Bitcoin Miners Gain Margin Relief, Accumulation Lags

The improvement in economics is tangible: Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has rallied while network hash rate – a measure of the total computing power dedicated to securing and processing transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain – has stabilized. Miner revenue per unit of hash power has recovered. But data shows miners are still sending out almost all the BTC they receive, indicating that better margins have not yet reduced the need to convert production into fiat liquidity.

The hash rate peaked at roughly 1,111 EH/s on 11 Nov, 2025, before falling to around 950 EH/s on 11 Feb, 2026. That marked a decline of about 14.4% from peak to trough. Since then, the hash rate has largely moved between 950 EH/s and 1,037 EH/s, indicating that the network has shifted to a more stable range. Miners' profitability depends on both the BTC price and the amount of hash power competing for block rewards. Over the last 30 days, BTC increased 15.6%, while the 30-day mean hash rate rose only 0.9%. This gap is the main driver of the recent improvement. Miners are not benefiting from a sharp collapse in competition; they are benefiting from a higher BTC price while competition has remained relatively contained.

(Source: Coinmetrics)

The improvement is clear in miner revenue per unit of hash power. Miner revenue per hash per second in USD rose 21.4% over the last month, outpacing BTC’s price increase. Total miner revenue in USD increased 23.2%, while miner revenue in BTC terms rose 6.6%. In other words, miners earned more in dollar terms and slightly more in BTC terms, while the hash rate barely changed. This suggests a genuine margin reprieve.

High flow-through limits accumulation

The more important question is what miners are doing with the improved economics. On this point, the data is less constructive. Over the last 30 days, miners received approximately 14,227 BTC and sent around 13,885 BTC. That means miners sent out roughly 97.6% of the BTC they received during the period. This is not a sign of meaningful accumulation. It suggests miners are still operating with a high flow-through model: receiving BTC, then sending most of it onwards. 

That behaviour is not necessarily distressed selling. Mining is an operating business with recurring fiat-denominated costs, including electricity, hosting, labour, debt service and machine expenses. Selling or transferring a large share of received BTC may simply reflect the need to cover those costs.

(Source: Coinmetrics)

Among major listed players, Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), the largest US-listed Bitcoin miner by hash rate, along with Riot Platforms (RIOT) and CleanSpark (CLSK), continue to navigate these dynamics as they manage large-scale operations and public-market expectations.

The one-hop miner supply data reinforces this point. One-hop miner supply refers to balances held by addresses within one transaction of identified mining entities. These can include operational wallets, payout addresses, treasury-related wallets, custodians or other intermediary addresses. Over the last month, one-hop miner supply declined by about 16,868 BTC. This does not prove that miners are selling directly on exchanges because the metric does not show final coin destination. But it does suggest that miner-linked BTC continues to move downstream, even as miner economics improve.

Still, the implication is that the recent BTC rally has not fully changed miner behaviour. If miners were moving into a stronger accumulation phase, we would expect a larger portion of received coins to remain in miner-linked wallets. Instead, most incoming BTC continues to move through the system.

Balanced outlook

The conclusion is therefore balanced. Miner profitability has improved meaningfully over the last month, mainly because BTC rose while the hash rate remained stable. But this relief has not translated into visible accumulation. Miners are still sending out nearly all coins received, likely to meet operating and liquidity needs. The pressure on margins has eased, but miner behaviour remains distribution-heavy rather than accumulative.

Sustained accumulation could emerge if BTC maintains strength above key levels, the next difficulty adjustment brings more favourable conditions, or major listed miners shift towards stronger corporate treasury policies. For now, the improved economics provide breathing room without altering the core distribution dynamic that has characterized the sector.