A report by asset manager CoinShares shows that the Bitcoin mining economy is tightening, pushing some of the world’s fleets below profitability.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency (BTCMining report for the first quarter of 2026. CoinShares said hashprice, a key measure of miner revenueThe price of a petahash (PH/s) per second a day in 2026 was $28. This is a record low for the industry. Margins are also being squeezed.
Hashrate Index, a provider of mining data at the time this article was written. shows Even though the hashprice remains low, CoinShares estimates that 15% to 20% of the global Bitcoin mining fleet is unprofitable at these levels. CoinShares estimates even after the recovery that 15%-20% of global Bitcoin miners are unprofitable. This is especially true for those operators who have older equipment or higher electricity prices.
Reports suggest that the current downturn in Bitcoin mining is more than just cyclical. It is taking place because of a combination of factors, including lower Bitcoin prices and transaction fees, as well as increasing network complexity.
Data from the network has already begun to reveal this squeeze. Bitcoin’s difficulty in mining fell by 7.7% on March 20. marking one of the sharpest declines This year, as the pressure on miner’s continued. Lowering the difficulty of a block reduces the amount of computational work needed to mine it, providing some relief for operators that remain online.
As margins near breakeven, higher-cost miner faces pressure
CoinShares stated that miners using mid-generation equipment were not breaking even at the current levels of hashprice, especially those who pay around $0.05 per kilowatt hour or more.
According to the report, miners who use mid-generation equipment need to have access to power at rates below $5 to be cash-profitable. Meanwhile, fleets of latest generation can maintain meaningful margins even with typical industrial electric rates.
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CoinShares anticipates that the mining economy will be further impacted if Bitcoin’s prices continue to remain low. James Butterfill is the head of CoinShares’ research. He wrote that an extended downturn may force miners shut down non-profitable rigs. This could reduce hashrates and stabilize returns.
“If prices were to stay below $80k for the remainder of the year, we forecast the hashprice to continue to fall,” He added that such a scenario would be a good one to consider. “the hashprice would more likely flatline” As weaker operators leave the network.
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Source: cointelegraph.com
