Analysts are projecting that Bitcoin’s mining difficulty will see another increase in December, adding fresh pressure to miners who are already dealing with one of the weakest revenue environments the industry has experienced. Mining difficulty measures how hard it is to solve the cryptographic puzzles needed to validate blocks, and when this metric rises, miners must deploy more computational power — and therefore more electricity and capital — just to maintain the same output.
What makes the upcoming increase particularly challenging is that it comes at a time when hashprice, which reflects how much miners earn per unit of hashpower, is sitting extremely close to its historical lows. The combination creates a painful squeeze: the cost of mining goes up while the rewards miners receive continue to fall. For many operators, especially smaller or older mining farms with inefficient hardware, this dynamic can turn profitable operations into financial liabilities almost overnight.
Hashprice has been under pressure for several reasons. First, the Bitcoin halving earlier in the year cut block rewards by 50%, immediately reducing miner revenue. At the same time, the network’s overall computing power keeps climbing as new mining equipment is deployed globally, further pushing difficulty upward. Even though Bitcoin’s long-term price trend remains relatively strong, the market has not delivered enough upward momentum to fully offset miners’ shrinking income.
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty from 2014-2025. Source: CoinWarz
If difficulty rises again in December, as forecasts suggest, miners may be forced to make strategic decisions about their operations. Some may shift production to regions with cheaper electricity, others may invest in more efficient ASICs, and some may temporarily shut down parts of their farms until market conditions improve. Historically, periods of extreme miner stress have also contributed to consolidation within the industry, where only the most efficient or well-capitalized companies survive.
Overall, December is shaping up to be a critical month for Bitcoin miners. Rising difficulty paired with near-record-low hashprice is creating one of the toughest economic environments the mining sector has faced since the post-halving adjustments began. How miners respond in the coming weeks could determine which operations remain competitive — and which ones are forced to exit the network.
Bitcoin mining hashprice, a critical metric for miner profitability, sits below the $40 mark and is hovering near record lows. Source: Hashrate Index
Source: Cointelegraph Edited by Sonarx