Turning Power Into Profit: Revenue Strategies for Miners

A comprehensive survey of revenue strategies and the automation that makes them possible

The Bitcoin mining equation has fundamentally changed. As block rewards decline and hash rates climb, the most successful miners have discovered something crucial: their power infrastructure isn't just an operational expense—it's a valuable revenue asset.

At OBM, through our work with over 10,000 customers, we've witnessed this transformation firsthand. Miners have collectively saved more than $80 million by treating power as a profit center rather than just a cost center. But here's the crucial insight: success isn't just about understanding the opportunities—it's about being able to operationalize and optimize power management with confidence, not fear.

The miners building sustainable, profitable businesses are those who've moved beyond manual approaches and anxiety about program compliance to sophisticated automation that lets them participate in complex power revenue strategies with complete confidence.

But here's what's driving urgency: the rules are changing. Grid operators and ISOs historically worked with market participants who could only participate in simple on/off modes. The rules of participation and enforcement of said rules were correspondingly simple. Miners entered the scene bringing large amounts of load that could respond quickly; an advantage that allowed early movers to capture significant incremental revenue. The simple on/off requirements of the existing programs meant that miners could effectively participate by having someone manually shut down the mine when called upon.

Fast forward, and program operators are evolving their rules to adjust to the new reality that the mining community has created. Program participation rules demand more flexibility and have higher penalties for non-compliance. At the same time, miners are also becoming more sophisticated with their power strategies, leveraging arbitrage to drive revenue and reduce risk. In this more dynamic and higher-risk environment, the manual on/off curtailment solutions of the past no longer suffice.

The Evolution of Power Revenue Opportunities

Two years ago, miners could take advantage of programs designed for inflexible loads—programs that were generous with payouts and forgiving with performance. Those days are ending. ISOs are becoming more sophisticated, expectations are rising, and penalties for failing to deliver are getting steep.

Recent changes in NYISO’s DSASP program and its DER PM (Distributed Energy Resources Participation Model) exemplify this trend. The program now offers higher rewards but comes with significantly higher penalties for non-compliance. This shift is creating two camps: miners who embrace sophisticated automation to meet evolving demands, and those who get left behind because manual approaches can no longer keep up.

NYISO is just one example of how markets are shifting. Here are some ways miners capitalize on the power opportunity.

Method #1: Dynamic Price Response

In variable pricing markets, electricity costs fluctuate throughout the day. Smart miners aren't just riding these waves—they're surfing them for profit.

The opportunity: When power prices spike beyond your breakeven point, mining becomes unprofitable. Many miners are still running during these periods, bleeding money unnecessarily.

Implementation: Automated systems can adjust operations with multiple power modes:

Pause mining when prices hit user-defined strike thresholds,
Lower power during moderate spikes increase to high power when prices drop to maximize production during cheap electricity periods
Leverage AI to dynamically adjust power to maximize profit

Method #2: Time-of-Use Optimization

Even in regulated markets, miners can optimize around utility rate structures to reduce costs and improve profitability.

The strategy: Strategic load management during peak periods can eliminate significant monthly demand charges and take advantage of off-peak pricing windows.

Implementation: Automated time-of-use features enable miners to schedule operations during off-peak periods, curtail during peak-rate windows, and lock in predictable energy costs through fixed-rate savings programs.

Method #3: Demand Response Programs

Demand response represents one of the most accessible revenue streams for miners, but the landscape is rapidly evolving from simple participation to sophisticated performance.

How it works: Grid operators need flexible loads that can respond quickly and reliably to curtailment signals. Miners get paid to reduce consumption during peak demand periods, helping maintain grid stability.

The sophistication advantage: OBM has managed curtailment loads up to 500 MW and facilitated nearly 4 million MWh of curtailed energy, and has out-of-the-box integrations with leading CSPs and QSEs. Successful participation requires confidence that you'll perform when called.

