Bitcoin Price Drop Renders Many ASIC Miners Unprofitable

Bitcoin mining difficulty and electricity costs challenge ASIC miner profitability.

With the current difficulty of mining the leading cryptocurrency and electricity costs at $0.08 per kWh, many popular ASIC miner models are nearing the break-even point. This is evidenced by data from Antpool.

On the verge of unprofitability are the Antminer S19 XP+ Hydro, WhatsMiner M60S, and Avalon A1466I. As long as Bitcoin’s price remains below $86,000, their operation does not yield profits.

Newer devices like the Antminer S21 have a break-even threshold in the range of $69,000-$74,000 per BTC. The most resilient models currently include the U3S23H and S23 Hydro, which remain profitable with the digital gold price above $44,000.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $78,600. Over the past day, the asset’s price has risen by 3% after hitting a local low of approximately $75,000.

Challenging Conditions

On January 22, following the latest recalculation, the mining difficulty of the leading cryptocurrency decreased by 3.28% to 141.67 T. According to forecasts, the next adjustment will see a further reduction of 10.47% to 126.84 T.

According to Hashrate Index, Bitcoin’s network hashrate plummeted to 870 EH/s, the lowest level since June 2025. The cause was widespread miner shutdowns amid winter storms in the United States.

Hashprice fell to $34.8 per PH/s per day. Such levels were last observed in November.

Previously, Charles Edwards, founder of Capriole Investments, noted the worsening situation: production costs have fallen to $69,000, while electricity costs stand at $55,000.

Earlier, an expert known as Brett suggested the possibility of Bitcoin falling to $40,000.