Chart of the Week: ‘Dire Picture’ for BTC Miners as Revenue Flatlines Near Record Low

Finance

Share this article

By James Van Straten|Edited by Aoyon Ashraf

Apr 20, 2025, 5:00 p.m.

(Colin Anderson/Getty Images)
  • Hashprice, a key metric for miner revenue, is near a five-year low, highlighting the challenges in the mining industry.
  • Despite bitcoin trading around $84,000, miner revenue has decreased due to the recent halving event and rising operational costs.
  • The Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF has dropped 50% year-to-date, reflecting the difficult conditions for miners.

Hashprice, a key metric used to gauge miner revenue, is currently hovering near a five-year low, according to HashRate Index—a stark reminder of how difficult the mining business has become.

In simple terms, the metric is the income miners can expect per unit of computing power, denoted by per petahash (PH/s). It can be denominated in U.S. dollars or BTC, although it’s most commonly quoted in USD for practical comparison.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Don’t miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today.See all newslettersBy signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to ourterms of useandprivacy policy.

At present, hashprice sits at $44.00 PH/s, only slightly above its August 2024 low, when bitcoin reached $49,000 amid the yen carry trade unwind. Currently, bitcoin is trading around $84,000.

Mining hashprice (Luxor)

Despite the higher BTC price, miner revenue is dwindling, which paints a dire picture of the mining industry as a whole after the recent halving event cut the rewards by half. Rising competition, higher mining difficulty, lower transaction revenue, and spiking energy costs have added more pressure to the revenue.

However, it’s not all bad. At around $44.00 PH/s levels, depending on what type of mining machines miners are using, miners can still be near or at breakeven, although far from 2021’s mining bull run.

Looking ahead, deteriorating market conditions, stagnant bitcoin prices, and geopolitical uncertainty, such as potential tariffs affecting mining operations, could create further headwinds for the industry.

This is reflected in the performance of the Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI), which is down 50% year-to-date while BTC fell about 10%, underscoring the challenging environment facing the mining sector.

It makes sense that miners are increasingly pivoting into other revenue streams, such as reallocating computing power for artificial intelligence.

Read more: Bitcoin Mining Stocks Plunge as Revenue Craters Amid Market Carnage

James Van Straten is a Senior Analyst at CoinDesk, specializing in Bitcoin and its interplay with the macroeconomic environment. Previously, James worked as a Research Analyst at Saidler & Co., a Swiss hedge fund, where he developed expertise in on-chain analytics. His work focuses on monitoring flows to analyze Bitcoin’s role within the broader financial system.

In addition to his professional endeavors, James serves as an advisor to Coinsilium, a UK publicly traded company, where he provides guidance on their Bitcoin treasury strategy. He also holds investments in Bitcoin, MicroStrategy (MSTR), and Semler Scientific (SMLR).

James Van Straten


Contact

DISCLOSURE & POLICES

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.

EthicsPrivacyTerms of UseCookie SettingsDo Not Sell My Info


© 2025 CoinDesk, Inc.