Bitcoin mining difficulty has recorded its largest single drop since China’s historic mining ban, signaling mounting pressure across the global mining industry. According to data from Mempool dated February 7, mining difficulty plunged 11.16%, falling to 125.86 trillion - one of the steepest declines ever recorded.
Bitcoin developer Mononaut confirmed the move is the largest one-time difficulty reduction in five years, placing it among the top ten biggest percentage drops in Bitcoin’s history. The sudden adjustment reflects a sharp contraction in active mining power as profitability deteriorates rapidly.
Hashrate Collapse Triggers Difficulty Shock
The difficulty drop followed an estimated 20% decline in global hashrate over the past 30 days, according to industry analysis. Data from Luxor Technology shows its Hashrate Index fell 11% last week, sliding to 863 EH/s, down sharply from October’s all-time high above 1.1 ZH/s.
This contraction reflects miners powering down unprofitable rigs as operating margins vanish. Bitcoin’s price collapse has been a major driver, with BTC now trading around $68,800, after briefly touching lows near $60,000 earlier this month. That marks a 45% drawdown from its October peak above $126,000.
Macro Pressure and ETF Outflows Weigh on Miners
The sell-off has been fueled by higher U.S. Treasury yields, sustained outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs, and a broad retreat from risk-on assets across global markets. According to data shared by SoSoValue, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have turned into net sellers in 2026, removing a key source of structural demand.
At the same time, Bitcoin miners are facing rising operational strain just as revenue per unit of compute continues to fall.
Winter Storm Fern Forces U.S. Miners Offline
Compounding the pressure, Winter Storm Fern in late January forced miners across large parts of the United States to curtail operations to stabilize stressed power grids. The storm reportedly knocked out around 200 EH/s of capacity, pushing Foundry USA’s share of global hashrate down to roughly 60% during the disruption.
These weather-related shutdowns accelerated the decline in network hashrate, triggering the sharp difficulty adjustment once the next retargeting window hit.
Hashprice Crashes Below Survival Levels
As hashpower exited the network, hashprice - a key profitability metric measuring daily revenue per unit of hashrate - collapsed to historic lows. Luxor Technology’s Director of Derivatives, Ben Harper, noted that hashprice fell to $33.31 per PH/s/day on February 2, with an average of $34.91/PH/s/day on February 1.
For context, miners generally consider $40/PH/s/day the minimum threshold to remain operational. Falling well below that level has made continued mining economically irrational for most operators.
Only Latest Mining Rigs Still Profitable
With margins crushed, only miners running the newest hardware remain in the green. Data from Antpool shows that Antminer S23 series machines are currently the only models generating meaningful returns, while older rigs - including Whatsminer M6 units and Antminer S21s - are near or below breakeven.
This latest difficulty drop surpasses the 7.5% decline recorded in June last year, which was triggered by heatwave-related shutdowns, and mirrors similar stress seen in early February 2025.
According to Checkonchain, the average cost to mine one Bitcoin now sits near $87,000, while spot prices hover around $69,000 - roughly 20% below production costs. That gap underscores why miners are exiting the network at an accelerating pace.
Mining Industry Enters Survival Phase
The scale of this difficulty adjustment highlights how quickly Bitcoin mining economics can deteriorate during sharp price drawdowns. With energy costs fixed, financing tightening, and only top-tier hardware remaining viable, the industry is entering a survival phase where efficiency - not scale - determines who stays online.
Whether the difficulty relief is enough to stabilize mining operations now depends almost entirely on Bitcoin’s price recovery.
