Bitcoin Hash Rate Plummets as Miners Flock to AI Contracts
Bitcoin's hash rate has fallen by 19% since November 2025, marking the longest sustained decline in the network's history. According to Glassnode data, the mean 30-day hash rate dropped from 1,108 EH/s to 898 EH/s over nine months. This significant decrease is attributed to major mining companies redirecting power and capital towards long-term AI hosting contracts.
The current decline differs from previous downturns in both absolute terms and duration. The May-to-July 2021 collapse, triggered by China's mining ban, cut the hash rate by 42%, but reversed within six months as relocated Chinese hardware came back online. In contrast, the ongoing decline has already shed roughly 210 EH/s, more than the entire network possessed in early 2021.
The mechanism driving this decline appears structural rather than cyclical, with miners signing 12- to 20-year AI hosting leases on power capacity previously used for Bitcoin-specific hardware. This shift towards AI hosting reportedly pays 3 to 25 times as much per megawatt as Bitcoin mining does.