June 2026 became a landmark month for the Bitcoin mining market – three major public companies simultaneously reported a decline in production of the first cryptocurrency. CleanSpark, BitFuFu, and Canaan recorded a drop in mining output, even though mining difficulty during this period fell to its lowest levels in recent years, which theoretically should have made miners' work easier.
CleanSpark mined 614 BTC compared to 671 BTC in May. The company attributes the 8.5% decline to a drop in average operational hashrate from 46 EH/s to 43 EH/s. Despite the decrease in production, the miner's balance sheet at the end of the month still held an impressive 13,924 BTC.
BitFuFu showed an even sharper decline – from 177 BTC to 125 BTC. The main reason is the reduction in leased capacity, which caused the total computing power to fall from 19.5 EH/s to 15 EH/s. Notably, the company is actively expanding its own fleet: in June, 1,200 S21 XP miners were deployed, increasing its own hashrate to 3.5 EH/s, and another 2,000 devices are expected to be connected in July.
Canaan mined 64 BTC compared to 90 BTC the previous month. The decline is related to planned power grid maintenance at one of its sites. However, a positive development was the recovery of the Texas joint venture after May disruptions due to wildfires. The company added 49 BTC to its balance sheet and ended June with a record 1,915 BTC and 3,952 ETH.
The market reacted ambiguously to the reports: CleanSpark shares rose 5% (to $13), BitFuFu rose 7% (to $1.42), while Canaan's shares lost 1.5% (to $0.2).
CleanSpark shifts focus to AI infrastructure
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 options for five-year extensions each, which, if exercised, would bring the total deal value to $11.6 billion.
CleanSpark CEO Matt Schultz noted that this agreement marks the company's transition from pure Bitcoin mining to a diversified digital infrastructure model and will allow it to begin commercializing its energy assets. 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.
Analytical commentary: The decline in production amid falling difficulty signals structural problems in these companies' operational models, rather than market factors. The case of CleanSpark is particularly telling: despite temporary mining difficulties, it is making a strategic pivot toward AI infrastructure. This confirms my long-standing thesis: the future lies in hybrid models, where Bitcoin mining becomes just one avenue for monetizing energy assets. Investors should closely monitor how quickly companies can adapt to this new reality.