According to data from CryptoQuant, Bitcoin miners’ reserves have gradually decreased, reaching 1.806 million BTC.
The chart shows a clear downward trajectory through the second half of 2025, indicating that miners have been reducing their holdings to cover operating costs as prices weaken.
Unlike panic-induced sell-offs, this appears to be a slow, structural decline. This pattern has historically emerged during periods of tighter margins.
Lower reserves reduce miner-operated supply, but also indicate that operators may face increasing pressure as profitability declines.
Bitcoin Exchange-to-miner inflows hit multi-month lows
A second CryptoQuant dataset, tracking Exchange-to-miner transactions, points to another stress indicator: miners are receiving fewer coins from exchanges than earlier this year.
Source: CryptoQuant
This is clearly visible as a sustained downward trend on the chart, with inflows decreasing from highs above 2,000 BTC per day to a range of moderate readings in the 400-700 BTC range.
Lower exchanges between miners usually mean that miners are too
- no longer accumulate,
- rely more on their existing reserves, and
- facing liquidity constraints as market conditions tighten.
Together, declining reserves and weaker external inflows point to a mining sector operating on tighter margins than earlier in the cycle.
The difficulty of Bitcoin mining remains high despite the price drop
Glassnode’s mining difficulty chart adds a new layer to the story. The difficulty remains near historic highs, hovering around 660Z, despite BTC falling from above $120,000 to around $88,000.
Source: Glassnode
This discrepancy between difficulty and price creates one of the strongest stress signals for miners:
- Difficulty level high, operational costs remain high
- Price low, mining revenues down
- Margin compression means miners are facing increasing financial pressure
Periods in which difficulty remains stubbornly high while price weakens historically precede miner capitulation events, in which weaker operators close their doors, sell off their reserves or restructure to stay online.
What this means for Bitcoin’s market prospects
The combined picture of the three data sets indicates a growing imbalance between mining costs and revenues. If BTC remains below $90,000, miners may soon be forced to:
- sell additional reserves,
- reduce operational capacity,
- shift to cheaper regions, or
- transferring assets to exchanges, increasing supply pressure.
Current trends do not guarantee capitulation, but they do show that the sector is drifting in that direction. A sharp price increase would immediately relieve this pressure. Without that catalyst, miner liquidity remains a key risk to watch in the coming weeks.
Final thoughts
- The mining sector faces a triple threat: declining reserves, collapsing inflows and increased difficulty.
- If BTC continues to trade below $90,000, miner-driven supply pressures could reemerge and determine the near-term direction of the market.