June brought an unexpected decline for three major public mining companies: CleanSpark, BitFuFu, and Canaan, despite the Bitcoin network difficulty hitting 2026 lows. This is a counterintuitive trend, pointing to internal operational issues rather than market conditions.
CleanSpark, one of the leading players, mined only 614 BTC compared to 671 BTC in May. The main reason was a drop in average operational hashrate from 46 EH/s to 43 EH/s. Meanwhile, the company's balance sheet holds 13,924 BTC — a solid safety margin. BitFuFu reduced its output from 177 BTC to 125 BTC, linked to a decrease in leased computing power from 19.5 EH/s to 15 EH/s. However, the company is actively expanding its own fleet: 1,200 new S21 XP miners were deployed in June, with another 2,000 devices planned for connection in July.
Canaan posted the most modest result — 64 BTC versus 90 BTC the previous month. The decline is due to scheduled power grid maintenance at one of its sites. However, the company's Texas joint venture recovered from May's wildfires, and its balance sheet grew by 49 BTC. As of June, Canaan holds 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's stock fell 1.5% to $0.2.
CleanSpark Signs Historic $6.6 Billion Contract
On July 14, CleanSpark announced 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 175 MW of infrastructure, with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027. Two five-year renewal options could increase the total deal value to $11.6 billion.
CleanSpark CEO Matt Schultz emphasized that this move marks a transition from pure Bitcoin mining to a diversified digital infrastructure model. Concurrently, the parties signed an exclusivity agreement for negotiations covering CleanSpark's entire Texas portfolio, including 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.
Analytical Commentary: This contract is not just a deal but a signal of fundamental sector transformation. Miners, once entirely dependent on Bitcoin volatility, are now seeking stable long-term revenues through AI and cloud computing infrastructure. CleanSpark is effectively becoming a data center operator rather than just a cryptocurrency miner. The question is whether the company can scale this model amid growing competition from traditional cloud market players.