July 2026 was a turning point for Bitcoin miners. Network difficulty dropped twice in a row, while hashprice surged by nearly 16%. This combination of factors dramatically improved the economics of mining the first cryptocurrency after a prolonged period of price decline.
My analysis of data over the past month shows that we are witnessing a rare event. Network difficulty fell by 5% on July 11 and by another 0.74% on July 25, reaching 126.23 TH/s by the end of the month. This continues the volatility that began in June, when the metric first dropped by 10.09% and then partially recovered by 7.15%. Notably, such a consecutive decline in difficulty relative to the annual level has been recorded only the second time in Bitcoin's history. The first case was in 2021, when China imposed a ban on mining, causing a massive shutdown of capacity.
At the core of the current dynamics lies a combination of factors. These include changes in mining economics amid falling BTC prices, a reallocation of investments in energy infrastructure toward AI/HPC projects, and temporary regional restrictions on electricity.
Hashprice and Bitcoin stabilization
In parallel with the decline in difficulty, there was a steady rise in hashprice—a key indicator of miners' potential revenue. From June 30 to July 31, it jumped from $27.60 to $31.93 per 1 PH/s per day, an increase of approximately 15.69%. The BTC price, meanwhile, stabilized after a prolonged decline. The average price for July was $63,931.98, which is $752.45 higher than the June figure. During the month, the asset traded in the range of $60,150.01–$66,433.19.
Leaders in profitability
At the end of July, the absolute leader in profitability was the Bitmain Antminer S21 XP 270 TH/s, which also holds the top spot for the first half of the year. Its monthly profitability was 1.12% (13.42% annually) with a mining output of 0.0038313 BTC per month. The second and third positions were taken by the Bitmain Antminer S21 PRO 234 TH/s MIX (0.38% per month) and the MicroBT Whatsminer M70 222 TH/s (0.24% per month), respectively.
However, it is important to emphasize that the overall picture is uneven. Despite improved conditions for the entire industry, a number of models, including the Bitmain Antminer S21+ 235 TH/s MIX and the MicroBT Whatsminer M61S+ 240 TH/s, are still operating at a loss due to high electricity and hosting costs. This clearly demonstrates that final profitability is determined not only by market conditions but also by the energy efficiency of specific equipment.
The June-July dynamics show how rapidly working conditions in the network can change. After a significant drop in difficulty in mid-June, there was a partial recovery, followed by two new negative adjustments in July. Therefore, mining efficiency should be assessed not by short-term fluctuations but over a longer time horizon. In current conditions, choosing a highly efficient ASIC miner becomes a critical factor for survival and profitability.