July 2026 became a turning point for the Bitcoin mining industry. Network difficulty declined twice in a row, while hashprice, on the contrary, surged by nearly 16%. This rare combination of factors created favorable conditions for mining the first cryptocurrency, which had previously faced serious pressure due to falling prices.
My analysis of market data over the past month revealed several important trends that are radically shifting the balance of power among equipment manufacturers.
Rare Network Difficulty Dynamics
In July, we observed two consecutive negative difficulty adjustments: on July 11, the metric dropped by 5%, and on July 25, by another 0.74%. By the end of the month, difficulty settled at 126.23 TH/s. This continues the volatility that began back in June, when difficulty plunged by 10.09% on the 14th and then partially recovered by 7.15%.
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that network difficulty fell below its level from a year ago. According to my data, such a situation has occurred only once in Bitcoin's history—in 2021, when China imposed a mining ban, leading to a massive shutdown of capacity.
Hashprice Growth and Exchange Rate Stabilization
Alongside the decline in difficulty, hashprice—a metric of miners' potential revenue per unit of power—rose from $27.60 to $31.93 per 1 PH/s per day, an increase of approximately 15.69%. The average BTC price in July was $63,931.98, which is $752.45 higher than the June figure. The fluctuation range was quite wide: from $60,150 to $66,433.
ASIC Miner Profitability Ranking
July's leader was the Bitmain Antminer S21 XP 270 TH/s, which also holds the top spot for the first half of the year. Its profitability was 1.12% per month (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 monthly profitability of 0.38%, and rounding out the top three was the MicroBT Whatsminer M70 222 TH/s with a figure of 0.24%.
Note that some models, including the popular Bitmain Antminer S21+ 235 TH/s MIX, turned out to be unprofitable in July due to high hosting and electricity costs. This underscores the importance of choosing not only high-performance but also energy-efficient equipment.
My Expert Assessment
The mining market is entering a consolidation phase where only the most efficient devices survive. Investors should focus on long-term profitability rather than short-term fluctuations in difficulty or exchange rates. The current dynamics present an opportunity for those willing to invest in cutting-edge models, but I advise carefully calculating operating expenses, as the gap between profitable and unprofitable ASICs is becoming increasingly pronounced.