bitcoinmining

The Bitcoin network has just gone through one of its sharpest stress tests in years, after a sudden drop in mining activity triggered the biggest downward difficulty adjustment since China’s mining ban in 2021.

Key Takeaways
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty dropped 11.16%, the largest decline since 2021, after a sudden loss of hash power.Extreme winter weather and falling prices forced up to 20% of miners offline, especially in the U.S.Despite the disruption, the network adjusted smoothly and continued operating without issues.
On February 7, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty fell by 11.16%, reflecting a rapid loss of hashing power as an estimated 12% to 20% of miners went offline in early February. Data from mempool.space shows roughly 10% of hash power disappearing in a short window, confirming how closely mining activity still tracks price and operational conditions.
Why hash power suddenly went offline
The disruption was driven by a mix of extreme weather and collapsing miner profitability. A major winter storm in the United States, Winter Storm Fernan, forced large-scale mining facilities - especially in Texas - to temporarily shut down. Many of these operators rely on curtailment contracts, meaning they switch off mining rigs and sell electricity back to the grid during peak demand rather than operate at a loss.
The impact was visible at the pool level. Foundry USA, then the largest mining pool globally, saw its hash rate plunge by roughly 60%, dropping from around 328 EH/s to near 139 EH/s at the worst point.
At the same time, Bitcoin’s price was under heavy pressure. After peaking above $126,000 in October 2025, BTC fell more than 45%, bottoming near $60,000 on February 5. That move crushed miner profitability, pushing hashprice down to roughly $31.5–$34.8 per PH/s, dangerously close to break-even for many operators. Public miners such as CleanSpark and IREN have reported cash costs in the $26–$30/PH/s range, leaving almost no margin for error.
What the difficulty adjustment changed
As hash power fell, block times stretched to more than 11 minutes on average. The February 7 difficulty adjustment brought immediate relief. Difficulty dropped from roughly 141.67 T to 125.86 T, allowing blocks to be mined faster again, with average block times falling back toward the 7–9 minute range.
Despite the slowdown, the network functioned normally. No chain splits or consensus issues occurred, underlining Bitcoin’s ability to self-correct even during localized infrastructure failures.
Signs of miner stress are mounting
The pressure on miners is starting to show elsewhere. On February 5 alone, miners sent an estimated 24,000 BTC to exchanges, the largest single-day outflow on record. That kind of movement is often interpreted as miner capitulation or forced selling to cover operating costs during sharp downturns.
At the industry level, the post-halving reality is accelerating a structural shift. Several publicly listed mining firms, including Cipher Mining, IREN, and Hut 8, are increasingly pivoting toward AI and high-performance computing. By late 2026, some expect Bitcoin mining to contribute less than 20% of total revenue as data centers are repurposed for AI workloads.
What comes next
With weather conditions improving and prices stabilizing, miners are gradually bringing hardware back online. The next difficulty adjustment, expected around February 19–20, is currently projected to rise by about 5.6%, signaling a partial recovery in network hash rate.
For now, the episode serves as a reminder that while Bitcoin mining is global, it remains exposed to real-world constraints - energy markets, weather, and price cycles - and that the protocol’s difficulty mechanism remains one of its most important stabilizers.
#Bitcoinmining

🟠 Publicly traded Bitcoin mining company CleanSpark just added +414.37 BTC to its treasury.
Their total holdings now stand at 13,513 BTC — pushing them to:

🏆 #10 on the Bitcoin 100 Ranking 🪜

Why this matters:
• Signals strong long-term conviction in Bitcoin
• Expands corporate BTC treasury trend
• Strengthens miner balance sheet positioning
• Reduces available BTC float over time

Miners aren’t just producing Bitcoin — they’re accumulating it. That’s a powerful signal. ⚡️

Do you think more public miners will shift from selling → stacking? 👇

#Bitcoin #BTC #CLSK #Bitcoinmining #CryptoStocks #Bullish #OnChain #CryptoNews #BitcoinGoogleSearchesSurge
$BTC

Today, February 8, one of the largest adjustments to the difficulty of the Bitcoin network in 2026 took place — the indicator decreased by 11%. This was a direct result of mass equipment shutdowns by miners due to low profitability. The current hash rate remains near historical lows, forcing even large data centers in the USA to operate at the brink of loss.

The Bitcoin mining sector is experiencing its toughest times in recent years. As of February 7, the mining profitability (hash price) has fallen to a record $0.03 per terahash. According to analysts, this is linked to the drop in the exchange rate $BTC below the production cost for most major players, which is currently estimated at $87,000 per coin. Miners are forced to shut down old equipment, which has already led to a decrease in the network's hash rate.

The mining profitability indicator $BTC has fallen to a record low. Mining companies are massively shutting down equipment against the backdrop of falling prices of the first cryptocurrency and rising electricity tariffs.
The income per unit of computing power has dropped to 3 cents per terahash. For comparison: in 2017, this indicator was $3.5.