Revenue scenarios include:

Guaranteed revenue programs where you get paid just to be available
Performance-based payments where compensation scales with reliability and response speed
Market optimization where curtailment payments exceed what you would have earned mining

Method #4: Dynamic Load Management

The most significant evolution in power revenue is the shift from binary "on/off" curtailment to dynamic load management. ISOs are moving toward programs that can adjust set points and targets throughout curtailment windows.

The new reality: Instead of just "come down to zero," signals now include "reduce to 60% of baseline" or "maintain this specific MW target for two hours." This creates opportunities for miners who can respond with precision, but eliminates those whose systems only handle basic commands.

Why this matters: More nuanced control means higher compensation for sophisticated response capabilities, ability to participate in frequency regulation markets, reduced impact through partial curtailment, and access to programs previously only available to traditional industrial loads.

Method #5: Multi-Stream Revenue Optimization

The most sophisticated miners are discovering that real profit optimization comes from optimizing between different revenue opportunities in real-time.

The decision matrix: At any moment, a miner might choose between mining Bitcoin, participating in demand response for guaranteed payment, reducing load because spot prices make mining unprofitable, or increasing load because prices dropped and demand response programs aren't active.

Real-world example: During a recent summer peak event, one customer received a curtailment signal that would pay them more than they could earn mining, even though mining was still profitable. Their automated system chose the more profitable curtailment option, demonstrating sophisticated optimization between revenue streams.

The Technology Imperative: Operationalizing Power Revenue with Confidence

The difference between miners who successfully monetize their power infrastructure and those who remain on the sidelines isn't knowledge—it's operational confidence. Most miners understand these opportunities exist. The challenge is operationalizing and optimizing power management in a way that eliminates fear and maximizes returns.

Success requires sophisticated automation that doesn't just execute commands, but does so with the reliability and precision that builds confidence in program participation. The fear that keeps many miners up at night isn't whether they'll get called for curtailment—it's whether they'll fail to respond properly. Non-compliance penalties are escalating across ISOs, and manual approaches are becoming liability risks.

The Fear Factor: Why Many Miners Haven't Fully Embraced Power Revenue

Despite clear opportunities, many miners remain hesitant to fully commit to power revenue strategies. The primary concern? Fear of failing to perform when called upon.

This fear is well-founded. The consequences of non-compliance are escalating: higher financial penalties from ISOs, potential removal from lucrative programs, damage to relationships with aggregators, and lost revenue from both failed curtailment payments and continued unprofitable mining.

The solution: With OBM, miners can operationalize and optimize their power management with confidence, not fear. Our sophisticated automation removes human error from the equation and provides the reliability that transforms anxiety about program participation into confidence in performance. Miners using our platform report not just better performance metrics, but the peace of mind that comes with knowing their systems will deliver when called upon, which translates to access to more lucrative programs and better terms with aggregators.

Looking Forward: The Competitive Advantage

The mining operations that will dominate tomorrow's market won't just be those with the most efficient ASICs or cheapest power contracts. They'll be operators who view their facilities as comprehensive energy assets capable of generating revenue through multiple, dynamic channels.

The infrastructure exists. The markets are mature and growing. The technology is available to automate sophisticated participation. But the window for easy entry is closing as ISOs and grid operators raise expectations for performance and sophistication.

The choice is clear: Embrace sophisticated power revenue strategies now, or risk being excluded from increasingly valuable programs as they evolve beyond the capabilities of manual or basic automated approaches.

The miners implementing comprehensive power revenue strategies today are building sustainable competitive advantages that will compound over time. Those who continue treating power as just a cost center risk being left behind in an industry where margins are constantly under pressure.

Ready to operationalize and optimize your power management with confidence? Learn how OBM's Foreman platform eliminates the fear that holds miners back from fully monetizing their power infrastructure. With proven experience managing 500 MW loads and $80+ million in customer savings, we help miners transform power management anxiety into operational confidence and sustainable profit.