Many ASIC Miners Become Unprofitable Amid Bitcoin Price Drop

As Bitcoin's price hovers around $78,600, many ASIC miners are struggling to remain profitable due to high mining difficulty and electricity costs estimated at $0.08 per kWh. Data from Antpool indicates that popular models like the Antminer S19 XP+ Hydro and WhatsMiner M60S are nearing their break-even point, with profitability largely dependent on Bitcoin's price staying above $86,000.

Newer miners, such as the Antminer S21, require Bitcoin to be priced between $69,000 and $74,000 to achieve profitability. In contrast, the more resilient U3S23H and S23 Hydro models can still generate profits as long as Bitcoin's price exceeds $44,000.

Recent market activity shows that Bitcoin experienced a 3% increase over the last 24 hours after reaching a local low of approximately $75,000. This fluctuation comes on the heels of a 3.28% drop in Bitcoin's mining difficulty, which has now fallen to 141.67 trillion. Future forecasts suggest a further reduction of 10.47%, potentially bringing the difficulty down to 126.84 trillion.

The Bitcoin network's hashrate has significantly decreased to 870 EH/s, marking the lowest level since June 2025, a decline attributed to widespread miner shutdowns caused by winter storms in the U.S. The hash price has also dropped to $34.8 per PH/s per day, a figure not seen since last November.

Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, highlighted the challenging environment for miners, noting that the production cost has fallen to $69,000 while electricity expenses are around $55,000. Some analysts, like Brett, have even speculated that Bitcoin could fall to $40,000.