A rising proportion of miners are functioning close to breakeven, resulting in greater responsiveness of hashrate and mining difficulty to bitcoin's price changes, according to the bank.
By Will Canny, AI Boost|Edited by Stephen Alpher Jun 22, 2026, 12:51 p.m. 2 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on JPMorgan Reports Increased Sensitivity of Bitcoin Mining Network to Price Fluctuations. (Shutterstock)SummaryShow- JPMorgan indicates that the sensitivity of bitcoin mining difficulty to price changes has significantly increased this year.
- The bank's analysis suggests that more miners are operating close to breakeven as bitcoin prices remain below production costs.
- Should bitcoin stay under its estimated $78,000 production cost, larger and more frequent adjustments to difficulty are anticipated.
According to JPMorgan, the bitcoin mining network is becoming more responsive to fluctuations in price as a larger number of miners operate near breakeven points.
The bank has reported that both the hashrate and mining difficulty have shown a marked increase in their sensitivity to bitcoin's price changes this year. Over the past six months, the beta of mining difficulty relative to BTC price fluctuations has risen to 0.62, indicating that the network's computing power is adapting more swiftly to market conditions.
"Mining economics have worsened this year with the bitcoin price staying well below its production cost for five months in a row," stated analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou in a recent report.
The hashrate is the total computational power utilized for mining and processing transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain, measured in exahashes per second.
The analysts noted that the trend indicates a growing number of miners are now operating near their production costs, making the overall hashrate more susceptible to price changes.
In 2026, mining economics have deteriorated, with bitcoin consistently trading below its estimated production cost for five consecutive months. According to CoinShares' first-quarter mining report, JPMorgan estimates that about 20% of miners are currently operating at a loss.
This financial strain has driven miners to liquidate more of their bitcoin holdings. Publicly traded mining firms sold over 32,000 BTC in the first quarter alone, surpassing their total sales for the entire year of 2025, as highlighted in the report.
Consequently, even minor price fluctuations are having a growing impact on network activity. When bitcoin dips below production costs, higher-cost miners often shut down their operations, leading to a decrease in hashrate and a subsequent adjustment in mining difficulty. The bank referenced the second week of June when mining difficulty saw a 10% drop, marking the second decline of that scale this year.
Looking ahead, analysts anticipate that the heightened sensitivity of hashrate and mining difficulty will continue as long as bitcoin remains below its estimated production cost, which the bank currently calculates to be around $78,000. At the time of publication, bitcoin was trading near $64,700.
In response to narrowing mining margins, bitcoin miners are increasingly exploring artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) as alternative revenue streams. The attraction lies in the potential for AI hosting contracts to deliver stable, multi-year revenue and higher margins compared to the more unpredictable nature of bitcoin mining, which has been pressured by increasing network competition and the 2024 halving events.
Analysts suggest that miners have already announced deals worth tens of billions of dollars related to AI and HPC, although the execution risks and substantial investments required to develop AI-compatible facilities remain significant challenges.
Read more: Bitcoin miners' AI pivot faces $50 billion reality check, says VanEck
Bitcoin MiningJPMorganAI Disclaimer: Portions of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and compliance with our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.Latest Crypto News- 1Strategy added $35 million in bitcoin, $300 million in cash reserves last week20 minutes ago
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CEX Volumes Drop to Lowest Since September 2024 as RWA Perps Hit Record High
CEX Volumes Drop to Lowest Since September 2024 as RWA Perps Hit Record High
In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
By CoinDesk ResearchJun 15, 2026In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
Why it matters:
In May, combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41T; the lowest since September 2024. RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% against the trend, hitting a new all-time high.
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