June was a challenging month for public mining companies. CleanSpark, BitFuFu, and Canaan simultaneously reported a decline in Bitcoin mining volumes, despite network difficulty dropping to 2026 lows. This trend points to structural issues within the operators themselves, rather than a deterioration in market conditions.
CleanSpark reduced production from 671 BTC in May to 614 BTC in June. The key factor was a drop in average operational hashrate from 46 EH/s to 43 EH/s. The company ended the month with 13,924 BTC on its balance sheet, indicating a conservative strategy of reserve accumulation.
BitFuFu showed an even sharper decline: mining output plummeted from 177 BTC to 125 BTC. The reason was a reduction in leased capacity, causing total computing power to fall from 19.5 EH/s to 15 EH/s. However, the company is actively expanding its own fleet: 1,200 S21 XP miners were deployed in June, with another 2,000 devices expected to be connected in July. This signals a shift in business model towards greater control over equipment.
Canaan reported a decrease from 90 BTC to 64 BTC. The company attributed this to planned maintenance of the power grid at one of its sites. Meanwhile, its Texas joint venture recovered from May disruptions caused by wildfires. Canaan's balance sheet grew by 49 BTC, and by the end of the month, the company held a record 1,915 BTC and 3,952 ETH.
The market reaction was mixed: CleanSpark shares rose 5% to $13, BitFuFu gained 7% to $1.42, while Canaan lost 1.5%, falling to $0.2. This differentiation reflects investor confidence in CleanSpark's diversification strategy at the expense of pure mining.
CleanSpark's Strategic Shift: $6.6 Billion Contract
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. Two five-year renewal options could bring the total deal value to $11.6 billion.
CleanSpark CEO Matt Schultz emphasized that this agreement marks the company's transition from Bitcoin mining to a diversified digital infrastructure model. Simultaneously, the parties signed an agreement for exclusive negotiations on 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.
Notably, a similar trend is observed among other players: MARA Holdings recently invested up to $600 million in a site for AI and Bitcoin mining.
Expert Commentary: The decline in mining output at CleanSpark, BitFuFu, and Canaan is not a coincidence but a reflection of a fundamental shift in the industry. Miners can no longer rely solely on coin mining: margins are shrinking, and the key asset is becoming energy capacity that can be redirected to AI and cloud computing. CleanSpark is the first public company to bet on long-term infrastructure contracts, and if this model pays off, it will set a new standard for the entire sector.