Bitcoin’s network power has declined this week, falling back below after staying above the 1 zeta hash mark for several months. According to the report, the 7-day average hashrate is around 993 EH/s, a clear retreat from last year’s highs.
hunger for power
Major AI data centers have long-term power contracts and are willing to pay more for 24-hour, reliable power, forcing some miners to cut back or shift operations, according to reports. This competition has changed who can get the cheapest electricity on the grid.
Some publicly traded miners have signed deals to lease space to chipmakers and AI companies, turning parts of their sites into AI data centers. A major miner has signed a multi-year contract with a major semiconductor company, showing how companies are hedging volatile mining profits.
On Monday, StandardHash CEO and founder Leon Liu told X that the decline was caused by Bitcoin miners shifting power to AI computing in search of better profit margins.
Why is the shift important now?
The biggest cost of mining is electricity. When data centers bid for the same megawatts, miners face a stark choice: pay more, accept tighter margins, or reuse the capacity.
Bitcoin Hashrate Alert: Changes in the Mining Environment 📉
For the first time since September 2025, BTC’s 7-day average hashrate fell below 1 ZH/s. The -4.34% difficulty adjustment will be made within 3 days.
What is causing the spill? 🧵
1️⃣ Pivoting AI: Major mining companies… pic.twitter.com/hg8O8xBIkx
— LeonLyuLv (@LeonLyuLv) January 19, 2026
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The reduction in hashing power eases the network difficulty a bit, keeping block times roughly constant, but that mechanical fix does not change the holder of the power contract.
PJM, a power grid operator serving the mid-Atlantic region, moved quickly to propose rules aimed at meeting the burgeoning demand for AI.
The plan calls for large new electricity users to either take responsibility for their own supply or accept power reduction rules to ensure essential services and households do not face power outages. These moves aim to limit the strain placed on the system by the rapid growth of AI.
Image: JHUEngineering
Bitcoin vs. AI: Policy movements and political pressures
President Donald Trump and several state leaders are pushing for measures to make tech companies pay more for power, including proposing emergency bids to fund new power plants.
The pressure reflects concerns about rising bills and the risk that expanding data centers will crowd out other users.
What miners do to survive
Many operators don’t just shut down rigs when power costs go up. They are modifying their sites to host GPUs and other AI hardware.
This change could mean more stable returns and longer contracts than what you would get from mining alone. This also suggests a structural change. For some companies, Bitcoin mining is becoming part of their broader computing business.
Block rewards and protocol rules continue to protect the network. But if hashrates remain low for an extended period of time, planners and investors will be watching to see if there will be more centralization in regions with lower electricity prices.
For everyday users, the system will continue to generate blocks. For miners, the fight for power has now become a critical business issue.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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