Bitcoin miners are increasingly shifting toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing as mining profitability deteriorates, raising concerns about the long-term impact on the Bitcoin network.
Transaction fees now account for just 0.69% of miner revenue after falling to a 10-year low of 0.52% in April. Fees have remained below 1% of total miner revenue for almost a year, leaving miners increasingly dependent on Bitcoin’s fixed 3.125 BTC block subsidy.
The pressure has intensified as Bitcoin prices have fallen sharply while electricity and operating costs remain high. Checkonchain estimates the average cost of producing one Bitcoin at about $78,254, roughly 23% above the current market price.
Bitcoin’s network hash rate has also fallen around 33% from its October 2025 peak, declining from approximately 1.3 zettahashes per second to 861 exahashes per second.
Analysts increasingly link the decline to miners redirecting infrastructure and capital toward more profitable AI and high-performance computing workloads. Public mining companies including CleanSpark and Keel Infrastructure have already reduced or abandoned Bitcoin mining operations in favor of AI-focused data centers.
While the shift may improve miners’ business economics, analysts warn that a sustained migration of computing resources away from Bitcoin could become a concern if it materially reduces the hash power securing the network. $BTC
Transaction fees now account for just 0.69% of miner revenue after falling to a 10-year low of 0.52% in April. Fees have remained below 1% of total miner revenue for almost a year, leaving miners increasingly dependent on Bitcoin’s fixed 3.125 BTC block subsidy.
The pressure has intensified as Bitcoin prices have fallen sharply while electricity and operating costs remain high. Checkonchain estimates the average cost of producing one Bitcoin at about $78,254, roughly 23% above the current market price.
Bitcoin’s network hash rate has also fallen around 33% from its October 2025 peak, declining from approximately 1.3 zettahashes per second to 861 exahashes per second.
Analysts increasingly link the decline to miners redirecting infrastructure and capital toward more profitable AI and high-performance computing workloads. Public mining companies including CleanSpark and Keel Infrastructure have already reduced or abandoned Bitcoin mining operations in favor of AI-focused data centers.
While the shift may improve miners’ business economics, analysts warn that a sustained migration of computing resources away from Bitcoin could become a concern if it materially reduces the hash power securing the network. $BTC