Bitcoin Drops 27 Percent: Public Miners Increase Selling Pressure

While Bitcoin has lost 27 percent of its value in 2026, the $1.78 billion in sales by public mining companies has increased market pressure.

Bitcoin’s price has retreated 27 percent since the beginning of the year, falling below the $64,000 level and underperforming all major assets, including the S&P 500. The most prominent factor in the decline was the net outflow of over $4.4 billion from spot crypto ETFs traded in the US. According to SoSoValue data, these outflows led funds to sell their Bitcoin holdings.

However, Blockware Intelligence data revealed that public Bitcoin mining companies are also an overlooked source of selling. It was noted that these companies held a total of 127,000 BTC at the start of the year, while the current balance has dropped to 99,000 BTC. Thus, miners sold a total of 28,000 BTC, with the current value of these assets being approximately $1.78 billion.

Why are Bitcoin miners selling?

Although this amount is lower than ETF outflows, market prices are often determined by the marginal buyers and sellers rather than total trading volume. During downturns with weak buying interest, regular miner sales can exert a stronger influence on the price, even if the quantity is relatively limited.

Profitability pressure also plays a role in miners’ selling decisions. The average cost of producing one Bitcoin stands at $74,300. For this reason, some companies are diverting their high-voltage electrical capacity to artificial intelligence projects. On the other hand, mining difficulty—the computational load required to produce a new block—has dropped approximately 18 percent from its November peak. This decline has allowed miners continuing their operations to earn approximately 18 percent more Bitcoin compared to 10 months ago.