Bitcoin’s network hashrate—the computing power dedicated to maintaining the blockchain—has fallen roughly 15% from its October peak, signaling mounting stress among miners.
The average computing power securing the network has dropped from around 1.1 zettahashes per second (ZH/s) in October to roughly 977 exahashes per second (EH/s), suggesting that miners are shutting down machines or capitulating as profitability declines.
This trend is reflected in Glassnode’s Hash Ribbon metric, which tracks miner capitulation by comparing short- and long-term hashrate trends. The indicator inverted on Nov. 29, shortly after bitcoin bottomed near $80,000. When the Hash Ribbon is inverted, miners typically sell bitcoin to cover operational costs, adding short-term supply pressure to the market.
Miner capitulation, however, is often viewed as a contrarian signal. VanEck notes that periods of sustained miner stress have historically preceded renewed bitcoin price momentum as inefficient miners exit and selling pressure eases. According to the Hash Ribbon, the worst of the capitulation may be nearing an end once the 30-day moving average of hashrate rises above the 60-day average—a pattern that has frequently aligned with improving price trends.
Repeated negative difficulty adjustments are reinforcing the pressure from declining hashrate. Bitcoin’s mining difficulty, which automatically adjusts to maintain 10-minute block times, is set to drop 4% on Jan. 22 to around 139 trillion (T), marking the seventh negative adjustment in the past eight periods.
Additional selling is also coming from miners reallocating capital toward AI and high-performance computing. Companies like Riot Platforms (RIOT) have sold bitcoin to fund capital-intensive AI and HPC projects, contributing to short-term price pressure.
