Bitcoin miners are currently facing significant challenges as the network’s hashprice stabilizes at $48 per petahash per second (PH/s), despite increasing mining difficulty and declining transaction fees. This steady hashprice comes after a 1.4% difficulty increase on March 23, 2025, raising the network’s difficulty to 113.76 trillion at block 889,081. The rise in difficulty, coupled with a drop in Bitcoin’s network hashrate and transaction fees, is tightening profit margins for many miners, especially those using outdated equipment.

Challenges for Bitcoin Miners

Bitcoin mining has become increasingly difficult for miners due to a combination of factors. While Bitcoin’s price showed some recovery—rising from $80,000 on March 10 to $85,172 by March 24—the hashprice has remained below $50, a critical threshold for many miners to sustain operations. Daily mining revenue has seen a modest rebound to $39.23 million, up from a low of $36.27 million earlier in the month. However, this is still a significant 17% decrease from December 2024, when daily revenue peaked at $47 million.

A critical issue for miners has been the slump in transaction fee income. As of March 24, transaction fees accounted for only 1.12% of the total block reward, the lowest share since January 2022. The average per-block fee income has fallen to 0.04 BTC, further reducing miners’ profitability. For many, transaction fees have traditionally been a vital revenue stream, especially during times of price weakness.

Outdated Equipment Faces Profitability Pressure

Older-generation mining machines, like the Antminer S19 XP and S19 Pro, are struggling to stay profitable at the current hashprice. These rigs now yield as little as $0.088 and $0.067 per kilowatt-hour, which is below typical electricity rates in many regions. This makes it increasingly difficult for miners using older hardware to operate profitably, with thousands of units at risk of being decommissioned.

In contrast, newer rigs, such as the Antminer S21 Hyd, are still performing better, generating over $4.50 in daily earnings. These machines offer greater margin protection against the current hashprice conditions, but even they are not immune to the rising difficulty.

The Impact of Rising Difficulty

Bitcoin’s protocol adjusts mining difficulty every 2,016 blocks, based on the network’s performance over the previous two weeks. The latest difficulty increase, which raised the difficulty by 5.6%, has driven the hashprice down to $0.054 per terahash per day. This has added further strain on miners, particularly those using older-generation equipment.

According to Will Baxter, EVP at Braiins, the increase in difficulty is based on past network activity, not the current slowdown in hashrate. This misalignment has left miners in a tough spot, as they face rising difficulty at the same time the network hashrate is falling. Baxter predicts that around 50 exahashes per second (EH/s) of smaller mining operations could go offline this year due to profitability issues.

Looking Ahead: Relief in Sight?

There may be some short-term relief for miners, as the next difficulty adjustment, scheduled for April 7, 2025, is projected to drop by 4.3% to 108.86 trillion. This forecasted decrease in difficulty could ease pressure on miners, especially those using older equipment. However, many miners remain divided. Institutional players with modern rigs and access to cheap electricity can continue operating efficiently, while smaller miners are struggling to stay afloat.

Looking further ahead, the upcoming Bitcoin halving event, expected within the next year, will reduce block rewards and add additional pressure on miners. Without a significant price rebound or a surge in transaction fees, hashprice may remain under strain, leaving many miners facing tough decisions about their operations.

Conclusion

Bitcoin miners are currently operating in a challenging environment, with a steady hashprice of $48, rising mining difficulty, and shrinking transaction fee income. While a projected difficulty drop may offer temporary relief, miners, particularly those with outdated equipment, are facing tighter margins. Without a significant recovery in Bitcoin’s price or transaction fees, many smaller mining operations may be forced to scale back or shut down entirely.