Bitcoin Mining Set for Major Shakeout as Big Players Exit

CoinShares has predicted that at least 35 EH/s of computing power will leave listed miners in the third quarter, which is roughly 4% of the total Bitcoin network's hash rate. This comes as Core Scientific paid $41.9 million to cancel a chip order for next-generation 3nm chips, and Keel stopped mining entirely in June. IREN and Cipher are also winding down their operations.

CoinShares notes that enough machines leaving the group will cut the Bitcoin network's total computing power by roughly 4%. The firm's second-quarter report on Bitcoin mining found that Core Scientific spent almost $42 million to cancel a chip order, while Keel has already stopped mining entirely. IREN and Cipher are winding down their operations.

Economist Saifedean Ammous says that Bitcoin's electricity consumption may have already peaked, citing the network's annualized electricity demand falling from 190 TWh in December 2025 to around 130 TWh by mid-2026. He argues that miners' revenue is not enough to cover the falling value of the dollar and that AI data centers are becoming a more attractive option.