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Bitcoin's network performance fell this week, falling back below the one zettahash level after several months above it. The seven-day average hash rate is reportedly around 993 EH/s, a major decline from last 12 months's highs.
Hunger for power
Large AI data centers are reportedly buying long-term power contracts and are willing to pay more for stable, 24/7 power, pushing some miners to reduce or relocate operations. This competition has modified who gets the most cost effective electricity on the grid.
Some publicly traded miners are stepping into deals to lease space to chipmakers and AI firms and turning parts of their sites into AI data centers. A serious mining company signed a multi-year lease with a serious chip company, showing how corporations are hedging themselves against fluctuating mining profits.
On Monday, Leon Lyu, CEO and founding father of StandardHash, said
Why change is vital now
Electricity is the one largest cost factor for mining. When data centers bid for a similar megawatts, miners face a transparent selection: pay more, accept lower margins, or repurpose capability.
Bitcoin Hashrate Alert: A Shift within the Mining Landscape 📉
For the primary time since September 2025, BTC's 7-day average hashrate has fallen below 1 ZH/s. An issue adjustment of -4.34% is anticipated in roughly 3 days.
What is driving the exodus? 🧵
1️⃣ The AI pivot: Big mining corporations are… pic.twitter.com/hg8O8xBIkx
— Leon Lyu (@LeonLyuLv) January 19, 2026
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The network's difficulty has been somewhat mitigated by the drop in hash power, keeping block times roughly constant, but this mechanical solution doesn’t change who holds the facility contracts.
PJM, the mid-Atlantic network operator, hurried to propose rules geared toward addressing rising AI demand.
The plan requires large latest electricity consumers to take responsibility for their very own supply or accept curtailment rules in order that vital services and households don’t face outages. These steps are intended to limit the burden that rapid AI growth could place on the system.
Image: JHUEngineering
Bitcoin vs. AI: Political moves and political pressure
US President Donald Trump and a number of other world leaders have called for steps that will make tech firms pay more to secure power, including proposals for emergency auctions to finance latest facilities.
The pressure reflects concerns about higher bills and the chance that expanding data centers could displace other users.
What miners do to remain alive
Not only do many operators close rigs when electricity becomes expensive; They are retrofitting sites to host GPUs and other AI hardware.
This change may end up in more stable revenue and longer contracts than mining alone would offer. It also signals a structural shift: For some corporations, Bitcoin mining is becoming a part of a broader computing business.
BTCUSD is now trading at $93,005. Chart: TradingView
Block rewards and protocol rules proceed to secure the network. However, if hash rate stays lower for an prolonged time frame, planners and investors will watch to see whether centralization increases in places where electricity stays low-cost.
For on a regular basis users, the system continues to supply blocks; For miners, competition for electricity is now a vital business issue.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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