Bitcoin mining giant Bitdeer is doubling down on its self-mining operations and ramping up US-based hardware manufacturing as global trade tensions and market volatility shake the cryptocurrency sector.

The Singapore-headquartered, Nasdaq-listed miner is shifting strategy in response to cooling demand for mining equipment and the growing impact of US tariffs on foreign tech imports, particularly from China.

Bitdeer Prioritizes Self-Mining Amid Market and Trade Turmoil

Bitdeer’s pivot comes as the Bitcoin mining enters into a period of market turbulence following the Bitcoin halving which occured last year, which has driven both mining revenues and Bitcoin gross profits down by 46% and 57% respectively.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s hash price—a key measure of miner profitability—has sunk to near all-time lows. With many miners finding themselves hardly being about to stay afloat, the demand for mining hardware has also seemed to come to a standstill.

To counteract and keep itself afloat as the sector experiences massive headwinds, Bitdeer has strategically chosen to use its own high-efficiency machines to mine Bitcoin for itself, as it would prove to be a more sustainable business model compared to its original strategy of selling hardware to third parties.

Jeff LaBerge, Bitdeer’s head of capital markets and strategic initiatives revealed

"Our plan going forward is to prioritize our own self-mining.”

The company plans to expand its US manufacturing footprint in the second half of 2025 also aligns with President Donald Trump’s push for domestic production by putting a heavy tax on foreign products that was being delivered into the United States. Laberge revealed

"This is something we've been planning for a long time. We want to bring jobs and manufacturing back to America."

Trump's tariff had a devastating impact on Bitcoin mining given how many mining hardware is often imported into the United States from a variety of countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Following Trump's tariff wars, American Bitcoin mining have seen the cost of their machines increase by a whopping 22-33%.

Navigating Sector-Wide Headwinds

The shift to self-mining follows a turbulent period for not just Bitdeer but the broader mining industry. In February, Bitdeer’s stock fell nearly 28% after reporting lower-than-expected Q4 2024 earnings, largely due to the halving’s impact and weak hardware sales.

Bitcoin halving occurs once every four years, where the amount of BTC mined per "block"-a bundle of transaction data stored on the blockchain-is cut in half. The April 2024 halving reduced mining rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block.

The halving has caused mining revenues and gross profits to drop drastically. Meanwhile, Bitcoin's hash price-a measure of miner profitability-has also sunk to near all-time lows, according to data from the Hashrate Index.

In 2024, Bitdeer had tried to offset its declining Bitcoin mining revenues by selling its own energy-efficient Bitcoin mining rigs. But this strategy has been unsuccessful as sales growth was unable to offset weakness in the other business lines in Q4.

Industry Outlook: Decentralization and Domestic Production

Bitdeer’s renewed focus on US manufacturing highlights a broader industry trend toward domestic production and supply chain diversification as geopolitical risks intensify. The company’s strategic pivot underscores the vulnerabilities of global crypto infrastructure to trade disruptions and regulatory changes.

As the Bitcoin network grapples with the aftermath of the halving and ongoing tariff threats, Bitdeer’s move to prioritize self-mining and US-based manufacturing positions it to weather sector-wide headwinds and capitalize on future market recovery.