Publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies reduced their collective realized hashrate by 13.4 percent over a six-month period, outpacing the decline recorded across the entire Bitcoin network. The change points to a strategic reallocation of power capacity and facilities toward artificial intelligence infrastructure and high-performance computing workloads.

Hashrate Contraction Among Listed Operators

According to data compiled by BlocksBridge Consulting and published in its Miner Weekly newsletter, realized hashrate for a cohort of public Bitcoin miners fell from 368.3 exahashes per second in the fourth quarter of 2025 to 319 exahashes per second in the second quarter of 2026. That represents a 13.4 percent drop.

When Bitdeer is excluded from the group, the contraction deepens to 21.2 percent, with realized hashrate declining from 324.6 EH/s to 255.9 EH/s. Bitdeer itself moved in the opposite direction, increasing its realized hashrate by 44 percent to 63 EH/s over the same interval.

By comparison, the Bitcoin network’s average hashrate declined 10.6 percent during the period. The steeper reduction among public miners indicates that many large listed operators are choosing to scale back mining output rather than simply following broader network trends.

Revenue Mix Tilts Toward Data Centers and HPC

Several companies are already earning the majority of their income from non-mining activities. Core Scientific recorded $136.7 million in colocation revenue in the second quarter, far exceeding the $27.5 million generated from Bitcoin mining. TeraWulf reported $31.9 million in high-performance computing lease revenue against $12.8 million from mining operations.

Riot Platforms and Bitdeer remain at an earlier stage of this transition. Mining still accounts for the bulk of their recent quarterly revenue, illustrating that the shift is not uniform across the sector.

Unwinding of Post-2021 Expansion

The current pullback follows the large-scale expansion that occurred after China’s 2021 Bitcoin mining ban. That regulatory action triggered a sharp drop in global hashrate, followed by a rapid recovery as operators relocated equipment and established new sites, particularly in North America. Public miners raised capital and secured additional power capacity during that period.

One full halving cycle later, conditions have changed. Mining profitability has weakened while demand for AI-related infrastructure has risen sharply since 2022. As a result, a growing number of public operators are converting sites and redirecting electricity away from Bitcoin mining toward data-center and high-performance computing uses.

Divergence Within the Sector

Not every public miner is reducing capacity. Bitdeer’s continued expansion stands in contrast to the broader contraction, showing that competitive dynamics now differ significantly among listed companies. Some operators are deepening their commitment to AI and colocation services, while others continue to prioritize mining cash flows.

Future performance for many of these firms is likely to depend less on how quickly they add or remove mining hardware and more on their ability to monetize power and facilities through data-center leasing and high-performance computing contracts. Realized hashrate figures alone will provide an incomplete picture of financial results as revenue sources continue to diversify.