The Bitcoin network hashrate, a metric that measures mining competition, declined for the second straight month in December, according to a report released by Wall Street giant JPMorgan (JPM) on Monday.
“The network’s monthly average hashrate, an indicator of industry competition, decreased 30 EH/s (-3%) m/s to an average of 1,045 EH/s in December,” wrote analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce.
Hashrate refers to the total combined computing power used to mine and process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain, and is measured in exahashes per second.
Despite less competition for miners, mining profitability also fell. Analysts estimated that miners earned an average of $38,700 per EH/s in daily block reward revenue last month, “down 7% from November and down 32% year-over-year, representing the lowest level on record.” Daily block reward gross profit also declined last month, falling 9% to $17,100 per EH/s, according to the report.
While the bank did not go into detail about why mining profitability is falling, the lowest bitcoin prices since October have likely added to reduced margins for miners already feeling the pain of the most recent halving and higher energy prices.
Although not everything is pessimism. The combined market capitalization of the 14 US-listed bitcoin miners and data center operators that the bank tracks rose to $48 billion by the end of 2025, an increase of 73% on the year. Hut 8 (HUT) was the best performer of the group last month with a 2% gain, while CleanSpark (CLSK) underperformed with a 33% drop.
While only two of the companies outperformed Bitcoin in December, 9 of the 14 outperformed the largest cryptocurrency throughout the year, led by IREN (IREN) and Cipher Mining (CIFR), the report added.
Read more: Bitcoin mining profitability fell for fourth consecutive month in November: JPMorgan
