July 2026 became a landmark month for Bitcoin mining. The network demonstrated extremely rare dynamics: two consecutive negative difficulty adjustments, while hashprice surged by nearly 16%. This combination of factors not only stabilized the mining economy but also radically reshaped the balance of power in the equipment market.
Unprecedented Difficulty Decline
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 trillion. This continues the volatility that began back in June, when difficulty plunged by 10.09% and then partially recovered by 7.15%.
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that network difficulty on a year-over-year basis fell below the level of the previous year. Such a situation has been observed only once in Bitcoin's entire history — in 2021, when China's mining ban caused a massive shutdown of capacity. Now, however, we see different causes: changes in the mining economy amid BTC price corrections, capital and energy resource flows into AI/HPC projects, as well as temporary equipment shutdowns due to regional restrictions.
Hashprice Growth and Price Stabilization
In parallel with the difficulty decline, hashprice — a key indicator of miners' potential revenue — rose from $27.60 to $31.93 per 1 PH/s per day, a 15.69% increase over the month. The average Bitcoin price in July was $63,931.98, which is $752.45 higher than the June level. The trading range was relatively narrow: $60,150.01–$66,433.19.
ASIC Profitability Ranking
The profitability leader in July was the Bitmain Antminer S21 XP 270 TH/s, maintaining its top position from the first half of the year. Its monthly profitability stood at 1.12% (13.42% annually), with a monthly output of 0.0038313 BTC. In second place was the Bitmain Antminer S21 PRO 234 TH/s MIX with a profitability of 0.38% (4.56% annually), and rounding out the top three was the MicroBT Whatsminer M70 222 TH/s with 0.24% (2.92% annually).
It is important to note that not all models proved profitable. The Bitmain Antminer S21+ 235 TH/s MIX and MicroBT Whatsminer M61S+ 240 TH/s went into negative territory due to high electricity and hosting costs. This underscores the critical role of energy efficiency: even under favorable network dynamics, outdated or less efficient devices remain unprofitable.
The BTC mining range among the reviewed devices was 0.00289476–0.0038313 BTC per month. Final profitability is still determined not so much by market conditions as by the specific characteristics of the equipment and its maintenance costs.
My Take on the Situation
The June-July dynamics show how quickly network operating conditions can change. Two consecutive negative difficulty adjustments are not just a statistical anomaly but a signal of structural transformation in the industry. Investors and mining farm operators should assess efficiency not by individual adjustments but over a longer horizon. In the current environment, those who bet on the most modern and energy-efficient models, such as the S21 XP, while ignoring short-term market fluctuations, come out ahead.