June proved to be a challenging month for three major public mining companies. CleanSpark, BitFuFu, and Canaan recorded a notable decline in Bitcoin mining output, despite network difficulty dropping to 2026 lows. This paradox points to structural issues in the players' operational activities rather than market factors.
CleanSpark, traditionally considered one of the most efficient miners, reduced production from 671 BTC in May to 614 BTC. The reason is a drop in average operational hashrate from 46 EH/s to 43 EH/s. The company's balance sheet at the end of June held 13,924 BTC, confirming their accumulation strategy, but the pace of this accumulation has slowed.
BitFuFu showed an even sharper decline — from 177 BTC to 125 BTC. The key factor is a reduction in leased computing power: total hashrate fell from 19.5 EH/s to 15 EH/s. However, the company continues to invest in its own fleet, deploying 1,200 S21 XP miners in June and planning to connect another 2,000 devices in July. This indicates a shift toward a more controlled business model.
Canaan, which traditionally holds a smaller market share, reduced mining output from 90 BTC to 64 BTC. The decline is related to scheduled power grid maintenance at one of its sites. Meanwhile, their Texas joint venture recovered from May's wildfires, allowing them to add 49 BTC to their balance sheet. The company ended June with a record 1,915 BTC and 3,952 ETH, signaling asset diversification.
The market reacted mixedly: CleanSpark shares rose 5% (to $13), BitFuFu — 7% (to $1.42), while Canaan fell 1.5% (to $0.2). Investors appear to view the long-term strategies of the first two companies positively, despite the current downturn.
CleanSpark's Strategic Shift: From Bitcoin to AI Infrastructure
On July 14, CleanSpark signed a landmark 20-year lease agreement for a data center campus in Sandersville, Georgia, with an unnamed investment-grade technology company. The deal is valued at $6.6 billion. The tenant will deploy 175 MW of infrastructure, with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027. Two extension options could increase the total deal value to $11.6 billion.
CleanSpark CEO Matt Schultz called this agreement a transition from pure Bitcoin mining to a diversified digital infrastructure model. The company expects annual net operating income of approximately $330 million with nearly 100% operating margins. Notably, this trend began in the fall of 2025, when CleanSpark announced the development of its data center business and an assessment of the possibility of repurposing energy sites for AI workloads.
My expert commentary: The decline in output at CleanSpark and BitFuFu is not a crisis but rather planned optimization. CleanSpark is consciously sacrificing short-term hashrate for a massive AI infrastructure contract that could generate $330 million annually. BitFuFu, by reducing leased capacity, is betting on its own fleet, which lowers operational risks. Canaan, however, remains in a vulnerable position: their decline is due to technical issues, not a strategic choice. Overall, June's figures confirm that the era of "pure" Bitcoin mining is fading — the future lies in hybrid models where energy serves not only for BTC mining but also for high-performance computing.