Bitcoin Miners Sell 32,000 BTC in Three Months, Industry Pressure Intensifies
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Summary
BroadChain learned that, as of April 17 at 20:16, according to NewsBTC, approximately 20% of the Bitcoin mining industry is currently operating at a loss—this directly explains the recent wave of selling observed early in 2026. Per Hashrate Index data, the 'hash price'—a metric measuring miners’ daily revenue per unit of hash rate—has been declining continuously since July 2025 and now stands at roughly $33 per PH/s/day. Meanwhile, the break-even point for many miners—especially those using older equipment—is around $35. This narrow margin is pushing numerous mining firms into losses. According to TheEnergyMag, companies including MARA, CleanSpark, Riot, and Can
BroadChain has learned from NewsBTC that as of 20:16 on April 17, around 20% of Bitcoin miners are currently operating at a loss—directly explaining the industry-wide sell-off observed in early 2026. Data from Hashrate Index shows that the “hash price”—a metric tracking miners’ daily revenue per unit of hash rate—has been falling steadily since July 2025 and now sits near $33 per PH/s/day. By comparison, the break-even point for many miners, especially those using older equipment, is around $35 per PH/s/day. This thin margin is pushing a growing number of mining operations into the red.
According to TheEnergyMag, major publicly traded mining firms—including MARA, CleanSpark, Riot, Cango, Core Scientific, and Bitdeer—collectively sold over 32,000 BTC in Q1 2026. That figure surpasses their total BTC sales for all of 2025 and breaks the previous quarterly record of roughly 20,000 BTC set in Q2 2022 during the Terra-Luna collapse.
Three converging pressures have driven this historic sell-off: rising network hashrate intensifying competition; reduced block rewards following the latest halving; and broader macroeconomic headwinds continuing to weigh on BTC’s price.
CryptoQuant data shows that miners’ total BTC holdings have declined steadily since 2023—from over 1.86 million BTC at the end of that year to around 1.8 million BTC today. Asset manager CoinShares warned in its Q1 2026 Bitcoin Mining Report that unless BTC’s price stages a strong rebound, high-cost miners could face sustained “capitulation” throughout the first half of this year.
Meanwhile, corporate buyers are moving in the opposite direction. MicroStrategy—the Bitcoin treasury company with the largest BTC holdings—saw its co-founder Michael Saylor suggest this week that further BTC accumulation is likely.