Nikolas Sargeant
Bitcoin's network hashrate has declined below 1,000 exahash per second for the first time since mid-September, as miners increasingly redirect computational capacity toward artificial intelligence infrastructure offering more predictable financial returns.
Data from Hashrate Index shows the network's seven-day moving average declined to approximately 993 EH/s after briefly dipping below the 1 zetahash per second threshold over the weekend. The pullback marks a nearly 15% decline from the cycle high of roughly 1,157 EH/s reached in mid-October, indicating a substantial reduction in active mining power.
Industry participants characterize the shift as driven by changing economics rather than diminished confidence in Bitcoin mining fundamentals. Leon Lyu, founder and CEO of StandardHash, stated miners are reallocating electricity toward AI and high-performance computing workloads that currently deliver more predictable profit margins.
Large-scale mining facilities, designed with substantial power access and cooling capacity, can be repurposed relatively quickly to support data-center operations. The infrastructure compatibility enables miners to pivot between Bitcoin and AI workloads based on comparative economics without major capital expenditures.
The capacity shift follows a prolonged period of pressure on miner profitability. Trade publication TheMinerMag previously described 2025 as one of the most challenging margin environments on record, citing weaker revenue and rising debt burdens across the sector. Against that backdrop, AI compute has become an increasingly attractive alternative for operators seeking to stabilize cash flow.
Lyu cautioned that reported hashrate figures may understate actual mining activity. He suggested Bitmain, the world's largest mining hardware manufacturer, could be deploying machines through secondary channels or private partnerships not immediately visible in public metrics, meaning some capacity remains active but uncaptured by standard measurements.
The hashrate decline has occurred despite recent favorable adjustments. Bitcoin mining difficulty has decreased four times since mid-November, lowering the computational work required to mine blocks. Simultaneously, hashprice—a benchmark for miner revenue—climbed from approximately $37 to $40 per petahash per second per day over the past month, signaling improving economics.
The data underscores a broader trend as competition for power intensifies. Artificial intelligence is no longer a supplementary activity for miners but a direct competitor for compute resources, reshaping how capital and energy are allocated across the Bitcoin mining industry.
Bitcoin mining can strengthen electrical grids and lower consumer electricity costs rather than strain power systems, according to analysis by independent researcher Daniel Batten. His research challenges claims that mining destabilizes grids or drives up energy prices, drawing on peer-reviewed studies to argue the industry's flexible power usage provides measurable system benefits.
Meanwhile, Bitmain is reducing prices aggressively across multiple hardware generations as sector pressure builds. One December 23 promotion offered four S19 XP+ Hydro units with an ANTRACK V2 container, implying an effective price of roughly $4 per terahash for the 19 J/TH machines.
