The Bitcoin network’s soaring hashrate and record difficulty levels are increasing the operational challenges for Bitcoin miners. Even as the Bitcoin price remains steady, miners are facing more pressure to stay competitive. Consequently, it’s projected that mining costs may surpass $70,000 per Bitcoin, a substantial rise from $64,000 earlier this year, primarily due to rising competition and energy expenses.
The Bitcoin network’s mining difficulty reached an all-time high at 126.98 trillion, pushed by a 14-day average hashrate of 913.54 exahashes per second (EH/s). In June, transaction fees fell below 1% of block rewards, and hashprice dipped to $52 per PH/s before experiencing a slight recovery.
Amid escalating competition and energy costs, public miners like MARA Holdings, CleanSpark, Riot Platforms, and IREN are expanding rapidly to remain competitive. Notably, MARA grew its hashrate by 30% in May, and HIVE added 32% following the inauguration of a new facility in Paraguay. Furthermore, Cipher Mining is planning a 70% increment by broadening its operations in Texas.
Meanwhile, the cost of top-tier ASICs now ranges between $10 and $30 per terahash. With operational payback periods extending up to two years, and assuming a $0.06/kWh electricity rate, which is already unreachable for some. For instance, Terawulf paid $0.081/kWh in the first quarter, raising its fleet hashcost by over 25%.
In parallel, mining equities are now showing diverse trends from Bitcoin’s price performance as observed with IREN, Core Scientific, and Bit Digital recording positive growth over the past month, while Canaan and Bitfarms declined significantly during the same period. This shift indicates a growing investor focus on business models rather than just Bitcoin’s price action.