June proved to be a challenging month for public miners. CleanSpark, BitFuFu, and Canaan simultaneously reported a decline in their mining volumes of the first cryptocurrency. This is notable against the backdrop of mining difficulty falling to 2026 lows — seemingly ideal conditions for increasing production. However, reality turned out to be more complex: technical issues, reductions in leased capacity, and scheduled maintenance outweighed the favorable market conditions.
CleanSpark mined 614 BTC compared to 671 BTC in May. The key factor was a decrease in average operational hashrate from 46 EH/s to 43 EH/s. Despite the decline, the company maintains a substantial reserve — 13,924 BTC on its balance sheet. BitFuFu showed an even sharper drop: from 177 BTC to 125 BTC. The reason was a reduction in leased computing power, which lowered the total hashrate from 19.5 EH/s to 15 EH/s. However, the company is actively investing in its own fleet: 1,200 S21 XP miners were deployed in June, with another 2,000 devices to be added in July. Canaan mined only 64 BTC compared to 90 BTC the previous month. The decline is linked to power grid maintenance at one of its sites, although its Texas joint venture has already recovered from the May wildfires. Canaan's balance sheet grew by 49 BTC, and its total reserves reached 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% (to $0.2). Investors appear to be evaluating long-term prospects rather than current mining output.
CleanSpark Changes Strategy: From Mining to Data Centers
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 value is $6.6 billion. The lessee will deploy infrastructure with a capacity of 175 MW, with commissioning scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027. The agreement includes two five-year renewal options, which could increase 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. Concurrently, the parties signed an exclusivity agreement for negotiations covering CleanSpark's entire Texas portfolio, which includes two sites totaling 718 acres with a potential capacity of up to 885 MW. The contract is expected to generate approximately $330 million in net operating income annually, with nearly 100% operating margins.
CleanSpark began its pivot toward AI infrastructure as early as fall 2025. Now, the company is betting on commercializing its energy assets. Notably, mining company MARA Holdings also acquired a site in Texas for $600 million for similar purposes.
My professional commentary: The June data is not just statistics but a signal of structural changes in the industry. The decline in production at CleanSpark and BitFuFu amid decreasing difficulty indicates that miners are reallocating resources from "raw" mining to more profitable areas, such as AI infrastructure. This could become a new trend: in the long term, Bitcoin mining will increasingly consolidate around major players capable of diversifying their revenues through energy-intensive technology projects.