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What affected mining profitability
In July, the mining economy was shaped by a decrease in Bitcoin network difficulty, an increase in profitability per unit of hashrate (Hashprice), and stabilization of the leading cryptocurrency's rate after a prolonged decline, according to the monthly equipment profitability report from data center operator Intelion. Two consecutive network difficulty reductions during the month improved mining conditions.
The average Bitcoin rate in July was $63,931.98, increasing by $752.45 compared to June. Despite relatively low trading activity persisting during the summer period, the rate stabilized after a prolonged decline.
In July, two consecutive recalculations of the Bitcoin network difficulty occurred downwards: on July 11, the indicator decreased by 5%, and on July 25 — by another 0.74%. As a result, the network difficulty by the end of the month was 126.23 T (trillion).
Mining difficulty is automatically recalculated approximately every two weeks to keep the emission of new bitcoins on schedule: preventing it from increasing when miners boost activity, and vice versa.
The July dynamics reflect the adaptation of the network's aggregate computational power to changed market conditions. A decrease in difficulty increases the volume of $BTC that can be mined with unchanged computational power of the equipment.
Simultaneously with the decrease in network difficulty in July, Hashprice grew — an indicator of miners' potential revenue per unit of computational power. Between June 30 and July 31, Hashprice increased from $27.60 to $31.93 per 1 PH/s per day, which corresponds to an increase of approximately 15.69%.
The report notes that a feature of the current period was the decrease in network difficulty relative to the level of a year ago. Citing data from Hashrate Index, analysts pointed out that such a situation has been observed only for the second time in Bitcoin's entire history. The previous case occurred in 2021 after the mining ban in China and the large-scale shutdown of computing power.
In 2026, the dynamics are more complex. This is attributed to a combination of factors, including changes in the mining economy against the backdrop of a decrease in the Bitcoin rate and Hashprice relative to peak values, the redistribution of part of investments and energy infrastructure in favor of AI projects, as well as the temporary shutdown of part of the computing power and regional energy restrictions.
Profitability Leaders
The highest efficiency among the tested air-cooled ASIC miners was again shown by the Bitmain Antminer S21 XP 270 TH/s. This model retained its leadership based on the results of the first half of 2026. Top 3:
Bitmain Antminer S21 XP 270 TH/s
Profitability — 1.12% per month / 13.42% annually
Mined — 0.0038313 $BTC
Bitmain Antminer S21 PRO 234 TH/s MIX
Profitability — 0.38% per month / 4.56% annually
Mined — 0.00332046 $BTC
MicroBT Whatsminer M70 222 TH/s
Profitability — 0.24% per month / 2.92% annually
Mined — 0.00315018 $BTC
A total of seven equipment models were tested. The range of $BTC mined among them was 0.00289476–0.0038313 $BTC per month. Profitability indicators were calculated based on the average $BTC/USD and USD/RUB rates in July.
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