Bitcoin’s hash price, a vital indicator of miner revenue per terahash, is approaching its lowest levels ever recorded. This metric has seen a significant decline, posing severe challenges for Bitcoin miners.

Data from Luxor Technology’s Hashrate Index reveals that Bitcoin’s hash price plummeted by nearly 52%, dropping to $0.0459 per terahash per second on June 24, down from a two-month high of $0.095 on June 8. Although it briefly approached its all-time low of $0.0447 set on May 1, the hash price has since rebounded slightly to $0.0479.

Adam Ortolf, a developer at Bitcoin mining firm Upstream Data, highlighted the dire situation for miners in a June 23 post on X (formerly Twitter). He described the current conditions as "survival games," noting that Bitcoin hash power has dramatically decreased, suggesting that miners are facing significant challenges with the hash price hovering around $0.05 per terahash per second.

Despite the crash in hash price, Mitchell Askew, head analyst at Blockware Solutions, noted that most Bitcoin mining machines remain profitable under the current circumstances. This profitability is crucial for the industry as it navigates the turbulent market conditions.

The hash price is influenced by several key factors: the price of Bitcoin, miner rewards, and mining difficulty. All three of these metrics have seen substantial declines in recent weeks. Bitcoin’s price has dropped by 6.8% over the last week, settling at $60,590. This decline is partly due to negative market sentiment stemming from the anticipated sale of $8.6 billion worth of Bitcoin by Mt. Gox to its creditors and recent outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Miner rewards have also been impacted by the fourth Bitcoin halving, which took place on April 20. This event reduced the block subsidy from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, equivalent to approximately $188,800 at current prices, thereby reducing the income for miners.

Additionally, the network mining difficulty, which measures the complexity of mining a new block, has decreased by 5% to 83.68 trillion hashes following a record high on April 25. This reduction in difficulty might slightly ease the pressure on miners but is not enough to offset the other negative factors impacting their revenue.

The situation is exacerbated by a significant sell-off from Bitcoin miners. As of June 19, Bitcoin miner reserves fell to 1.90 million BTC, marking the lowest level in Bitcoin terms in over 14 years. This sell-off indicates that miners are offloading their holdings, likely to cover operational costs and remain solvent during this challenging period.

In summary, the Bitcoin mining industry is currently facing a critical period characterized by a sharp decline in hash price and overall market conditions. While most mining operations remain profitable for now, the ongoing "survival games" underscore the need for miners to adapt and manage their resources carefully to weather this storm.