Bitcoin Mining Is Becoming Unprofitable
Rising costs and falling prices are pushing Bitcoin mining into negative profitability.
Bitcoin mining has become increasingly unprofitable, as rising operational costs and declining prices deepen the crisis in the market.
The cost of mining a single Bitcoin has surged to around $88,000. The issue is that the cryptocurrency’s market price currently hovers near $69,000. This means that the average miner is losing approximately $19,000 on each BTC mined, resulting in a negative margin of about 21%.
The main drivers behind these rising costs are higher energy prices and geopolitical tensions. The situation in the Middle East, particularly involving Iran, has pushed oil prices above $100 per barrel, directly increasing electricity costs. This is significant because around 8–10% of Bitcoin’s global computing power depends on this region. Additionally, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic and strong political statements directed at Iran have further increased market uncertainty.
Network data confirms the deterioration. Mining difficulty recently dropped by 7.76% to 133.79 trillion, marking one of the largest declines in 2026. Compared to the beginning of the year, it is about 10% lower and significantly below its peak from November 2025. At the same time, network hashrate has declined, and block creation time has extended to over 12 minutes, indicating a slowdown in the system.
Miner revenues are also under pressure. The hashprice metric stands at approximately $33.30, approaching the breakeven level. This highlights how challenging conditions in the industry have become.
As a result, many miners are selling their Bitcoin holdings to sustain operations. This adds downward pressure to the market, especially since 43% of the supply is already at a loss, and large investors are offloading assets during price increases.
In response, some companies are shifting their strategies. Firms such as Marathon Digital and Cipher Mining are investing in data centers, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing to reduce their dependence on cryptocurrency market fluctuations.
