Bitcoin miners are under real pressure right now. And 2026 could make things even more complicated.
Mining economics have rarely looked worse. Hash price, which measures how much miners earn per unit of computing power, recently hit an all-time low. At the same time, Bitcoin is trading around $87,000, roughly 30% below its October peak. For many miners, that puts profits at or below breakeven.
This is why AI is becoming hard to ignore.
Nick Hansen, CEO of Luxor, says the biggest challenge for miners in 2026 will be resisting the pull toward AI. Selling computing power to AI companies can look far more attractive than mining Bitcoin, especially when margins are thin.
The problem is balance. Running Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing side by side is technically difficult and capital intensive.
Read More: Crypto Mining Guide
Why mining margins are shrinking
Prices are part of the issue, but not the whole story. Last year’s Bitcoin halving cut block rewards to 3.125 BTC, instantly reducing miner revenue. Transaction fees have also dropped as more Bitcoin gets locked up by long-term holders and institutions, leaving fewer on-chain transactions to generate fees.
Add regulatory pressure and outright bans in some regions, and the strain becomes obvious.
The AI temptation
That’s why many miners are pivoting. Public companies are repositioning themselves as “digital infrastructure” or “compute” providers, shifting capacity toward AI workloads when it pays better.
Some are going further. Bitfarms has already begun winding down mining to focus on high-performance computing. Others, including Terawulf, IREN, and Cipher Mining, have signed multi-year AI contracts with Google and Microsoft.
Analysts at Bernstein now see Bitcoin miners as a key part of the AI supply chain, providing ready-to-use data centers where power is the main bottleneck.
What comes next
Not everyone thinks mining is finished. Canaan’s Gwyn Lauber notes that miners have survived similar downturns before. Much will depend on macro conditions, especially interest rate policy.
If the Federal Reserve moves into an easing cycle in 2026, Bitcoin prices and mining margins could recover. Until then, miners will keep facing a tough choice between staying loyal to Bitcoin or following the money into AI.
