Bitcoin Network Hashrate Drops to Lowest Level Since September Amid AI Shift
Bitcoin’s community hashrate has slipped under 1,000 exahash per second (EH/s) for the primary time since mid-September, as miners more and more redirect capability towards synthetic intelligence infrastructure.
Key Takeaways:
- Bitcoin’s hashrate has slipped under 1,000 EH/s, down practically 15% from its October peak.
- Miners are shifting energy towards AI workloads that supply steadier returns.
- AI is now instantly competing with Bitcoin mining for compute and vitality.
Data from Hashrate Index shows the community’s seven-day shifting common declined to about 993 EH/s after briefly dipping under the 1 zetahash per second mark over the weekend.
The pullback marks a close to 15% slide from the cycle high of roughly 1,157 EH/s reached in mid-October, pointing to a tangible discount in lively mining energy.
Miners Shift Power to AI as Bitcoin Mining Margins Tighten
Industry members say the transfer displays altering economics reasonably than waning confidence in Bitcoin mining.
Leon Lyu, founder and CEO of StandardHash, mentioned miners are reallocating electrical energy towards AI and high-performance computing workloads that at the moment provide extra predictable margins.
Large-scale mining amenities, designed with substantial energy entry and cooling capability, will be repurposed comparatively rapidly to help data-center model operations.
The shift follows a protracted interval of strain on miner profitability. Trade publication TheMinerMag beforehand described 2025 as one of many hardest margin environments on report, citing weaker income and rising debt burdens throughout the sector.
Against that backdrop, AI compute has turn into an more and more enticing different, particularly for operators in search of to stabilize money move.
Lyu cautioned that reported hashrate figures might understate precise exercise. He instructed Bitmain, the world’s largest mining {hardware} producer, might be deploying machines by means of secondary channels or personal partnerships that aren’t instantly seen in public metrics.
If correct, that might imply some capability stays lively however shouldn’t be absolutely captured by normal measurements.
The hashrate decline has occurred regardless of latest tailwinds. Bitcoin mining problem has adjusted downward 4 occasions since mid-November, decreasing the computational work required to mine blocks.
At the identical time, hashprice, a benchmark for miner income, has climbed from round $37 to $40 per petahash per second per day over the previous month, signaling enhancing economics.
Even so, the most recent knowledge underscores a broader pattern. As competitors for energy intensifies, synthetic intelligence is not a facet challenge for miners however a direct rival for compute, reshaping how capital and vitality are allotted throughout the Bitcoin mining business.
Study Challenges Bitcoin Mining Energy Criticism
Bitcoin mining can strengthen electrical grids and lower consumer electricity costs reasonably than pressure energy methods, in accordance to an in depth evaluation by impartial researcher Daniel Batten.
His analysis challenges widespread claims that mining destabilizes grids or drives up vitality costs, drawing on peer-reviewed research and operational knowledge to argue that the business’s versatile energy utilization can present measurable system advantages.
Meanwhile, Bitmain is cutting prices aggressively throughout a number of generations of Bitcoin mining {hardware} as strain builds throughout the mining sector, in accordance to latest promotional campaigns and inside tariffs circulated to clients.
One promotion dated Dec. 23 provided a package deal of 4 S19 XP+ Hydro items paired with an ANTRACK V2 container, implying an efficient value of roughly $4 per terahash for the 19 J/TH machines.
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