Bitcoin Hash Rate Near Record Despite Miner Shift to AI

Glassnode data puts Bitcoin's hash rate within 6.5% of its record despite several large public miners redirecting power toward artificial intelligence clients. On-chain analyst Will Clemente highlighted the recovery despite the AI shift. The data suggests private and international operators are replacing the capacity that public miners have withdrawn.

The 14-day average hash rate reached about 1.135 zettahashes per second (ZH/s) in late 2025 before declining roughly 22% between October 2025 and February 2026. Hash rate stopped falling around 870 exahashes per second (EH/s), rebounded sharply in February, and held that lower level during June and August retests. The latest increase, the steepest since February's rebound, has brought hash rate to roughly 1.06 ZH/s. The August retest ultimately established the bottom of a decline that had been the longest on record.

Bitcoin trades at $79,774 after losing 0.8% over 24 hours, leaving the price about 37% below the $126,210 peak. The difference between the price decline and hash rate's recovery suggests miners are expanding with a longer-term outlook rather than pursuing immediate margins.

Mempool data shows mining difficulty increased 5.92% to 140.58 trillion on October 16. The October 29 adjustment is projected to add roughly 5% to 6%, an unusually strong consecutive increase in a year dominated by reductions. Glassnode's chart shows difficulty declining from a record 155.97 trillion in late October 2025 to about 126 trillion by February. Difficulty briefly recovered in spring before a 10.09% reduction, the largest this year, brought difficulty to 124.93 trillion in June. The projected adjustment would bring difficulty to roughly 148 trillion to 150 trillion, the highest since late 2025 and 4% to 5% below the record. The year-over-year change remains negative because late 2025 established the record. However, increases in difficulty and hash rate suggest the contraction has stopped, contrary to an earlier assessment that continued negative annual readings through autumn would confirm a lasting contraction in Bitcoin's security budget.

Riot Platforms disclosed a 20-year agreement on August 10 to provide 191 megawatts of hosting capacity at Riot's Rockdale, Texas campus. The agreement is valued at $9.1 billion, potentially reaching $16.1 billion with extensions. Reports identified Anthropic as the customer, but Riot did not name the customer. The Information reported in October that IREN had signed a multiyear cloud agreement with Anthropic, which neither company has confirmed. IREN plans to leave mining and retire about 23.2 EH/s of capacity by December 31, potentially removing meaningful network capacity.

BlocksBridge Consulting said public miners' realized hash rate declined 15% during the first half of 2026. Listed miners have disclosed more than $70 billion in AI and high-performance computing contracts. However, CoinShares estimates that annual billing against those contracts amounts to only about $1.1 billion so far. ViaBTC CEO Haipo Yang argued recently that AI is displacing mining at the most expensive locations.

Bitdeer stands out among listed miners, with self-mining hash rate reaching 82.3 EH/s in September compared with 35 EH/s a year earlier. BlocksBridge suggested smaller operators with inexpensive electricity are buying equipment that public miners retire. Luxor attributed much of September's recovery to Texas mining fleets resuming operations after the state electricity grid's final summer peak on September 12. Hashrate Index data showed Ethiopia's hash rate increasing 129% year over year in the first quarter. Paraguay's hash rate increased 54% over the same period. Oman's hash rate increased 28% over the same period.

Bitcoin's recovery toward JPMorgan's estimated production cost of $85,000 in late September also helped mining activity. Capriole's Hash Ribbons indicator signaled on August 27 that miner capitulation had ended. CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju characterized the hash rate recovery as an indirect bullish indication for Bitcoin.

Hash rate measures the computing power securing Bitcoin, and the near-record level suggests an attack would be about as expensive as ever. The data also suggests mining ownership is becoming more dispersed as private operators and additional regions gain share from listed miners. Some analysts argue that the energy supporting the network helps underpin Bitcoin's valuation. However, Hashrate Index data puts hashprice at about $36 per petahash per day on October 25, roughly 11% lower than a month earlier. Higher difficulty will further reduce miners' margins unless Bitcoin's price rises. Miners' shift toward AI has not weakened the network so far, but continued recovery may require Bitcoin's price to keep pace with increasing difficulty.