June was a month of contrasts for the Bitcoin mining industry. Despite a sharp drop in mining difficulty to its lowest levels since 2026, three public companies — CleanSpark, BitFuFu, and Canaan — recorded a decline in their production of the first cryptocurrency. This is a clear example of how market conditions and operational issues can outweigh even the most favorable network conditions.
CleanSpark, one of the largest players, mined 614 BTC compared to 671 BTC in May. The key factor was a decrease in the average operational hashrate from 46 EH/s to 43 EH/s. The company is not expanding capacity but rather consolidating it, which is reflected in the mining volume. At the end of the month, CleanSpark held 13,924 BTC on its balance sheet — a solid safety margin.
BitFuFu showed an even sharper decline: from 177 BTC to 125 BTC. The total computing power of their equipment dropped from 19.5 EH/s to 15 EH/s. The reason is a reduction in leased capacity. However, the company is actively investing in its own fleet: 1,200 new S21 XP miners were deployed in June, and another 2,000 devices are planned for connection in July. This signals a strategic shift towards controlling their own equipment.
Canaan reported mining 64 BTC compared to 90 BTC the previous month. The decline is linked to scheduled power grid maintenance at one of its sites. However, there is a positive aspect: their joint venture in Texas fully recovered from May disruptions caused by wildfires. The company's balance sheet increased by 49 BTC, reaching a record 1,915 BTC and 3,952 ETH.
The stock market reaction was mixed: CleanSpark shares rose by 5% (to $13), BitFuFu by 7% (to $1.42), while Canaan lost 1.5% (to $0.2). Investors are evaluating companies' prospects not only based on current mining output but also on their strategic moves.
CleanSpark's New $6.6 Billion Contract
On July 14, CleanSpark signed a 20-year lease agreement for a data center campus in Georgia with an unnamed investment-grade technology company. The contract value is $6.6 billion, with the potential to increase to $11.6 billion if extension options are activated. The lessee will deploy infrastructure with a capacity of 175 MW, with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027.
CleanSpark CEO Matt Schultz called this agreement a milestone: the company is transitioning from a pure Bitcoin mining model to a diversified digital infrastructure. Simultaneously, an exclusive negotiation agreement was signed for a portfolio of assets in Texas — two sites totaling 718 acres with a potential of up to 885 MW. The contract is expected to generate approximately $330 million in net operating income annually, with nearly 100% operating margins.
This continues the strategy initiated in the fall of 2025, when CleanSpark announced the development of its data center business and the reorientation of energy assets toward AI workloads. Notably, MARA Holdings took a similar path, purchasing a site in Texas for $600 million.
My analysis: The current decline in mining output is not a crisis but a transitional phase. Companies are reallocating resources, moving away from leased capacity in favor of their own, and diversifying their business toward high-margin data centers for AI. This indicates the industry's maturity: miners no longer want to be hostages to a single volatile coin. June's decline is the price to pay for future stability.