Publicly traded bitcoin miners sold more than 32,000 of the coins in the first quarter just to keep the lights on — a fire sale that already exceeds their total disposals for all of 2025. The sell-off comes as bitcoin has traded below the average cost of production for five straight months, squeezing margins across the industry.
Five months below breakeven
According to data compiled by GFdaily, bitcoin's market price has hovered under the all-in mining cost since mid-January. That's the longest such stretch since the 2022 bear market. About 20% of miners are now operating at a loss, and the pain is concentrated among older-generation rigs with higher power draw.
The sell-off by the numbers
The 32,000-plus bitcoin sold by public miners in Q1 2026 surpasses the entire amount they sold in 2025. The disposals have helped fund equipment upgrades, debt payments, and operational cash shortfalls. Private miners are also under pressure, but their aggregate sales figures aren't public.
What happens to hashrate?
The question now is whether enough miners will shut off rigs to force a difficulty adjustment. If unprofitable operators keep hashing at a loss in hope of a price rebound, the industry could face a prolonged shakeout. The next difficulty recalculation is due in about 10 days — that will be the first real test of whether the network is starting to contract.
