Bitcoin mining difficulty eases from all-time high – Here’s why miners aren’t backing down

Bitcoin mining difficulty dipped slightly, but rising costs and hashrates are squeezing smaller miners hard
Public miners are boosting production and hoarding Bitcoin as a long-term strategy

Bitcoin’s [BTC] mining difficulty dipped slightly to 126.4 trillion, after notching an all-time high of 126.9T on the 31st of May.

While the drop seems minor, it reflects growing economic pressure on miners as rising hashrates, reduced rewards, and soaring costs push many to the brink.

Yet, public mining giants are rewriting the rules of the game by ramping up production and stacking BTC for the long haul.

The cost of Bitcoin mining in 2025

Despite Bitcoin’s price hovering above $105K, profitability is increasingly elusive for many miners. The April 2024 halving reduced the block rewards to 3.125 BTC, slashing revenue overnight.

Source: CryptoQuant

Meanwhile, energy costs and infrastructure demands continue to climb, raising the operational breakeven point.

The Bitcoin network’s hashrate recently topped 1 zetahash per second, intensifying competition and making it harder for smaller players to stay viable.

Difficulty remains near peak levels, acting as a constant barrier to entry… and survival.

Public miners defy the odds

While smaller miners face growing pressure, public firms like Marathon Digital and CleanSpark are expanding aggressively.

In May, Marathon mined 950 BTC—a 35% increase from April—despite market volatility and rising network difficulty. CleanSpark also gained ground, producing 694 BTC, up 9% month over month.

Both companies have significantly scaled operations, with CleanSpark’s hashrate reaching 45.6 EH/s. Their size and strategic execution are helping them thrive, even as profit margins tighten across the mining sector.