Bitcoin Miners: Profits Plummet, But the Show Must Go On! 🎭💰

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Markets

What to know:

  • JPMorgan, that venerable institution of finance, has noted that the Bitcoin network’s computational power has waned, as if the miners themselves are taking a holiday. 🧠💸
  • Mining profitability? A tragicomedy. Block reward revenue per exahash hits record lows, while gross profits resemble a sad violin solo. 🎻
  • Despite this, U.S.-listed miners and data centers boast a 73% rise in market cap-proof that numbers can dance even when the music is terrible. 🕺

The Bitcoin network’s hashrate, that ever-reliable barometer of mining competition, declined for a second month in December. A tale as old as time: less strife, more despair. 🧨

“The monthly average network hashrate, a proxy for industry competition, declined 30 EH/s (-3%) m/m to an average of 1,045 EH/s in December,” analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce wrote, as if reciting a eulogy. 📜

The hashrate, a measure of the total computational power, is akin to the strength of a thousand weary souls. 💻

Despite the lower competition, mining profitability also fell. The analysts estimated that miners earned an average of $38,700 per EH/s in daily block reward revenue last month-down 7% from November and 32% y/y. A record low, no doubt, but not a tragedy. 🥲

While the bank didn’t delve into the why, one might guess that lower Bitcoin prices since October have added to the margin squeeze. A cruel irony, indeed. 🌀

Though it’s not all doom-and-gloom. The combined market cap of the 14 U.S.-listed bitcoin miners and data center operators rose to $48 billion by the end of 2025, up 73% for the year. A triumph of optimism, or perhaps just a numbers game. 🎲

Hut 8 (HUT) was the best performer of the group last month with a 2% gain, while CleanSpark (CLSK) underperformed with a 33% decline. A tale of two miners, if you will. 🦴

While only two of the companies outperformed Bitcoin in December, 9 of the 14 beat the largest cryptocurrency over the course of the year, led by IREN (IREN) and Cipher Mining (CIFR). A happy ending? Perhaps. 🎉

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2026-01-05 18:59