December Delivers Pain for Bitcoin Miners, but the Worst May Be Passing
Although conditions are improving for bitcoin miners in 2026, December’s revenue still ranked as the second weakest month of 2025, trailing only April’s cumulative total of $1.18 billion according to newhedge.io stats. In November, miners pulled in $1.26 million, and December’s $1.21 billion figure came in 4.13% lower.
Dec. 18, 2025, marked the weakest day of the month for hashprice, the estimated spot value assigned to a single petahash per second (PH/s) of raw hashpower. At that point, the going rate for 1 PH/s stood at $36.25, placing it among the lowest hashprice levels recorded in recent years.
Even with revenue under pressure, the network’s hashrate stayed north of the 1,000 exahash per second (EH/s), or 1 zettahash per second (ZH/s), threshold through the final days of December. As the first week of January 2026 wraps up, the hashrate sits at 1,046 EH/s, with a new difficulty epoch set to arrive in two days.
Block times have drifted slightly longer, averaging 10 minutes and 8 seconds, and current projections suggest the difficulty could ease by 1.4%, though that outlook may shift over the next two days.
The slight extension in block times and a potential downward difficulty adjustment hint at modest mechanical relief, but not a fundamental reset. Both moderately average-timed blocks and strong hashrate are largely due to improving revenue, with current hashprice levels sitting at $40.26 per PH/s.
Spot hashprice has climbed 11% from the Dec. 18 low. But onchain fees still account for less than 1% of the total block reward, leaving bitcoin miners largely reliant on BTC’s price gains to lift the value of the subsidy.
If BTC prices continue to firm and hashprice sustains its recent gains, early 2026 could offer steadier footing. Until then, mining economics remains a test of efficiency, balance-sheet endurance, and patience.
FAQ ⛏️
- Why did bitcoin miners struggle in December 2025?
Revenue fell to $1.21 billion as hashprice dipped to multi-year lows and transaction fees remained minimal. - What changed for bitcoin miners heading into 2026?
Hashprice rebounded 11% from the Dec. 18 low while network hashrate and revenue indicators began to improve. - How strong is the bitcoin network despite lower miner revenue?
Hashrate held above 1 zettahash per second through late December, signaling sustained mining participation. - What are miners relying on to improve profitability in early 2026?
Miners remain largely dependent on BTC price gains, with onchain fees still contributing less than 1% of block rewards.
