Profit pressure surrounds the Bitcoin mining industry in January

In January, the global cryptocurrency mining industry faced significant pressure as profits declined due to high energy costs, increased network difficulty, and falling mining hardware prices. MARA transferred over 2,125 BTC but still holds more than 52,000 BTC, ranking second worldwide in corporate Bitcoin reserves. Machines like the S19 XP+ Hyd are approaching shutdown levels, while the S21 is only effective at prices between $69,000 and $74,000. Bitmain has had to sharply reduce the prices of S19/S21 by $3–8 per TH/s and is aggressively promoting all-in hosting packages.

The market share of North American mining pools has decreased to 35% as many operators pivot toward AI/HPC. In terms of output, Bitdeer mined 636 BTC in December 2025 with 55.2 EH/s, while CleanSpark mined 7,746 BTC throughout 2025; Bit Digital is selling Bitcoin to shift toward Ethereum and AI infrastructure.

At the national level, Ethiopia is seeking new partners, Russia is cracking down on illegal mining, Malaysia is dismantling illegal farms, and Turkmenistan has legalized mining and exchanges starting January 1. Notably, corporate treasuries have accumulated a net 260,000 BTC over six months, surpassing new supply.