 1PBM from Bitstamp which is a little strange, though it could be a purchase that someone paid through that platform.
Some of the taint might also be people making poor decisions. There's a decent number getting payouts from a 1Payday address along with various other sources, and who them make a payment to 1PBM.
That taint analysis only goes one step back. So it means those funds where directly sent from several 1Pxxx to that new sales address. That means he is buying (or faking) his own hashrate. If customers where reinvesting their payouts, there would be an address inbetween.
BTW, pbmining has been online several times, and he's reading and learning. He's got yet another address for payments (1Po6Ky37pC3sbwx8King4PeyqTxC52Y7mo). I checked out the first significant payment to that, its this one:
https://blockchain.info/tx/20f34d2d809be67900ac8790d54a0fd8dd4a1f82b02ae780d75ef07c2b6bcd344.2 BTC that appears to pertain to a new purchase you see on that stats for 7925 GHs, customer 39834.
But the transaction again doesnt make much sense to me, the change is sent to another address, I dont think any bitcoin wallet does that.
Moreover, if you follow the source of those 4.2 BTC, it seems clear to me its yet again a mixer.
Maybe Im wrong on this, but it certainly seems to me he is doctoring his stats.