• JPMorgan stated that the economics of bitcoin mining continues to worsen.
• According to the bank's estimates, the asset has been trading below the cost of mining for five months.
• Analysts believe that about 20% of miners operate at a loss, and public companies were forced to actively sell their reserves.

The economics of bitcoin mining continues to worsen, as the price of the first cryptocurrency has stayed below the estimated cost of mining it for five months in a row. This is stated in a new report by JPMorgan analysts, The Block reports.

According to the bank's estimates, the cost of mining one bitcoin is now about $78,000, while the asset trades near $62,500. Under such conditions, about 20% of miners operate at a loss, the report says.

Analysts noted that this is already affecting the behavior of network participants. According to them, the overall hashrate and mining difficulty have become significantly more sensitive to changes in the price of the first cryptocurrency.

JPMorgan explained that high-cost miners increasingly shut down equipment after a drop in the bitcoin rate, which leads to a reduction in hashrate and a further automatic decrease in network difficulty.

As an example, the bank cited the second week of June, when mining difficulty fell by more than 10%.

Miners are selling reserves

The report also notes that financial pressure is forcing public mining companies to sell their accumulated bitcoins more actively.

According to JPMorgan, in the first quarter of 2026 alone such companies sold more than 32,000 BTC to finance operations. This exceeds the total volume of sales for all of 2025.

Analysts expect that the heightened sensitivity of hashrate and mining difficulty to the price of bitcoin will persist as long as the asset trades substantially below the cost of production.

At the same time, JPMorgan noted that the current pessimistic market sentiment could become a bullish signal in the long term. According to analysts, excessive negativity among market participants has historically often preceded the start of a new growth phase.

Recall that earlier the investment firm VanEck assessed the future of bitcoin miners.

Source: Incrypted