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Rising Bitcoin mining costs are altering miners’ business models — CoinShares, 2026/03/26 12:06:35
The cost of mining a bitcoin has surpassed $100,000 for some miners, according to analysts at CoinShares. They estimate that by the end of the year, the share of revenue from mining at large data centers (DCs) could decline from 85% to less than 20%.
The reason for this shift is the active transition of mining companies to high-performance computing (HPC) for artificial intelligence tasks. Over the past year, the proportion of revenue from AI for data centers has increased from 10% to 77%.
Experts link the shift to AI with the rising cost of mining a single bitcoin. CoinShares reports that for large firms, this figure has reached $82,000, up from $56,000 a few months prior. In the United States, expenses for smaller miners may reach $137,000 per bitcoin, while in Germany, costs could rise to $200,000 due to increasing electricity prices.
The increase in costs is attributed to several factors, including rising electricity prices, the higher cost of equipment—partly due to trade tariffs imposed by the administration of former President Donald Trump—and the halving effect, which reduces the reward for mining new coins as stipulated in the Bitcoin protocol.
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Analysts note that the current situation could represent a turning point for the industry. The shift to a hybrid model (mining and HPC) enables revenue diversification and enhances business resilience amid Bitcoin’s volatility.
According to CoinShares, revenue in the high-performance computing segment has surged by 80–90%. This has prompted miners to enter into HPC contracts, with the total volume exceeding $70 billion based on public data. Companies such as WULF, CORZ, CIFR, and HUT are gradually evolving into data center operators with an additional focus on mining.
“The mining industry is undergoing a profound transformation. Miners are compelled to adapt to new economic realities, and the transition to high-performance computing is becoming one of the most promising strategies,” CoinShares stated.
Experts also pointed out another implicit reason for miners moving into new areas: over 90% of all bitcoins are concentrated in just 1% of wallets, raising questions about the original concept of cryptocurrency decentralization.
In mid-March, the average cost of mining a single bitcoin rose to $88,000. With the market price hovering around $69,000, miners are, on average, operating at a loss of approximately 21%, as previously calculated by Checkonchain.
