Miners lose bitcoins: CleanSpark, BitFuFu, and Canaan report a drop in mining output in June
June proved to be a challenging month for leading public mining companies. CleanSpark, BitFuFu, and Canaan simultaneously reported a decline in the volume of the first cryptocurrency mined, despite the fact that Bitcoin network difficulty during this period updated its 2026 lows. This is a paradoxical situation that requires close analysis: typically, a drop in difficulty should help miners, but here we see the opposite effect.
CleanSpark mined 614 BTC compared to 671 BTC in May. The main reason is a decrease in average operational hashrate from 46 EH/s to 43 EH/s. The company attributed this to technical factors, but it still holds an impressive reserve on its balance sheet — 13,924 BTC. BitFuFu showed an even sharper decline: from 177 BTC to 125 BTC. The total computing power of equipment fell from 19.5 EH/s to 15 EH/s due to a reduction in leased capacity. At the same time, the company is actively expanding its own fleet: 1,200 S21 XP miners were deployed in June, and another 2,000 devices are planned to be connected in July. Canaan mined only 64 BTC compared to 90 BTC the previous month. The decline is related to planned maintenance of the power grid at one of its sites, although their Texas joint venture has already recovered from the May wildfires. Canaan's balance sheet increased by 49 BTC, and total reserves reached a record 1,915 BTC and 3,952 ETH.
The stock market reaction was mixed. CleanSpark shares rose 5% to $13, BitFuFu gained 7% to $1.42, while Canaan's stock fell 1.5% to $0.2. This indicates varying degrees of investor confidence in the companies' strategies.
CleanSpark Signs Mega Deal Worth $6.6 Billion
Against the backdrop of declining production, on July 14, CleanSpark signed a 20-year lease agreement for a data center campus in Sandersville, Georgia, with an unnamed investment-grade technology company. The contract is valued at $6.6 billion. The lessee will deploy infrastructure with a capacity of 175 MW, with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027. The agreement includes two options for five-year extensions each, which, if exercised, could increase the total transaction value to $11.6 billion.
According to CleanSpark CEO Matt Schultz, this contract marks the company's transition from pure Bitcoin mining to a diversified digital infrastructure model. Simultaneously, the parties signed an agreement for exclusive negotiations regarding CleanSpark's entire Texas portfolio, which includes two sites totaling 718 acres with potential capacity of up to 885 MW. The company expects the contract to generate approximately $330 million in net operating income annually with nearly 100% operating margins.
Recall that CleanSpark began its pivot toward artificial intelligence infrastructure back in the fall of 2025. This is a logical step for miners who are starting to commercialize their energy assets, as in the long term, stable income from data center leasing may prove more reliable than volatile Bitcoin mining. However, investors should closely monitor how these mega-contracts will be implemented in practice, especially given the decline in operational performance in June.