Bitcoin miners are now earning just $28 million a day. That’s the lowest they’ve made all year. The crash in revenue comes as the price of Bitcoin sinks and electricity bills go through the roof. Many of the big mining companies are powering down their machines. It’s just not worth keeping them on anymore. The hash price index, which shows how much money miners make for every unit of computing power, has dropped to 3 cents per terahash, based on data from Luxor Technology. Back in 2017, it was $3.50. That’s a total collapse. Mining difficulty is also expected to fall by more than 13%, which would be one of the biggest drops since the China crackdown in 2021. Newhedge says this is already locked in for the next adjustment. Companies slash operations and scramble for backup plans Bitcoin dropped below $70,000 on Thursday. That price hit made things even worse for miners. Over the past few months, as traders got liquidated and crypto slid lower, mining profits kept getting squeezed. Some mining companies like CleanSpark and Terawulf have been trying to pivot. They’ve started using their mining buildings to host AI chips instead. But most of their actual cash still comes from mining, not from artificial intelligence. Harry, who runs the business side at CleanSpark, called this the worst drop since the China ban. “It is due to the combination of both the sell off and winter storms,” he said. That same day, mining stocks tanked. CleanSpark lost 10%, Terawulf dropped 8.5%, MARA Holdings fell 11%, and Riot Platforms slid 4.8%. Wall Street was not in the mood to wait this out. Source : Luxor Technology Mining Bitcoin burns a lot of energy. These companies have borrowed billions to buy custom machines and pay electricity bills that can hit tens of millions every month. They earn their reward in Bitcoin by keeping the network running. But when the token price falls too far or power gets expensive, they shut off machines. No one mines at a loss. The latest problem came from a January winter storm that slammed the U.S. Electricity costs shot up across the country. States like Texas and Tennessee, which usually welcome crypto miners, got hit hard. Some companies were able to flip their power back to the grid through demand response programs. The rest just shut down. Crypto winter continues as OGs take profits and buyers vanish This isn’t just a bump in the road. It’s a full-on freeze. Matt from Bitwise Asset Management said this is “not a dip,” calling it a “Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant-style crypto winter.” He said this collapse was triggered by leverage and old Bitcoin investors cashing out while retail traders took the hits. Matt believes this whole thing started back in January 2025, but no one noticed because big investors were still pouring money into crypto. That distracted everyone from the real damage happening to small traders. “Good news doesn’t matter,” Matt wrote. He said things like Wall Street hiring more crypto teams or banks getting involved won’t stop the bleeding right now. “Crypto winters don’t end in excitement; they end in exhaustion.” He listed a few things that could end this mess: a good economy, a surprise law win like the Clarity Act, or a country deciding to adopt Bitcoin officially. But the most likely fix? Time. Bannister from Stifel added another reason for the crash. Tech credit is in trouble. And since people treat Bitcoin like a risky tech stock, that’s dragging it down too. Crypto winters usually last about 13 months. If this one started when Matt says, then the end might be close. But that doesn’t help miners today. Their revenue is gone. Power prices are up. And the machines are off. Everyone’s waiting. Claim your free seat in an exclusive crypto trading community - limited to 1,000 members.