Bitcoin mining profitability fell to record lows in late 2025 as hashrate fell below $35 per second per petahash and production costs rose to $44.8 per petahash. This forced miners to payback periods of more than 1,200 days and led to major changes in the industry, with 70% of top mining companies now generating revenue from their artificial intelligence infrastructure.
November 2025 marked a turning point for the global Bitcoin mining industry. A combination of margin collapse, regulatory pressures and strategic shifts have reshaped the sector’s landscape. Here are five key trends that defined the month.
Profitability reaches record low
The network’s hashrate soared to a record 1.1 ZH/s in October, increasing competition. Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin fell to around $81,000, putting pressure on profit margins across the industry. The machine has a payback period of over 1,200 days.
MARA CEO Fred Thiel issued a stark warning about the future of the industry. When the 2028 halving reduces the block reward to around 1.5 BTC, most business models will collapse. Only miners with access to cheap energy or a successful AI pivot will survive, he said.
Financing costs continue to rise as traditional mining revenues shrink. Even companies that are transitioning to AI have not yet been able to offset the decline in Bitcoin revenue. This squeeze is forcing urgent strategic decisions across the sector.
AI Pivot Acceleration
Currently, seven of the top 10 mining companies are generating revenue from artificial intelligence. AI hosting revenues already exceed traditional mining revenues by approximately 50% per megawatt. This change is reshaping how the industry measures success.
BitFarms has announced that it will completely phase out Bitcoin mining within two years. The Washington state facility is scheduled to be converted to an HPC data center by December 2026. CEO Ben Gagnon said the potential profits could exceed all previous mining revenue.
IREN has signed a landmark five-year, $9.7 billion GPU cloud computing agreement with Microsoft. This agreement includes a 20% down payment. IREN plans to deploy NVIDIA GB300 GPUs at its Texas facility starting in 2026.
Hut 8 sold four natural gas power plants in Canada (totaling 310 MW) to TransAlta. This move coincides with a strategic shift towards Bitcoin mining and HPC infrastructure. CleanSpark aims to become a comprehensive computing platform serving both AI and BTC.
Major capital restructuring
A wave of convertible banknote issuance is sweeping the industry. CleanSpark raised $1.15 billion at 0% interest. TeraWulf completed a $1.025 billion offering, which was also zero percent.
Cipher Mining has issued $1.4 billion in senior secured notes at a yield of 7.125%. IREN plans to raise $2 billion through two separate convertible debt issuances. Bitfarms has completed a $588 million convertible debt offering.
The equipment effort is similarly extensive. IREN signs a $5.8 billion deal with Dell to procure NVIDIA GB300 GPUs. Cipher expanded the Fluidstack deal, with Google providing $1.73 billion in guarantees.
Canaan has secured a $72 million strategic investment from BH Digital, Galaxy Digital, and Weiss Asset Management. This funding will support the development of high-performance computing and energy infrastructure. The company aims to reduce dilution in future financings.
Regulatory polarization
Malaysia has busted around 14,000 illegal mining operations in the past five years. The stolen electricity cost the national power company TNB about $1.1 billion. A government task force was established in November to strengthen crackdowns.
Russia is deploying AI technology to fight illegal mining. Rossetti, the national power transmission operator, is incorporating AI analytics into its smart meters to detect power anomalies. A recent case involved $1.5 million in stolen electricity.
However, some governments have embraced mining. Japan has launched its first government partnership project through a major regional power company. Canaan plans to deploy water-cooled Avalon miners for grid load balancing by the end of the year.
Belarusian President Lukashenko has declared crypto mining a national priority for electricity use. He suggested that cryptocurrencies could serve as an alternative to dependence on the dollar. About 60% of Russia’s miners remain unregistered, prompting amnesty discussions.
Strategic BTC accumulation
Major miners stockpile Bitcoin rather than sell it on the market. MARA holds 53,250 BTC worth approximately $5.6 billion. The company ranks second in the world in public Bitcoin reserves.
CleanSpark reported total holdings of 13,054 BTC as of November 30th. Monthly production reached 587 BTC in November alone, bringing year-to-date mining production to a total of 7,124 BTC.
Cango holds 6,412 BTC with a clear commitment to long-term holding. Bitdeer increased its reserves to 2,233 BTC after mining 511 BTC in October. Canaan achieved a record of 1,610 BTC and 3,950 ETH.
This accumulation strategy shows confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term value. Miners are confident that weathering the current profitability crisis will pay off. The person who survives the hardship may be the biggest winner.
The article “November Profit Crisis: 70% of Top Miners Pivot to $20 Billion AI Market” was first published on BeInCrypto.