July 2026 became a turning point for the Bitcoin mining industry. Two consecutive negative difficulty adjustments, combined with a nearly 16% increase in hashprice, created a rare opportunity for the recovery of the first cryptocurrency's mining economy after a prolonged period of market pressure.
Analyzing data from the past month, I note a unique dynamic: on July 11, network difficulty dropped by 5%, and on July 25, by another 0.74%. By the end of the month, the figure stood at 126.23 TH/s. This is a continuation of the volatility that began back in June, when on the 14th we observed a decline of 10.09%, and on June 27, a partial recovery of 7.15%.
Particular attention deserves the fact that network difficulty fell relative to the level of a year ago. This is only the second such case in Bitcoin's history. The first time this situation occurred was in 2021, when China's mining ban led to a massive shutdown of computing power. The current dynamic is driven by a combination of factors: changes in the mining economy amid the decline in BTC's price, a redistribution of investments into AI/HPC projects, as well as the temporary shutdown of some capacity and regional energy constraints.
Hashprice growth and price stabilization
In parallel with the decline in difficulty, there was an impressive rise in hashprice—a key indicator of miners' potential revenue per unit of power. From June 30 to July 31, it grew from $27.60 to $31.93 per 1 PH/s per day, equivalent to an increase of 15.69%. The average Bitcoin price in July was $63,931.98, showing a rise of $752.45 compared to June, with a trading range of $60,150.01–$66,433.19.
ASIC miner profitability ranking
The leader of July was the Bitmain Antminer S21 XP 270 TH/s, which also retained its top position based on the first half of the year. Its profitability was 1.12% per month (13.42% annually) with a mining output of 0.0038313 BTC/month. The top three also included the Bitmain Antminer S21 PRO 234 TH/s MIX (0.38% monthly profitability) and the MicroBT Whatsminer M70 222 TH/s (0.24%).
However, not all models turned out to be profitable. The Bitmain Antminer S21+ 235 TH/s MIX showed negative profitability (-0.07% annually), while the MicroBT Whatsminer M61S+ 240 TH/s posted a loss of -0.55%. This clearly demonstrates that even in a favorable period, the efficiency of specific equipment plays a decisive role.
The range of BTC mining output among the reviewed devices was 0.00289476–0.0038313 BTC per month. The final profitability is still determined by the energy efficiency and technical specifications of a particular model, not just by market conditions.
The June-July dynamic shows how quickly network operating conditions can change. Mining efficiency is more appropriately assessed over a longer time horizon, rather than by individual difficulty adjustments or short-term price fluctuations.
My expert view: the current combination of factors—declining difficulty with a rising hashprice—creates a window of opportunity for operators with modern equipment. However, investors should remember that such periods are rare and short-lived. The key factor for long-term profitability will remain access to cheap electricity and effective management of the ASIC device fleet.