PANews reported on February 13th, citing The Block, that JPMorgan analysts stated their estimated Bitcoin production cost—historically considered a "soft price support"—has fallen from $90,000 at the beginning of the year to $77,000, primarily due to recent declines in network hashrate and mining difficulty. Analysts pointed out that the recent drop in Bitcoin network hashrate triggered the largest reduction in mining difficulty since the 2021 Chinese mining ban, with a cumulative decrease of approximately 15% year-to-date. The difficulty reduction provides breathing room for miners still operating, and efficient miners are seizing market share lost by high-cost miners forced to shut down. Analysts stated that a hashrate rebound has been observed, and production costs are expected to rebound at the next difficulty adjustment.
The report attributes the decrease in mining difficulty to two factors: first, the drop in Bitcoin prices made it unprofitable for high-cost miners; and second, winter blizzards in the United States caused large mining farms in Texas and other areas to temporarily shut down. Some high-cost miners have maintained operations by selling Bitcoin or transitioning to AI, exacerbating the price pressure since the beginning of the year. Analysts believe that the exit of high-cost miners has stabilized and remain "positive" about the overall cryptocurrency market in 2026.


VanEck Identifies 13 Governments Actively Mining Bitcoin Signaling New Phase of State Participation in Digital Assets
Global in