The share of fees in Bitcoin miners' revenues has collapsed to an all-time low: what this means for the network
On August 11, the share of transaction fees in Bitcoin miners' revenue structure was only 0.69%, one of the lowest figures in the past decade. This trend raises serious questions about the long-term sustainability of the network's security model.
Notably, fees have accounted for less than 1% of the first cryptocurrency's miners' income for a year now. The last time comparable values were recorded was when Bitcoin traded below the $400 mark. The indicator dropped below its current level only in April, reaching 0.52%.
The main source of reward for miners remains the block subsidy of 3.125 BTC, which was halved after the halving in April 2024. This creates a critical dependence of network participants on Bitcoin's price dynamics.
According to Checkonchain's calculation models, the average cost of mining one coin on August 11 was $78,254, while digital gold trades around $64,100. This discrepancy indicates that a significant portion of miners are operating at a loss.
Hashrate Shows Record Decline
At the same time, there is a significant decrease in the blockchain's computing power. According to Hashrate Index, the hashrate has collapsed by 33% from the peak values of October 2025 — from 1.3 ZH/s to 898 EH/s. This is one of the longest periods of decline in computing power in the network's history.
Analyst Will Clemente links this trend to declining mining margins and the active transfer of public companies' capacities to the fields of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Automatic difficulty adjustments have so far failed to reverse the trend.
Capriole Investments founder Charles Edwards calls what is happening "the most under-discussed alarming event for Bitcoin in 2026," noting that the hashrate decline has accelerated since April. Mining profitability remains extremely low: the hashprice stands at $31.6 per PH/s per day.
My analysis: The current situation forms a vicious circle — falling profitability forces miners to exit the network, which reduces the hashrate and security, but at the same time does not stimulate fee growth. In the short term, this could lead to industry consolidation and a further shift of capacities to the AI sector, which calls into question Bitcoin's decentralization in its classical sense.