The Bitcoin network's hashrate has fallen below 1,000 exahashes per second (EH/s) for the first time since mid-September, as Miners increasingly shift capacity toward artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
Data from the Hashrate Index shows that the network's 7-day moving Medium hashrate has dropped to around 993 EH/s, after briefly falling below 1 zetahash per second over the weekend.
This decline represents a nearly 15% drop from the cycle peak of approximately 1,157 EH/s reached in mid-October, reflecting a significant decrease in active mining capacity.
Miners shift capacity to AI as Bitcoin mining profit margins tighten.
Industry insiders argue that this shift reflects a change in economic efficiency, rather than a decline in confidence in Bitcoin mining.
Leon Lyu, founder and CEO of StandardHash , said Miners are reallocating power to AI and high-performance computing tasks, which now offer more stable and predictable profit margins.
Large-scale mining facilities, designed with ample power access and robust cooling systems, can be restructured relatively quickly to accommodate data center-style operating models.
This shift comes after a long period of pressure on Miners' profitability. The industry journal TheMinerMag once described 2025 as one of the most challenging profit margin periods in history, with weakening revenues and increasing debt burdens across the industry.
In this context, AI-powered computing capabilities are becoming an increasingly attractive option, especially for organizations seeking to stabilize their cash flow.
Mr. Lyu also warned that the published hashrate figures may not fully reflect actual activity. He suggested that Bitmain , the world's largest manufacturer of mining hardware, may be deploying machines through secondary channels or private partnerships, meaning they are not immediately reflected in public metrics.
If this is accurate, it means that some of the power is still operating but is not fully reflected in standard measurements.
The hashrate decline is occurring despite some recent supporting factors. Bitcoin's mining difficulty has been adjusted down four times since mid-November, thereby reducing the computational power required to mine blocks.
At the same time, hashprice – a measure of Miners ' revenue – has increased from around $37 to $40 per petahash per second per day over the past month, indicating improving economic efficiency.
Nevertheless, the latest data highlights a broader trend. As competition for electricity intensifies, AI is no longer a side project for Miners but has become a direct competitor in securing computing resources, thereby reshaping how Capital and energy are allocated across the entire Bitcoin mining industry.
Research challenges criticisms regarding Bitcoin mining's energy consumption.
Bitcoin mining could help strengthen the power grid and reduce electricity costs for consumers, rather than putting pressure on the system, according to a detailed analysis by independent researcher Daniel Batten .
His research refutes popular notions that Bitcoin mining destabilizes the power grid or drives up energy prices, drawing on peer-reviewed studies and operational data to argue that the industry's flexible electricity usage can deliver measurable benefits to the system.
Meanwhile, Bitmain is aggressively cutting prices across multiple generations of Bitcoin mining hardware as pressure mounts across the industry, according to recent promotional campaigns and internal price lists sent to customers.
A promotional offer dated December 23rd sold a package of four S19 XP+ Hydro machines with an ANTRACK V2 container, implying an effective price of approximately $4 per terahash for machines with a yield of 19 J/TH.
