Bitcoin Hashrate Drops 3% Due to US Heatwave, Miners Profitability Rises 7%

The Bitcoin network's monthly average hashrate experienced a decline of approximately 3% in June. This decrease was primarily attributed to seasonal weather-related curtailment, particularly in the United States. Analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce noted that major mining operations, including Cipher, IREN, and Riot, collectively contribute over 80 exahashes per second (EH/s) in Texas, a region significantly impacted by the recent heatwave.

The hashrate, which measures the total combined computational power used for mining and processing transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain, serves as an indicator of industry competition and mining difficulty. The decline in hashrate was a direct response from miners who curtailed their operations due to the extreme weather conditions, which affected their ability to maintain optimal mining conditions.

Despite the decline in hashrate, Bitcoin mining profitability continued to improve. Miners earned an average of $55,300 per EH/s in daily block reward revenue in June, marking a 7% increase from April. This improvement in profitability was further supported by a 13% month-on-month rise in daily block reward gross profit, reaching its highest level since January.

The total market capitalization of the 13 U.S.-listed Bitcoin miners followed by the bank increased by 23%, or around $5.3 billion, from the previous month. This growth was driven by operators with high-performance computing (HPC) exposure, who outperformed pure-play miners. The speculation surrounding a potential deal between Core Scientific and CoreWeave contributed to this performance disparity.

Among the miners, IREN stood out with a 67% gain, while Bitfarms experienced the most significant decline with a 19% drop. The overall market dynamics highlighted the resilience of the Bitcoin mining industry in the face of environmental challenges, as miners adapted their operations to maintain profitability and efficiency.