#IsraelStrikesIranBTCPlunges

Bitcoin miners are operating at significant losses, with average production costs around $88,000 per coin against a market price of approximately $69,200, as rising energy prices and war-related disruptions compress margins.
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, including oil prices above $100 and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, are driving up electricity costs and contributing to declining hash rate, slower block creation times, and sharp decreases in network difficulty.
The strained economics of mining are forcing miners to sell more bitcoin and pivot to AI and high-performance computing for more stable income, adding further pressure to a market already burdened by holders with losing positions and significant leverage.
The mathematics have turned against bitcoin miners, and war is making things worse every week.
Checkonchain's difficulty regression model, which estimates average mining costs based on network difficulty and energy expenditure, has set this figure at $88,000 per bitcoin as of March 13.
Cost pressures have been mounting since the collapse in October, when bitcoin fell from $126 000 to below $70 000, but the Iran war has accelerated the process. Oil prices above $100 directly affect electricity costs for mining operations, especially for roughly 8-10% of global hash rate operating on energy markets sensitive to Middle East supply.
Hash rate has declined to approximately 920 EH/s, significantly below the record high of 1 zettahash achieved in 2025. Average block time over the last epoch period was 12 minutes and 36 seconds, significantly exceeding the target of 10 minutes.