Bitcoin’s hashrate has broken down from an 18-month uptrend, suggesting the start of a potential Bitcoin miner capitulation.
Following an 18-month uptrend, Bitcoin’s true hashrate fell to around 600 exahashes per second (EH/s). The <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/explained/what-is-bitcoin-hash-rate-and-why-does-it-matter">hashrate</a> is used to measure how difficult it is for miners to mine Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>).
The breakdown from the uptrend could signal that some <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/how-to-mine-bitcoin-a-beginners-guide-to-mine-btc">Bitcoin mining</a> firms are selling their BTC, according to Ki Young Ju, the founder and CEO of CryptoQuant. He wrote in a June 13 X <a href="https://x.com/ki_young_ju/status/1801325959074775481/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">post</a>:
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “Bitcoin hash rate’s 18-month upward trend has broken, suggesting some miners are capitulating.”
</blockquote>
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-06/0c7159ef-fc62-4507-b435-96b3b09212bd.jpeg" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Bitcoin network true hashrate. Source: Ki Young Ju
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/storm-partners-web3-innovation-sandbox-geneva-launch">Storm Partners launches Web3 innovation sandbox in Geneva</a>
<h2 data-ct-non-breakable="true" id="is-miner-selling-really-what-tanked-bitcoin-to-66-000">Is miner selling really what tanked Bitcoin to $66,000?</h2>
Despite the drop in Bitcoin’s hashrate, mining firms haven’t been selling significant amounts of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin miner flows to cryptocurrency exchanges fell from a monthly peak of 15,470 BTC on May 21 to just 7,239 BTC on June 13, <a href="https://cryptoquant.com/asset/btc/chart/inter-entity-flows/miner-to-exchange-flow-total?fromMiner=all_miner&amp;toExchange=all_exchange&amp;window=DAY&amp;sma=0&amp;ema=0&amp;priceScale=log&amp;metricScale=linear&amp;chartStyle=column" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to CryptoQuant. 
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-06/b88814fd-89bf-498d-80de-bee7b187f123.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Bitcoin: Miner to exchange flow (total). Source CryptoQuant
 </figcaption>
</figure>
However, Bitcoin’s price drop doesn’t seem to be caused by miner capitulation. BTC price fell from over $71,100 on June 5, to the current $66,800, while daily miner flows to exchanges continued to steadily decline.
<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-whale-accumulation-pre-2020-bull-run-highs-propel-btc-70k">Related: Bitcoin whale accumulation reaches pre-2020 bull run levels — Is BTC set to break $70K?</a>
<h2 data-ct-non-breakable="true" id="bitcoin-miner-capitulation-or-old-asic-miners-shutting-down">Bitcoin miner capitulation or old ASIC miners shutting down?</h2>
The decline in Bitcoin’s true hashrate could also be attributed to mining firms turning off older generation ASIC chip mining rigs, which have become unprofitable since the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-halving-2024">fourth Bitcoin halving</a>.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s total hashrate fell to 586,377 TH/s on June 12, <a href="https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/charts/hash-rate" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to data from Blockchain.com.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-06/9ede1da5-308a-486a-8d68-1794d44e95c3.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Bitcoin total hashrate. Source: blockchain.com
 </figcaption>
</figure>
The temporary drop was predicted by an April 19 report by CoinShares, which expects the hash rate to surge in 2025. According to the report:
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “Our model forecasts the hash rate rising to 700 exahash by 2025, although after the halving, it could fall by up to 10% as miners turn off unprofitable ASICs.”
</blockquote>
The temporary reduction is attributed to the increased costs of Bitcoin mining due to the halving, along with rising electricity costs.<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-3qG8ZKPPc4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen data-ct-non-breakable="true"></iframe>
<figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Mining Bitcoin at home — Is it time to start?. Source: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3qG8ZKPPc4" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Cointelegraph</a>
</figcaption>
However, the profitability of mining operations largely depends on the cost of electricity the companies are paying. The S19 XP and M50S++, two of the older ASIC models, operate at a loss with electricity costs above $0.0 per kilowatt-hour, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashrateindex/status/1786086008972320967" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to a May 2 X post by Hashrate Index.
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “S19 XP &amp; M50S++ will operate at a loss if the hash cost rises &gt;$0.09/kWh. &gt;$0.08/kWh k Pros &amp; M50S+ will be unprofitable. And at $0.06-$0.07/kWh the S19j Pro+, j Pros, and M30S++ will struggle.”
</blockquote>
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/roaring-kittys-shares-1b-gme-rally-btc-open-interest-soars-hodlers-digest-june-2-8/">Roaring Kitty’s GME shares hit $1B, BTC open interest soars, and other news: Hodler’s Digest, June 2–8</a>

Bitcoin breaks 18-month hashrate uptrend: Are BTC miners capitulating?

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