Bitcoin network difficulty in July 2026 demonstrated rare dynamics, declining twice in a row, while hashprice rose by nearly 16%. This combination of factors created favorable conditions for miners after a prolonged period of decline in the price of the first cryptocurrency.

My market analysis shows that we are witnessing a unique situation that has occurred only the second time in Bitcoin's history. A decrease in network difficulty alongside a rise in hashprice is a signal of a fundamental restructuring of the industry, not just a short-term fluctuation.

Network Difficulty and Hashprice: A Trend Reversal

In July, there were two consecutive negative difficulty adjustments: on July 11, the figure dropped by 5%, and on July 25, by another 0.74%. By the end of the month, difficulty stood at 126.23 TH/s. This dynamic continued the volatility recorded back in June, when on June 14 difficulty plunged by 10.09%, and on June 27 partially recovered by 7.15%.

Notably, a decline in difficulty relative to the level of a year ago is an extremely rare phenomenon. A similar situation was observed only in 2021, when China introduced a mining ban, leading to a massive shutdown of computing power. Now, however, we see different reasons: changes in the economics of mining amid the falling BTC price, a redistribution of investments and energy infrastructure in favor of AI/HPC projects, as well as temporary power outages due to regional restrictions.

In parallel, hashprice — an indicator of miners' potential revenue per unit of power — rose from $27.60 to $31.93 per 1 PH/s per day, representing an increase of approximately 15.69%. The Bitcoin price stabilized during this period: the average monthly figure was $63,931.98, which is $752.45 higher than the June level. The range of fluctuations was quite wide — from $60,150.01 to $66,433.19.

Top 3 Most Profitable ASIC Miners

The leader in profitability in July was the Bitmain Antminer S21 XP 270 TH/s, which also retained its position based on the results of the first half of 2026:

  • Bitmain Antminer S21 XP 270 TH/s — 1.12% per month (13.42% annually), mined 0.0038313 BTC/month.
  • Bitmain Antminer S21 PRO 234 TH/s MIX — 0.38% per month (4.56% annually), mined 0.00332046 BTC/month.
  • MicroBT Whatsminer M70 222 TH/s — 0.24% per month (2.92% annually), mined 0.00315018 BTC/month.

It is important to note that not all models turned out to be profitable. For example, the Bitmain Antminer S21+ 235 TH/s MIX showed negative profitability (-0.07% annually) due to high hosting costs, while the MicroBT Whatsminer M61S+ 240 TH/s went even further into the red at -0.55%.

The range of BTC mined among the reviewed devices was 0.00289476–0.0038313 BTC per month. Final profitability is still determined by the energy efficiency and characteristics of the specific equipment, not just market conditions.

My expert conclusion: the June-July dynamics show how quickly network operating conditions can change. Mining efficiency should be assessed not by a single difficulty adjustment or a short-term price change, but over a longer time horizon. Investors considering entering the industry should now pay attention to models with minimal energy consumption per terahash — these are the ones that will survive the next cycles of volatility.