Bitcoin miners lost $19,000 per BTC mined on April 11, 2026. Network difficulty fell 7.8%, the largest drop since June 2025. Glassnode reports average mining costs reached $91,500 per BTC. BTC traded at $72,717, creating a 26% deficit.
Public miners Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) posted similar losses. MARA shares dropped 6% to $18.50 after hours. RIOT fell 8% to $9.20. Energy costs rose 15% year-over-year, per Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance.
Mining Difficulty Adjustment
Bitcoin adjusts difficulty every 2016 blocks, about two weeks. Hashrate fell 6.2% beforehand, per Blockchain.com. Texas and Kazakhstan miners shut unprofitable rigs after 20% power cost hikes.
The drop eases block production for remaining miners. Revenue ties to BTC price. CoinMetrics notes similar drops preceded 15-20% BTC rallies in 2022 and 2024. Models predict 10-15% hashrate recovery if BTC holds above $75,000.
Energy Costs Crush Margins
Electricity comprises 70% of mining costs, says CoinMetrics. Global rates hit $0.08/kWh on April 11. Bitmain S21 rigs draw 3,500 watts, generating $29 daily revenue but $6.72 power costs, netting losses.
Only 25% of hash power uses renewables, per Bitcoin Mining Council. U.S. miners face $0.10/kWh in Texas. Kazakhstan pays $0.07/kWh amid regulations. Talen Energy signed 1GW deals with Riot at $30/MWh premiums.
Fear Pressures Mining Stocks
Fear & Greed Index hit 15, extreme fear, on April 11. BTC rose 0.3% to $72,717. Spot BTC ETF inflows slowed to $150M weekly, per Farside Investors. Mining stocks lag BTC by 40% YTD; MARA down 55%, RIOT 62%.
Nvidia AI data centers compete for power. JPMorgan cut MARA targets to $15.
Miner Capitulation Accelerates
Over 15% of global hashrate offline since January, estimates Luxor Technologies. Small operators sell rigs at 30% discounts. Marathon debt hit $1.2B USD. Riot cut expansions 25%, delaying 100MW sites.
Top 10% efficient rigs control 60% hashrate. Network security stays at 650 EH/s, above 500 EH/s threshold. CleanSpark activated 50MW in Georgia at 4.5 cents/kWh. Hut 8 merged with US Bitcoin Corp.
Investor Shifts from Mining
Proof-of-work vulnerabilities spur pivots to proof-of-stake. ETH staking yields 4.2% APR, per Beaconcha.in. BlackRock's ETH ETF drew $300M inflows April 11. DeFi VC hit $2.5B in Q1 2026, per PitchBook.
BTC holders with 1+ BTC grew 12% to 1.05M wallets, Glassnode data. Lido and Rocket Pool manage $40B ETH. Solana staking at 7.5% attracts $5B TVL.
Path Forward for Bitcoin Miners
Bitcoin miners recalibrate. Firms move rigs to Iceland's $0.05/kWh geothermal power. AI-hybrid models lease hash power off-peak. Difficulty drops correct hashrate imbalances. Bitcoin miners who pivot fastest lead recovery; staking outperforms amid volatility.