Bitcoin’s mining network is losing some horsepower.
For the first time since mid-September, Bitcoin’s hashrate has dipped below 1,000 exahash per second (EH/s), as more miners shift their machines away from Bitcoin and toward artificial intelligence workloads that offer steadier returns.
Data from Hashrate Index shows the network’s seven-day average falling to about 993 EH/s, after briefly dropping below the symbolic 1 zetahash per second mark over the weekend. That’s nearly a 15% decline from the cycle peak of around 1,157 EH/s reached in mid-October.
Why Miners Are Turning to AI
The drop doesn’t signal miners losing faith in Bitcoin. Instead, it reflects changing economics.
According to Leon Lyu, founder and CEO of StandardHash, miners are increasingly redirecting electricity and hardware toward AI and high-performance computing, where revenue is currently more predictable.
Large mining facilities already have what AI data centers need: massive power access, advanced cooling systems, and space for dense compute. That makes it relatively easy for operators to repurpose parts of their infrastructure when margins tighten.
And margins have been tight. Trade publication TheMinerMag previously described 2025 as one of the most challenging years on record for miners, with weaker revenues and rising debt across the industry. Against that backdrop, AI compute has become an appealing way to stabilize cash flow.
The Numbers May Not Tell the Full Story
Lyu also cautioned that reported hashrate figures might not capture all active mining. He suggested that Bitmain, the world’s largest mining hardware maker, could be deploying machines through private deals or secondary channels that don’t immediately show up in public data.
If that’s the case, some mining capacity may still be running—just not fully visible in standard metrics.
A Mixed Picture for Miner Economics
The pullback in hashrate comes despite some recent tailwinds. Bitcoin’s mining difficulty has adjusted downward four times since mid-November, making blocks slightly easier to mine. At the same time, hashprice, a key measure of miner revenue, has improved from around $37 to $40 per petahash per second per day over the past month.
Even so, the broader trend is clear: AI is no longer a side business for miners—it’s direct competition. As demand for power and compute accelerates, miners are being forced to decide where their electricity earns the best return.
Rethinking Bitcoin’s Energy Impact
The shift is also happening against a backdrop of renewed debate over Bitcoin’s energy use. A recent analysis by independent researcher Daniel Batten argues that Bitcoin mining can actually support power grids by acting as a flexible energy buyer, helping stabilize supply and even lower consumer electricity costs.
Meanwhile, pressure across the mining sector is showing up elsewhere. Bitmain has begun cutting prices aggressively on mining hardware, offering steep discounts across multiple generations of machines. One promotion in late December bundled four S19 XP+ Hydro units with an ANTRACK V2 container, implying an effective price of around $4 per terahash—a sign of how competitive the environment has become.
For now, Bitcoin mining isn’t disappearing. But as AI continues to soak up power and capital, miners are being pushed to rethink how—and where—they deploy their resources.
