Joerg Hiller
Apr 18, 2026 20:25
BTC mining difficulty fell to 135.5T on Saturday, while public miners sold over 32,000 BTC in Q1 2026 alone—more than all of 2025 combined.
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty dropped to approximately 135.5 trillion on Saturday, a 1.1% decline that offers brief relief to an industry hemorrhaging cash at an alarming rate.
The reprieve won’t last long. According to CoinWarz data, difficulty is projected to climb back to 137.43T when the next adjustment hits on May 1, 2026—roughly 13 days away.
Miners Are Bleeding Out
Public mining companies have been forced into a fire sale. MARA, CleanSpark, Riot, Cango, Core Scientific, and Bitdeer collectively dumped more than 32,000 BTC during Q1 2026, according to TheEnergyMag. That single quarter exceeds their combined sales across all four quarters of 2025.
For perspective: the last time miners sold this aggressively was Q2 2022, when the Terra-Luna collapse triggered an industry-wide panic. Back then, they moved 20,000 BTC. This quarter’s selling pressure is 60% worse.
The math simply doesn’t work for many operators anymore. CoinShares estimates that up to 20% of Bitcoin miners are currently unprofitable under existing conditions. Their Q1 2026 mining report called Q4 2025 “the most challenging quarter for Bitcoin miners since the April 2024 halving.”
What Broke the Business Model
Three factors converged to create this squeeze:
First, the October 2025 correction gutted revenues. BTC cratered from roughly $125,000 to about $86,000 by December—a 31% drawdown that crushed margins.
Second, difficulty keeps grinding higher even as prices stagnate. More computational power chasing the same block rewards means each BTC costs more to produce.
Third, energy prices and geopolitical disruptions have inflated operating costs across the board. Miners pay bills in dollars, not satoshis.
What Happens Next
The difficulty adjustment on May 1 will push the metric to 137.43T, squeezing margins further for operators already underwater. With production costs exceeding spot prices for a significant chunk of the network, expect continued selling pressure—and potentially more miners throwing in the towel.
The survivors will be those with the cheapest power contracts and the deepest pockets. Everyone else is just treading water until they drown.
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