In a world rapidly shifting toward digital assets, Bitcoin mining remains one of the most misunderstood concepts—despite being the beating heart of the largest decentralized financial network in history. Mining is not simply “running machines for profit”; it is a carefully designed economic and technical system that ensures security, decentralization, and scarcity.
🔍 What Is Bitcoin Mining?
Bitcoin mining is the process through which:
Transactions are validated on the Bitcoin network
The network is secured against manipulation and attacks
New bitcoins are issued according to a strict and predefined schedule
Mining relies on a mechanism known as Proof of Work (PoW), where miners compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles using computational power.
⚙️ How Does Mining Work Technically?
Transaction Aggregation
Unconfirmed user transactions are collected into a block.
Solving the Cryptographic Puzzle
Miners attempt to find a specific numeric value (Nonce) that produces a valid hash under the network’s rules.
Competition and Speed
The first miner to find the correct solution broadcasts the block to the network.
Network Verification
Nodes independently verify the validity of the block.
The Reward
The successful miner receives:
The block reward
Transaction fees included in the block
⛏️ Why Is Mining Essential?
Security: Makes attacks economically unfeasible due to high energy and hardware costs.
Decentralization: Prevents control by any single authority.
Transparency: All transactions are publicly verifiable.
Monetary Discipline: Ensures a predictable and non-inflationary issuance model.
📉 Mining and Digital Scarcity
Bitcoin has a hard cap of 21 million coins.
With every halving event (approximately every four years), the mining reward is reduced by 50%, decreasing new supply and reinforcing Bitcoin’s status as a digitally scarce asset—while making mining increasingly competitive over time.
🌍 Does Bitcoin Mining Consume a Lot of Energy?
Yes—but:
Energy consumption is a core part of Bitcoin’s security model
Mining is increasingly powered by renewable energy sources
It often utilizes surplus or otherwise wasted energy
Traditional financial systems consume vast amounts of energy with far less transparency
The real question is no longer how much energy is used, but rather:
What value does the system provide in return?
📊 Is Bitcoin Mining Still Profitable?
Profitability today depends on:
The price of Bitcoin
Electricity costs
Mining hardware efficiency (ASICs)
Network difficulty
As a result, mining has evolved from a small-scale individual activity into a global, professional industry, attracting major companies and institutional capital.
Conclusion
Bitcoin mining is not merely a way to earn coins—it is:
A global security system
A groundbreaking economic experiment
The foundation of the world’s first truly scarce, decentralized digital money
Understanding mining is the first step toward understanding why Bitcoin is different—and why it has remained resilient for more than 15 years.
#bitcoin #Bitcoinmining #blockchain

In early 2026, the Bitcoin network is facing a "Great Migration" that few saw coming. As of February 4, 2026, Bitcoin mining revenue has plunged to historic lows, triggered by a brutal 38% price drop since the October 2025 highs of $126,000.
What started as a market correction has turned into a structural shift. Miners aren't just selling their Bitcoin; they are selling their power contracts.
For years, Bitcoin miners were the "buyers of last resort" for cheap electricity. In 2026, that title has been stolen by Artificial Intelligence.
The Profit Gap: High-Performance Computing (HPC) for AI training currently offers margins 3x to 5x higher than Bitcoin mining at $78,000. The "Repurposing" Wave: Major mining giants like MARA Holdings and Core Scientific are permanently converting their facilities into AI data centers. Hashrate Drop: This exodus has caused a 12% decrease in the network hashrate, falling below 1,000 EH/s for the first time in months. When miners leave, the "Security Budget" that protects Bitcoin from attacks shrinks.
⚙️ The Security Crisis: Is Decentralization at Risk?
The transition to AI isn't just a business move; it’s a threat to Bitcoin’s core philosophy.
Consolidation: As small, independent miners go underwater, only the massive, "AI-hybrid" corporations remain. This concentrates hashrate into fewer hands, making the network more centralized.The "Energy War": BlackRock recently warned that AI could consume 24% of U.S. power by 2030. Bitcoin miners are losing the bidding war for electricity, which could force the network to rely more on transaction fees than block rewards much sooner than expected.ASIC Obsolescence: Unlike GPUs used for AI, Bitcoin's ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits) can't do anything else. Thousands of tons of mining hardware are becoming "e-waste" as facilities switch to Nvidia H100s.
💬 Vibe Check: Is Bitcoin’s Security "Too Expensive"?
If the hashrate continues to slide while AI demand grows, the cost to "attack" the network becomes cheaper. Some analysts argue this is a healthy "flush," while others fear we are seeing the end of the traditional mining era. 🏛️📈
Do you think Bitcoin should stay strictly "Proof of Work," or will it eventually have to change its code to survive the AI energy crisis? 👇
Drop a "⛏️" if you’re a Mining Bull or a "🤖" if you think AI is the future of data centers! Let’s hear your take!
#Bitcoinmining #AIRevolution #CryptoSecurity #hashrate #BinanceSquare $BTC