Bitcoin Mining Faces Crisis as Hash Rate Drops and AI Revenues Surge
Autor: Mining Provider Editorial Staff
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Kategorie: News
Zusammenfassung: Bitcoin mining faces severe challenges as hash prices drop, making 15-20% of miners unprofitable and leading to significant reserve liquidations; meanwhile, AI revenues are surging.
Bitcoin Mining Hash Rate Falls to Lowest Level After Halving
The Bitcoin mining hash price has plummeted to between $28 and $30 per petahash per second per day by early March 2026, rendering approximately 15% to 20% of the global mining fleet unprofitable. According to the latest quarterly report from CoinShares, the weighted average cash production cost for a Bitcoin among publicly listed miners rose to $79,995 in the fourth quarter of 2025.
This decline in profitability is attributed to three consecutive negative difficulty adjustments by the end of 2025, marking the first such series since July 2022. The fourth quarter of 2025 proved to be the most challenging period for Bitcoin (BTC) miners since the halving in April 2024, with the Bitcoin price dropping by 31% from $124,500 at the beginning of October to $86,000 by the end of December, while the network hash rate decreased by approximately 10%.
"The capitulation of miners is accelerating," as noted in the report.
Publicly listed miners collectively reduced their Bitcoin reserves by over 15,000 coins from their peak holdings, as companies liquidated reserves to cover operational losses. Core Scientific alone sold around 1,900 Bitcoin (valued at $175 million) in January 2026 and plans to liquidate nearly all remaining holdings in the first quarter. Bitdeer depleted its reserves to zero in February, while Riot Platforms sold 1,818 Bitcoin (worth $162 million) in December 2025.
In summary, the Bitcoin mining sector is facing significant challenges, with a sharp decline in hash prices and rising production costs leading to widespread miner capitulation.
AI Shift Surpasses Mining Revenues
By early 2026, cumulative orders for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing in the public mining sector exceeded $70 billion. Publicly listed miners could achieve up to 70% of their revenues from AI by the end of the year, a significant increase from around 30% at the beginning of 2025.
IREN is now issuing convertible bonds totaling $3.7 billion, while WULF has accumulated $5.7 billion in debt. CIFR has primarily issued secured bonds worth $1.7 billion to finance AI expansion projects. The colocation revenue in the fourth quarter reached $31.3 million at CORZ, accounting for 39% of total revenue.
The cost disparity between Bitcoin mining infrastructure ($700,000 to $1 million per megawatt) and AI infrastructure ($8 million to $15 million per megawatt) has driven the large-scale conversion opportunity now being realized.
In conclusion, the shift towards AI in the mining sector is becoming increasingly prominent, with substantial financial commitments being made to capitalize on this trend.
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