Why doesn't Bitmain put 100% of the D3's they produce to work mining as soon as they come off the line vs. selling them to the public?
Is it because all their mining warehouses are at capacity and they simply can't find/build additional locations to mine with them to keep up with the rate at which they produce them?
I have read the stories about Bitmain "testing" them for weeks/month before selling to the public. But if they are still producing $100/day at that point, why not just keep mining with them? Perhaps the Chinese government has some sort of export mandate forcing to sell at least a certain percentage of them?
Ive always assumed it was because they didnt want to risk impacting the value of the currency. If it looked like Bitmain, or the Chinese in general were getting too close to the magic 51% number it would spook normal traders and the currency they are mining would crash. Since they trade and sell using those same currencies its in their best interest to keep those currencies reasonably stable.
I could be all wrong, just my guess. Besides they're making a killing on just the hardware.