If you hold Bitcoin in your investment portfolio, you need to look closely at what is happening to the companies that run the network. Right now, Bitcoin miners are facing a historic profit squeeze. Even though Bitcoin is trading at 60,107 USD, the cost to mine a single coin is skyrocketing. The difficulty of mining Bitcoin has jumped by 7.15% to an all-time high of 133.87 trillion. This has sent the ‘hashprice’—a key measure of miner earnings—down by 18.34% over the past month to just 28.68 USD per day for a standard unit of computer power. In this article, we will break down what this squeeze means for your portfolio, why the network hashrate is hovering between 950 and 985 EH/s, and how miners are adapting to survive. Understanding these numbers can help you make better decisions about which crypto stocks to buy, hold, or sell.
By Michael Nguyen | July 1, 2026
The Hardware/Software Landscape
To understand why Bitcoin miners are feeling the pinch, we must first look at the machines they use. Bitcoin mining is not done by hand or on home laptops. Instead, it is done by massive warehouses filled with specialized computers called ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits). These machines solve complex mathematical puzzles, functioning like a giant global lottery. The first computer to guess the correct combination updates the Bitcoin ledger and receives newly minted Bitcoin as a reward.
To remain competitive, mining companies must constantly purchase faster, more energy-efficient hardware. Older computers consume more electricity than they earn in rewards. This means miners who fail to upgrade their hardware risk going out of business. Furthermore, miners use advanced software to monitor their machines in real-time. If electricity prices rise in a certain region, this software automatically pauses the computers to save money. Even with these tools, however, miners face extreme pressure when difficulty hits historic highs and the price of Bitcoin sits at 60,107 USD. The competition is fiercer than ever before.
Hashrate & Difficulty
Two critical metrics in this industry are hashrate and difficulty. Hashrate is the total guessing speed of all the computers on the network combined. Over the last week, the network hashrate hovered between 950 and 985 EH/s. One exahash (EH/s) is a quintillion guesses per second. This means the entire network makes nearly a quintillion guesses every second. This high hashrate shows that mining companies are still running at full speed despite the squeeze.
To keep the network stable, the system automatically adjusts the difficulty of the puzzles so that a new block is found every 10 minutes. If the guessing power rises, the puzzles get harder. On June 26, 2026, the network difficulty jumped by 7.15%, reaching a record high of 133.87 trillion. With the next adjustment scheduled for July 10, 2026, estimates predict another increase of 1.79% to 1.81%, pushing difficulty to around 136.26 trillion. For investors, this means the work required to earn Bitcoin is rising, but the rewards are not, which puts a cap on potential profits.
Profitability Metrics
To measure how these technical shifts affect a miner’s bottom line, we track hashprice and daily revenue. Hashprice measures the expected daily revenue a miner earns for a specific amount of computing power—specifically per petahash per second (PH/s). As of July 1, 2026, the hashprice dropped to approximately 28.68 USD per PH/s/day, representing an 18.34% decline over the past month.
This drop is caused by two factors: the difficulty increase of 7.15% on June 26, 2026, which reduces the amount of Bitcoin earned, and the fact that Bitcoin is trading at 60,107 USD. When lower rewards combine with a flat market price, the value of mining power plummets. A hashprice of 28.68 USD means that every unit of power generates less cash than it did weeks ago when it was closer to 30 USD or 33 USD.
Total average daily miner revenue over the last week was approximately 31.14 million USD. Divided among all operations globally, this total must cover massive power bills, facilities, and upgrades. For higher-cost operations, electricity expenses now exceed revenue, creating a severe margin squeeze. If this squeeze continues, some companies may be forced to shut down their machines permanently.
For comparison, Ethereum (ETH), which currently trades at 1,617.02 USD, uses a different system called staking instead of energy-intensive mining. Staking allows holders to lock up their ETH to help secure the network and earn rewards, functioning much like earning interest on a savings account. As Bitcoin miners face rising costs, some investors are shifting attention to staking, which requires far less hardware and energy, offering a more predictable income stream.
Environmental Impact
The environmental impact of Bitcoin mining remains a key concern for many retail investors. Because these computers run constantly, they consume significant electricity. However, the current profitability squeeze is pushing miners to become greener. Since electricity is a miner’s largest ongoing expense, they must find the cheapest power to survive.
Often, the cheapest electricity is renewable energy. Solar, wind, and hydroelectric plants produce excess power that would otherwise go to waste. Mining companies build data centers near these plants to purchase this cheap, clean energy. Additionally, miners use software to shut down machines during peak demand hours, helping stabilize local grids and prevent blackouts. By seeking the lowest operational costs, miners are naturally shifting toward sustainable energy, reducing their carbon footprint.
Strategic Outlook
How should investors navigate this situation? The current squeeze is forcing a shift in the mining industry. Some of the largest public mining companies are diversifying into artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) by hosting chips for AI data centers. Because AI centers require similar power and cooling setups, miners have the perfect infrastructure. This provides a steady cash flow that does not depend on the price of Bitcoin.
For investors, mining companies that diversify into AI may represent safer bets during a downturn than pure-play miners. Meanwhile, this margin squeeze is a normal part of the Bitcoin cycle. Low profitability often leads to miner capitulation, where weak miners shut down and sell their Bitcoin holdings to pay debts. This can put short-term pressure on the price of Bitcoin, which is currently 60,107 USD.
However, once inefficient miners exit, the hashrate drops, difficulty adjusts downward, and surviving operators become profitable again. This cycle makes the network more secure and decentralized. While the 133.87 trillion difficulty level puts pressure on miners, it is a sign of a mature, highly secure network preparing for future growth. Investors should monitor this transition closely.
Disclaimer
The cryptocurrency market remains highly volatile. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
hashprice down 18% in a month while difficulty hits 133T. the small ops are getting absolutely shredded right now
the 28.68 hashprice number is brutal. seen this movie in 2018 and 2022, ends with a wave of bankruptcies and fire-sale ASIC listings
hashprice at 28.68 USD/TH is brutal. saw this coming after the april difficulty adjustment but 18% drop in a month is worse than modeled
950-985 EH/s hashrate range is insane to me. we went from worrying about 500 EH/s to nearly double in what, 18 months?
950-985 EH/s hashrate range while spot is only 60k means the most efficient rigs are barely above break even. anything below 100 J/TH is bleeding cash right now
BTC at 60k and miners still getting squeezed. tells you everything about how brutal the economics get when difficulty compounds. only the most efficient fleets survive this