For the first time in six years, bitcoin’s hashrate has dipped during the first quarter, signaling a break in the long-standing growth trend — but the shift could ultimately boost network decentralization.
The total computational power securing the BTC network, currently around 1 zettahash per second (ZH/s), is down roughly 4% year-to-date, according to Glassnode data. Over the past five years, hashrate surged roughly tenfold from 100 exahashes per second (EH/s), consistently posting first-quarter gains that drove full-year growth above 10%. In 2022, it nearly doubled.
The slowdown in 2026 reflects evolving economics in the mining sector. With production costs hovering near $90,000 per bitcoin while spot prices linger around $67,000, margins are negative. In response, many publicly listed U.S. miners are pivoting to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing operations, which offer higher and more predictable returns.
This transition is being financed through debt and bitcoin sales, reducing reinvestment into mining. As a result, hashrate growth has become more price-sensitive: weaker BTC prices could prompt further declines as smaller operators exit the market.
While a falling hashrate can raise security concerns, decentralization may be a more critical factor than absolute size. U.S.-listed miners currently account for over 40% of global hash power, so a reduction in their dominance could spread mining operations more evenly across geographies, strengthening network decentralization.
Despite the first-quarter decline, CoinShares projects bitcoin’s hashrate could rebound to roughly 1.8 ZH/s by the end of 2026, assuming BTC recovers toward $100,000.
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