June 2026 was a challenging month for public mining companies. CleanSpark, BitFuFu, and Canaan simultaneously recorded a decline in Bitcoin mining volumes, despite an overall drop in network difficulty to multi-year lows. This signals that even favorable hashrate conditions do not guarantee production growth if internal operational factors falter.
CleanSpark, one of the largest market players, reduced its mining output from 671 BTC in May to 614 BTC in June. The key reason was a decline in average operational hashrate from 46 EH/s to 43 EH/s. The company ended the month with a balance of 13,924 BTC. This indicates that CleanSpark continues to accumulate reserves despite temporary production difficulties.
BitFuFu showed an even sharper decline: from 177 BTC to 125 BTC. The drop in total computing power from 19.5 EH/s to 15 EH/s is attributed to a reduction in leased capacity. However, the company is actively expanding its own fleet: 1,200 S21 XP miners were deployed in June, with another 2,000 devices expected to come online in July. This is a strategically sound move that will allow BitFuFu to reduce its dependence on third-party hashrate providers.
Canaan mined only 64 BTC compared to 90 BTC the previous month. Management attributed the decline to scheduled power grid maintenance at one of its sites. Meanwhile, the company's Texas joint venture recovered from May disruptions caused by wildfires. Interestingly, Canaan ended June with a record balance of 1,915 BTC and 3,952 ETH, reflecting prudent asset management amid volatility.
Market reaction to the reports was mixed. CleanSpark shares rose 5% to $13, BitFuFu gained 7% to $1.42, while Canaan shares lost 1.5% and fell to $0.20. The divergence in performance directly reflects varying levels of investor confidence in these companies' long-term strategies.
CleanSpark Signs Record $6.6 Billion Contract
On July 14, CleanSpark announced the signing of 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, with the potential to extend to $11.6 billion. The lessee will deploy 175 MW of infrastructure, with the facility's launch scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027.
CleanSpark CEO Matt Schultz emphasized that this move marks the company's transition from pure Bitcoin mining to a diversified digital infrastructure model. Simultaneously, an exclusive negotiation agreement was signed 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.
My comment: CleanSpark demonstrates how mining companies can transform into infrastructure operators for AI and cloud computing. This is a strategically sound move amid growing demand for computing power. However, investors should closely monitor how quickly the company can convert these ambitious plans into real profits—the 2027 facility launch timelines leave room for maneuver, but also for risks.