June proved to be a challenging month for major public mining companies. CleanSpark, BitFuFu, and Canaan simultaneously reported a decline in Bitcoin mining volumes, despite a notable drop in network difficulty, which hit new lows for 2026. This is an interesting signal: typically, lower difficulty should make life easier for miners, but here we see operational issues outweighing the positive effect of network hashrate.
CleanSpark, one of the sector leaders, mined 614 BTC in June compared to 671 BTC in May. The main reason was a drop in average operational hashrate from 46 EH/s to 43 EH/s. The company's balance sheet at the end of the month held 13,924 BTC.
BitFuFu showed an even sharper decline: production fell from 177 BTC to 125 BTC. Total computing power dropped from 19.5 EH/s to 15 EH/s due to a reduction in leased capacity. Meanwhile, the company continues to expand its own fleet — 1,200 additional S21 XP miners were deployed in June, and another 2,000 devices are planned for July.
Canaan reported a decline from 90 BTC to 64 BTC, attributing it to scheduled power grid maintenance at one of its sites. However, a positive note was the recovery of its Texas joint venture after May disruptions caused by wildfires. The company added 49 BTC to its balance sheet, ending the month with 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 lost 1.5%, falling to $0.2.
CleanSpark Signs $6.6 Billion Mega 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 175 MW of infrastructure, with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027. The agreement includes two five-year renewal options, potentially bringing the total deal value to $11.6 billion.
CleanSpark CEO Matt Schultz emphasized that 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 a 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. This is a logical continuation of the strategy launched in the fall of 2025, when CleanSpark announced the development of its data center business and a shift toward infrastructure for artificial intelligence.
My analysis: This trend is indicative. Miners are increasingly seeking additional revenue streams, moving away from dependence on Bitcoin volatility. CleanSpark is setting the tone here, transforming energy assets into a platform for high-performance computing. If such contracts become widespread, we will see a fundamental transformation of the entire sector — from cryptocurrency mining to a hybrid model of digital infrastructure.