Bitcoin's 30-day mean hash rate has fallen 19% since November 2025, sliding from 1,108 EH/s to 898 EH/s, marking the longest nine-month decline in the network's history according to Glassnode data. The current slump represents a 210 EH/s absolute decline, which is more hashpower than the entire network possessed in early 2021. Mining difficulty has contracted 19.9% from its November 2025 peak near 156 trillion to 126.23 trillion, ranking among the deepest sustained contractions of the ASIC era. Network difficulty now sits 1.1% below its level one year ago, representing the first negative year-over-year reading since August 2021 when China's ban drove the metric to −21.2%.
Bitcoin miner revenue has plummeted to $30 million daily block subsidies as of July 2026, with transaction fees at $210K, representing a twofold drop from mid-2025 daily miner revenues of $60 million and three times lower than the 2024 record of $95 million. According to MacroMicro, the average cost of mining BTC was about $70.5K as of August 4, making it more expensive to mine Bitcoin for smaller players at the current price of $64.7K. Miner distress has extended for 250 days and counting in 2026, which is 3x longer than the 2022 bear market (91 days) or 2018 (63 days). As per AMBCrypto, transaction fees have fallen to a 7-year low despite Bitcoin's value growing 13x, with Charles Edwards noting this trend is driving miners toward AI infrastructure.
Bitcoin miners are adopting new capital strategies beyond traditional mining and treasury accumulation, marking a significant shift in how companies manage their digital assets. Canaan is reshaping its capital strategy by converting part of its Bitcoin treasury into shareholder returns, announcing a $30 million share buyback funded by converting Bitcoin holdings. The mining hardware maker holds approximately $130 million in digital assets on its balance sheet, with management believing the stock remains materially undervalued. Investors welcomed the decision, sending the stock nearly 9% higher after the announcement, as the company seeks to leverage ongoing Bitcoin production as a flexible funding source rather than leaving treasury assets idle. MARA adopted a different treasury strategy, transferring 6,000 BTC worth about $384.6 million to TwoPrime over five hours through multiple 500 BTC transfers, indicating more active treasury management while the coins remained outside exchange wallets.
Matt Prusak, president and interim CFO of Trump-linked bitcoin miner American Bitcoin (ABTC), is leaving the company to join AI and energy infrastructure developer Giga Energy. According to reports from CoinDesk, Prusak will step down from American Bitcoin effective August 4 and join Giga Energy as chief business officer and interim CFO. The executive had served as president of American Bitcoin, the Nasdaq-listed mining company backed by Hut 8 (HUT) and co-founded by Eric Trump, while also acting as interim finance chief. As reported by KuCoin, Prusak previously oversaw the company's bitcoin accumulation strategy, including expanding hash rate capacity and increasing BTC holdings per share. His departure reflects the broader shift as bitcoin miners reposition around AI and power infrastructure, with mining becoming increasingly commoditized and margins coming under pressure, prompting a growing number of miners to pivot toward artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Beyond treasury optimization, miners are increasingly repurposing existing infrastructure towards AI computing. Bitdeer has signed a lease worth $4.7 billion for 16 years for its 121 MW campus in Norway, transforming it from a mining-focused site into a long-term AI and HPC facility backed by $1.3 billion in credit support. This campus that was focused on mining is now a long-term facility for AI and high-performance computing, reflecting growing demand for ready power as workloads for AI expand. AI hosting reportedly pays 3 to 25 times as much per megawatt as mining, making the transition economically attractive for miners. Long-term contracts and scarce access to power could strengthen the valuation of infrastructure and reduce the reliance of miners on revenue cycles related to mining Bitcoin.
