Bitcoin’s hashrate has seen its first first-quarter drop in six years, ending a long streak of early-year growth — though the decline may ultimately promote greater network decentralization.
Currently, the network’s total computational power sits around 1 zettahash per second (ZH/s), down about 4% year-to-date, according to Glassnode. Over the past five years, hashrate surged roughly tenfold from 100 exahashes per second (EH/s), with first-quarter gains historically driving strong full-year growth. In 2022, the metric nearly doubled.
The slowdown in 2026 reflects shifting economics in bitcoin mining. Production costs are near $90,000 per BTC, while spot prices linger around $67,000, squeezing margins. In response, many publicly listed U.S. miners are pivoting to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing operations, which offer more predictable and higher returns.
This transition is being funded through debt issuance and bitcoin sales, leaving less capital for reinvestment in mining. As a result, hashrate growth is becoming more sensitive to BTC prices, with weaker prices likely to push smaller operators out of the market.
While a declining hashrate can raise security concerns, decentralization may matter more than sheer size. U.S.-listed miners currently control over 40% of global hash power, and a reduction in their influence could create a more geographically distributed network, strengthening long-term resilience.
Despite the first-quarter dip, CoinShares projects bitcoin’s hashrate could rebound to around 1.8 ZH/s by the end of 2026 if BTC approaches $100,000.
