As of April 19, Bitcoin mining difficulty had fallen to 135.59 trillion, after dropping 1.13% in the previous 24 hours. Simply put, Bitcoin miners had to do 135.59 trillion times more work than the original baseline (which was set at 1 in 2009) to find a block.
Now, a drop in mining difficulty can look positive on the surface, as there is less competition, which is directly proportional to an increase in reward earning. Furthermore, strong miners are taking the lead as a decline in Bitcoin mining problems washes away weak miners.
Other side of the coin
On the contrary, however, a decrease in Bitcoin difficulty also means a decrease in Hashrate, which at the time of publication was 1.063 ZH/s.
This decline in turn means lower safety, which further results in capitulation of miners. If the latter happens, the price of Bitcoin will fall and many mining platforms may also experience shutdowns.
However, it is also important to note that the latter only happens when there is a sharp decline. With a modest decline of 1.13%, things could be healthy and only a short-term scenario rather than an exit scenario for miners.
Bitcoin miner revenues are also the hardest hit
However, Bitcoin’s Daily Miner Revenue and Network Hashrate chart from CryptoQuant suggests that the situation in the mining sector is worrying.
Revenue has fallen to between $28 million and $35 million, while Hashrate is extremely volatile and surpassing previous highs. All in all, this means that mining is less profitable at the moment.
This comes at the close of Bitcoin trading at $75,404.11 at time of publication, after rising to $78,000 just 2 days ago. Taken together, this suggests that the decline in mining problems is having an impact on the overall market.
In fact, the analysis of various companies’ operating margins sheds further light on how large Bitcoin mining companies are profitable and how smaller ones face stress.
What do the different operating margin percentages tell us?
According to CompaniesMarketCap data, IREN (Irsis Energy), which is the largest Bitcoin mining company by market capitalization, saw an 18.66% increase in operating margins.
While companies like Bitfarms, which ranks eleventh in terms of market capitalization, saw their operating margins decline by more than 41%. Moreover, Riot Platforms experienced a decline of 102.45%, while MARA Holdings witnessed a decline of 145.50%.
This follows the first quarter of 2026, in which over 32,000 BTC were sold, with the hash price dropping to almost $33/PH/s/day. Needless to say, these numbers, which were below the $35 breakeven point, pushed about 20% of miners from profit to loss.
Looking deep, the current liquidation of 32K has surpassed the 20K BTC sold during the 2022 Terra-Luna collapse.
Final summary
- The drop in Bitcoin mining difficulty to 135.59 T at block 945,766 suggests that small miners exist.
- Bitcoin’s price is also facing selling pressure, with Bitcoin mining companies experiencing sharp declines in operating margin.