Public Bitcoin Miners Sell Record 32,000 BTC in Q1 2026 as Hash Price Hits Rock Bottom

Record sell-off: 32,000 BTC in a single quarter

Six major publicly traded mining companies — MARA, CleanSpark, Riot, Cango, Core Scientific, and Bitdeer — collectively offloaded more than 32,000 BTC during the first quarter of 2026. According to data from TheEnergyMag, this volume surpasses the total amount of Bitcoin sold by miners throughout the entire year of 2025.

The previous record was set in Q2 2022, when miners liquidated 20,000 BTC in the wake of the Terra (LUNA) ecosystem collapse. The current quarter's figure exceeds that by more than 60%.

Why this matters

A sell-off of this magnitude from Bitcoin miners signals deep financial stress across the mining sector. When producers are forced to sell more than they typically would, it increases market supply pressure and can weigh on Bitcoin's price. If the trend continues, further capitulation could reshape the competitive landscape, consolidating hash power among the most efficient and well-capitalized operators.

Hash price stuck below breakeven

The primary driver behind the mass liquidation is a historically low hash price — the key metric for mining profitability. The indicator has failed to climb above $35 per PH/s per day, with the current level sitting at approximately $33 per PH/s per day.

The $35 per PH/s threshold represents the breakeven point for a significant portion of the industry. At current levels, roughly 20% of miners are operating at a loss. Companies running older-generation hardware are particularly vulnerable, as their machines lack the energy efficiency needed to remain profitable.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin's mining difficulty and network hash rate remain near all-time highs. Although total computational power declined by 6% during Q1, the metric still hovers close to its historical peak.

Miner reserves in steady decline since 2023

The current wave of selling is part of a broader trend of declining Bitcoin reserves among miners. According to CryptoQuant, miners collectively held 1.86 million BTC at the end of 2023. That figure has since dropped to 1.8 million BTC.

Miners typically sell only a fraction of their mined coins to cover operational expenses such as electricity, facility leasing, and equipment maintenance. However, shrinking revenues coupled with rising energy costs have forced some companies to dip into their corporate treasuries.

Analyst outlook and industry prospects

Analysts at CoinShares warned in a recent report that they expect further capitulation among Bitcoin miners. The primary condition for stabilization in the sector remains a sustained increase in Bitcoin's price — one large enough to offset the growing difficulty and energy expenditures.

In March 2026, Wintermute analysts stated that the traditional Bitcoin mining model is losing its relevance. The combination of escalating difficulty, high energy costs, and BTC price volatility raises fundamental questions about the viability of many market participants without significant investment in hardware upgrades and energy optimization.