Bitcoin (BTC) Mining Industry Reaches New Heights as Network Hashrate Hits an All-Time High

The Bitcoin mining industry is becoming increasingly competitive as the network's hashrate reaches an all-time high (ATH). At the end of March 2025, Bitcoin's hashrate hit 850 million TH/s.

The Bitcoin mining industry is becoming increasingly competitive as the network’s hashrate reaches an all-time high (ATH).

At the end of March 2025, Bitcoin’s hashrate hit 850 million TH/s. However, alongside this impressive growth, the industry is struggling with rising production costs and new tariff barriers, particularly in the US.

These factors are putting significant pressure on mining companies and could reshape the sector’s future.

Hashrate Surges, Mining Costs Soar

Bitcoin’s hashrate measures the total computing power used by miners to secure the network and validate transactions. It is expressed in terahashes per second (TH/s), indicating the number of hash calculations performed by the network every second.

According to Blockchain.com, Bitcoin’s hashrate surpassed 850 million TH/s in March. This increase reflects more miners joining the network and growing confidence in Bitcoin’s value and security.

“Each time the network gets stronger, Bitcoin becomes harder to attack, harder to ignore, and more justified in commanding a higher valuation. This isn’t just code. It’s economic gravity. Bitcoin has become the most secure monetary network humanity has ever seen. And it’s only getting stronger.” — Thomas Jeegers, CFO & COO of Relai commented.

Despite this surge in hashrate, mining profits are not increasing proportionally. As per a report from Macromicro, the cost of mining one Bitcoin has doubled since early 2024, now reaching $87,000.

The main drivers behind this increase are surging electricity prices and the high operational costs of specialized mining hardware (ASICs).

With Bitcoin’s price remaining in the $50,000 range throughout 2025, many mining companies could be operating at a loss unless they optimize their efficiency. This challenge is particularly acute for smaller miners, who lack the scale advantages or access to cheap electricity that larger firms enjoy.

Tariff Challenges and Dependence on Chinese Hardware

Another major hurdle for Bitcoin miners is trade restrictions, particularly in the US. According to CoinMetrics, ASIC miners produced by Bitmain, a Chinese company, constitute about 59%–76% of Bitcoin’s total hashrate.

Bitmain is a dominant player in mining hardware, with its Antminer S19 and S21 models known for their high efficiency and hash rate. However, in early 2025, some US mining companies experienced delays in receiving Bitmain shipments due to tighter customs controls and new tariffs on Chinese imports.

“With Bitmain catering to a majority of Bitcoin’s network hashrate, reliance on a single manufacturer, despite having distributed supply chains, presents a potential risk. Since Bitmain is primarily based in China, its dominance highlights how geopolitical dependencies can affect the stability of mining operations,” CoinMetrics stated.

These tariffs are not new. As per SCMP, the US has been levying duties of up to 27.6% on imported mining equipment from China since 2018.

However, recent measures indicate increasing regulatory scrutiny and trade pressures, further inflating import costs for mining hardware. This in turn inflates operational expenses for US-based miners and disrupts their ability to scale as global hashrate surges.

Recently, Hut 8 Corp., a Bitcoin mining and high-performance computing infrastructure firm, partnered with Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. to establish American Bitcoin Corp.

The company aims to become the largest and most efficient pure-play Bitcoin mining operation globally while building a strong strategic Bitcoin reserve. This move highlights the increasing interest from US institutional investors in the competitive mining industry.