Big Tech Loots the Grid as Bitcoin Miners Abandon Network

As of 19 Jan, the computational power securing the Bitcoin network, the hashrate, remains trapped below one zettahash per second (ZH/s), marking a definitive 15% retreat from the all-time highs of late 2025. This isn't a symptom of crypto "malaise" but a structural looting of energy infrastructure by the AI sector.

According to data from J.P. Morgan, while US-listed miners added 12 exahashes of capacity in late 2025, the broader network hashrate is contracting as inefficient operators shut down or sell their power contracts. 

The "hashprice", the daily revenue miners earn per unit of power, has hit a structural low near $40 per petahash. For the first time, the math of hashing cannot compete with the AI boom. Big Tech is outbidding the Bitcoin network for its own lifeblood, offering "powered shell" landlords margins that the volatile digital asset market cannot match.

Great energy migration

The hashrate decline is the result of a massive reallocation of grid-connected capacity. 

Publicly traded firms like Riot Platforms and IREN have realized that their most valuable assets are no longer the Bitcoin they mine but the industrial-scale warehouses and electrical substations they own. These "powered shells" have become the hottest real estate in the world for AI hyperscalers.

On 16 Jan, Riot Platforms surged after securing a 10-year data centre lease with AMD at its Rockdale site in Texas. The deal, which could reach a total contract value of $1bn, involves an initial 25 MW of power capacity. To fund the land acquisition for this pivot, Riot sold approximately 1,080 Bitcoin from its balance sheet. 

This confirms the new institutional math: Wall Street is rewarding miners who trade volatile BTC rewards for the 80% to 90% margins and 20-year stability of AI hosting contracts.

Jan 22 squeeze

The immediate test for the network arrives on 22 Jan. Despite the falling hashrate, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty is projected to increase by approximately 1.2%, rising from 146.4 T to 148.2 T, according to estimates.

This creates a lethal squeeze for the remaining onchain participants: they must work harder for a shrinking share of a network that is being physically cannibalized by its own infrastructure.

The signals are clear: The decentralized "security budget" of Bitcoin is being liquidated to fund the AI revolution. The network is losing its best-defended sites as miners trade their ASIC rigs for high-performance GPUs. 

Bitcoin is not dying, but it is officially in a street fight for the very electricity that keeps it secure, and it is currently being outbid by the deepest pockets in Silicon Valley.