Bitcoin miners faced a second consecutive monthly drop in network hashrate in December, JPMorgan (JPM) reported Monday, signaling lower competition in the sector.
Analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce said the monthly average network hashrate fell 30 EH/s, or 3% month-over-month, to 1,045 EH/s. Hashrate measures the total computational power used to process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain.
Despite easing competition, mining profitability continued to decline. Miners earned an estimated $38,700 per EH/s in daily block reward revenue last month, down 7% from November and 32% year-over-year — the lowest level on record. Daily block reward gross profit fell 9% to $17,100 per EH/s.
JPMorgan noted that falling bitcoin prices since October likely contributed to the squeeze, alongside pressure from the recent halving and higher energy costs.
The sector’s market capitalization, however, remained strong. The combined value of 14 U.S.-listed bitcoin miners and data center operators tracked by the bank rose 73% in 2025 to $48 billion. Hut 8 (HUT) led last month with a 2% gain, while CleanSpark (CLSK) dropped 33%. Over the year, nine of the 14 companies outperformed bitcoin, led by IREN (IREN) and Cipher Mining (CIFR).
