Bitcoin Hashrate Drops 8% to 920 EH/s as Energy Costs and Volatility Pressure Miners

Bitcoin's network hashrate fell about 8% over the past week to 920 EH/s, with higher oil prices linked to the Middle East conflict adding pressure on miners and the broader market, CoinDesk reports. Bitcoin is trading below $72,000, roughly 5% lower than Monday's peak, and the network is poised for an estimated 8% negative difficulty adjustment, which would be the second-largest downside move in five years. Intensified competition, persistently low transaction fees and price swings are squeezing miner profit margins, prompting many listed mining firms to expand into AI and high-performance computing and to increase Bitcoin sales, which adds selling pressure on the asset.