The stabilisation (and lowering) of energy prices is seen as one of the factors that will lower the cost of Bitcoin mining activity and hence offers the industry a breather from crippling costs.

Add to that the price of BTC inching over US$30,000 and you would think that it is sunny skies ahead.

The industry will also keep an eye on equipment prices, which have fallen significantly over 2022 (some more than 60%) in tandem with the freefall in BTC prices.

The new factor is the Fed announcement that it will be selling off over US$1B of seized Bitcoin in 2023, putting selling pressure on BTC prices.

Finally, the halving event due in May 2024 - the feature built into Bitcoin to reduce the rewards from mining in order to reduce Bitcoin supply and keep its value up - is another event that will be closely watched.

An interesting mix of economics, geopolitics, law enforcement and some good old software coding and design will keep the Bitcoin mining industry close to their calculators.