Bitcoin mining reached a historic turning point at the end of 2025. According to GoMining's latest report, the network has entered the zettahash era, surpassing a computing power of 1 zettahash/second.
The hash rate recorded its highest ever, but miner profit margins have conversely decreased. As a result, the mining industry has become larger and more industrialized than ever before, facing unprecedented price risks within the market cycle.
The expansion of mining has led to the hash rate reaching an all-time high.
The same report states that the Bitcoin network maintained an average of over 1 zettahash/second for seven days, marking a structural turning point.
Behind this growth are aggressive hardware investments, new data centers, and business expansions on an industrial scale. Mining is no longer the domain of small operators and is approaching energy infrastructure.
As a result, competition over block rewards has intensified.
While the hash rate expands, the revenue per compute unit has fallen to its narrowest level in history.
The report points out that miners' revenues are increasingly dependent solely on Bitcoin prices and difficulty. The spikes in transaction fees and high block rewards that once acted as buffers are now fading.
This compression means that even with more capital and power invested, miners are seeing thinner margins.
According to GoMining, the Bitcoin mempool was fully cleared multiple times for the first time since April 2023 in 2025.
This means that the number of transactions on the Bitcoin network is extremely low, and even minimal fees were processed immediately.
As a result, miners are unable to earn much from fees and have become almost entirely dependent on Bitcoin prices and block rewards.
The improvement of transaction fees is limited even after the halving period.
The economic environment after the halving has become even harsher.
With the block reward reduced to 3.125 BTC, transaction fees could not compensate for the decrease in revenue. According to the report, for most of 2025, fees remained below 1% of the total block reward.
As a result, miners' revenue structures are directly exposed to fluctuations in Bitcoin prices, and the internal stability mechanisms have significantly decreased.
This revenue compression has clearly manifested itself in the hash price, that is, daily income per unit of hash rate.
According to the report, in November 2025, the hash price fell to around $35 per day per PH, the lowest in history, and did not recover by the end of the year. Even at the end of the quarter, it remained around $38 per PH, significantly below the historical average.
As a result, even minor operational mistakes are no longer tolerated.
These results align with the latest data regarding miners' withdrawal prices.
If the current difficulty and power cost is $0.08 per kWh, the widely used S21 series miner has a breakeven point of $69,000 to $74,000 per BTC. If prices fall below this, many businesses will incur losses.
While newer, more efficient models can still profit at lower prices, mid-tier miners are immediately under revenue pressure.
This does not provide price support. The market may fall below the mining breakeven point.
However, a tipping point in behavior occurs. As Bitcoin continues to fall below major shutdown levels, weak miners may take actions such as selling reserves, stopping equipment, or reducing risks.
In a market already under pressure from liquidity constraints, these actions further contribute to volatility.
Bitcoin mining has become more robust and large-scale than ever before. However, this expansion comes with sensitive aspects. As hash rates increase and fee income decreases, the importance of price actually increases, becoming essential for miners' stability.
Therefore, levels like $70,000 hold significant economic meaning. This is not just shown by charts but is due to the network's cost structure.
