Bitcoin BTC miners are facing mounting pressure as the network’s hashrate and difficulty continue to climb, tightening margins even as bitcoin’s price holds steady, according to TheMinerMag’s monthly report.
The network’s mining difficulty hit a record 126.98 trillion, propelled by a 14-day average hashrate of 913.54 exahashes per second (EH/s). Transaction fees in June fell below 1% of block rewards, and hashprice dropped to $52 per PH/s before rebounding slightly.
Escalating competition and energy costs are expected to drive production expenses above $70,000 per BTC, up from $64,000 in the first quarter of the year, the report said.
To remain competitive, public miners like MARA Holdings (MARA), CleanSpark (CLSK), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and IREN (IREN) are accelerating buildouts. MARA grew its hashrate by 30% in May, while HIVE (HIVE) added 32% after energizing a new facility in Paraguay. Cipher Mining (CIFR) is targeting a 70% boost by expanding its Texas operation.
Top-tier ASICs now cost between $10 and $30 per terahash, the report said, with operational payback periods stretching as long as two years. That’s assuming a $0.06/kWh electricity rate — already out of reach for some. Terawulf, for instance, paid $0.081/kWh in the first quarter, pushing its fleet hashcost up by over 25%.
Meanwhile, mining equities are decoupling from bitcoin’s price performance. IREN, Core Scientific (CORZ), and Bit Digital (BTBD) were all in the green over the last month, while Canaan (CAN) and Bitfarms (BITF) were both down double digits during the same time period.
The shift suggests that investors are paying closer attention to business models rather than just Bitcoin’s price action.