Five major listed Bitcoin miners have shifted toward AI and high-performance computing and mined far less BTC this year. Yet the network's hash rate has rebounded and sits less than 9% below its all-time high, suggesting other operators are filling the gap.
Five major listed miners produced 47% fewer BTC this year than in the same period of 2025, according to a CryptoQuant report shared with CryptoPotato. IREN, Core Scientific, Bitfarms, TeraWulf and Cipher all turned toward AI and high-performance computing. Their combined output fell from 13,263 BTC to 7,075.
Production drops at AI-focused miners
Output at IREN, Core Scientific and TeraWulf fell by over 50% each, while Bitfarms' production fell 49%. Cipher recorded the smallest decline, at just 18%. Meanwhile, the companies have announced more than $50 billion worth of AI and HPC leases.
IREN, for example, has a $9.7 billion contract with Microsoft and expects its mining fleet to be effectively decommissioned by year-end. Core Scientific has leased large amounts of power to CoreWeave and AMD, and TeraWulf, Cipher and others have committed infrastructure to AI customers.
Hash rate climbs despite the exodus
The exits sound unfavorable for network health, but the data points the other way. The hash rate had dropped by over 18% from its November 2025 peak to under 900 EH/s on August 6, its deepest drawdown since the 2021 Chinese mining ban.
The metric has rebounded sharply from its summer lows. It now sits less than 9% below its all-time high, which suggests other operators are quickly filling the gap.
Source: CryptoPotato
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