Hash rate drops 15% from October as miner sell-off extends toward 60 days

Bitcoin’s network hashrate—the computing power securing the blockchain—has dropped roughly 15% from its October peak, signaling increasing stress among miners.

Average hash power has declined from around 1.1 zettahashes per second (ZH/s) in October to approximately 977 exahashes per second (EH/s), suggesting that some miners are shutting down machines or capitulating as profitability declines.

Glassnode’s Hash Ribbon metric, which tracks miner capitulation by comparing short- and long-term hashrate trends, reflects this pressure. The indicator inverted on Nov. 29, shortly after bitcoin bottomed near $80,000. In such periods, miners often sell bitcoin to fund operations, adding short-term supply pressure to the market.

However, miner capitulation 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. The Hash Ribbon suggests the worst of the current capitulation could be nearing its end once the 30-day hashrate moving average rises above the 60-day average, a pattern frequently associated with improving price action.

Declining hashrate is also driving repeated negative difficulty adjustments. Bitcoin’s mining difficulty, which automatically adjusts to keep block times near 10 minutes, is scheduled to fall 4% on Jan. 22 to roughly 139 trillion (T), marking the seventh negative adjustment in the past eight periods.

Additional selling is coming from miners pivoting toward AI and high-performance computing. Companies such as Riot Platforms (RIOT) have sold bitcoin to fund capital-intensive AI and HPC projects, adding to short-term market pressure.