Bitcoin miners cut holdings as margins hit record low

Bitcoin miners have reduced their on-chain Bitcoin balances after mining margins fell to record lows. Data show the estimated daily return for 1 terahash per second fell to $0.28 on Tuesday, down from $0.39 a month earlier. The 14-day average net position change for miner and mining-pool addresses flipped negative in early May and has remained negative.

Miner revenue fell as Bitcoin’s price moved toward about $62,000 and on-chain activity weakened. Using an electricity cost of $0.07 per kilowatt-hour, the projected monthly gross profit for an Antminer S21 XP Hydro fell to $137 from $192 the prior month.

Operators cite sales to cover operating costs, reduce leverage and finance investments in data centers. Miner and mining-pool addresses still hold more than $110 billion in Bitcoin. Institutional spot buying currently exceeds miner output.

Hashrate concentration has risen: recent seven-day data show Foundry USA, AntPool and F2Pool together account for about 59% of network hashrate, up from a combined 44% in 2022. Analysts identify access to scalable, low-cost electricity as the main constraint for expanding AI data centers, and miners with long-term power contracts can redirect surplus capacity to AI computing.

Estimates of production cost vary across the industry. Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, estimates full-production cost including depreciation at about $62,650 per Bitcoin and an electricity-only breakeven near $50,120. American Bitcoin Corp reported gross operational costs near $36,200 per Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2026. Some operations use more efficient ASICs and industrial-scale energy contracts; others continue mining while operating at a loss for tax or strategic reasons.

Some mining firms have converted parts of their power infrastructure to run AI data-center workloads. Other operators continue mining where power access and equipment efficiency make it viable.