Global Crypto Mining News in March: The 20 Millionth BTC Mined, Single Mining Cost Exceeds $80k, AI Attempts GPU Mining, etc
1.
According to CloverPool data, the current Bitcoin block height has reached 940,000, and the 20 millionth BTC has been mined, accounting for approximately 95.2% of the total supply of 21 million. This means that only about 1 million BTC remain to be generated through mining over the next 114 years. As the Bitcoin block reward halves approximately every 210,000 blocks, the issuance rate continues to decline, significantly extending the issuance cycle for the remaining small amount of BTC.
2.
According to CloverPool data, the Bitcoin network saw a mining difficulty adjustment on March 21, 2026 (block height 941472). The mining difficulty decreased significantly by 7.76% to 133.79 T, marking the second-largest drop so far in 2026. Data shows that the average network hashrate during this adjustment cycle was approximately 760.10 EH/s, with an average block time of 12 minutes and 36 seconds. Analysis indicates that the block time was significantly higher than the 10-minute benchmark target, reflecting that some miners’ hashrate went offline or was lost during the previous cycle, triggering this substantial difficulty downward adjustment.
3.
A recent CoinShares report shows that Bitcoin miners are facing severe profitability challenges, with the hashprice dropping to historic lows of approximately $28-$30/PH/s/day in the first quarter of 2026. Data shows that the global weighted average cash cost to produce a single Bitcoin reached approximately $80,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025, resulting in approximately 15–20% of global mining rigs operating at a loss. Currently, publicly traded mining companies have signed over $70 billion in AI/HPC contracts, and it is expected that by the end of 2026, up to 70% of the revenue of some leading mining companies will come from AI business. (The Block)
4.
Checkonchain’s difficulty regression model shows that as of mid-March, the average production cost of Bitcoin is approximately $88,000, while the current BTC market price is about $69,000, meaning miners are losing an average of $19,000 per Bitcoin produced. The report notes that geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East have pushed up oil prices and raised electricity costs, further squeezing miners’ profit margins. Some listed mining companies have accelerated their transition to AI and high-performance computing businesses to seek more stable revenue sources. (CoinDesk)
5.
CoinDesk reported, citing Glassnode data, that the Bitcoin network’s total hashrate fell by approximately 4% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2026, marking the first Q1 decline in six years. The current network hashrate remains around 1 ZH/s, having previously maintained double-digit growth in the first quarter for five consecutive years. With the production cost of a single Bitcoin approaching $90,000 and the spot price at around $67,000, mining profits have turned negative, prompting an increasing number of listed mining companies to shift capital toward AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure.
6.
A Hashrate Index report states that crude oil price shocks have a limited impact on Bitcoin mining economics. Currently, only about 6%–10% of global hashrate is located in regions where electricity prices are highly correlated with oil prices (primarily Gulf countries like the UAE and Oman). The power grids supporting the remaining 90% of hashrate rely mainly on hydropower, coal, or natural gas, which are less affected by oil prices. The report highlights that the real risk of rising oil prices for miners is the macroeconomic environment potentially depressing Bitcoin prices, thereby reducing miner revenue (hashprice). In February 2026, USD hashprice fell to an all-time low of $27.89 / PH/s / day, driven largely by a 23.8% drop in BTC price.
7.
According to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, the volume of BTC transferred by Bitcoin miners to Binance has dropped significantly recently, currently averaging about 4,316 BTC per month, the lowest level since June 2023. Looking at all exchanges, the average monthly transfer by miners is around 4,381 BTC, showing that the overall selling pressure from miners remains relatively limited. Data shows that miners currently still hold approximately 1.8 million BTC in reserves, and their movements remain an important market indicator.
8.
According to U.Today, the Bitcoin network recently experienced a relatively rare two-block reorg. Around block height 941880, mining pools Foundry USA, AntPool, and ViaBTC formed two brief fork chains in a mining competition. Subsequently, Foundry USA consecutively mined the following blocks, making its chain the main chain and completing the reorganization. Researchers state that such events are part of the normal operation of Bitcoin’s consensus mechanism, not an attack or system failure.
9.
According to Bloomberg, Bitcoin mining hosting and cloud services company Applied Digital completed a $2.15 billion bond financing to construct its AI data center campus Polaris Forge 2 in Harwood, North Dakota, which has been leased to Oracle. Applied Digital previously stated that the data center project is expected to generate approximately $5 billion in revenue over an approximately 15-year contract period.
10.
Bitcoin mining company Core Scientific (CORZ) has secured a $500 million 364-day credit facility from Morgan Stanley, which includes an accordion feature. The company is currently retrofitting its existing facilities into high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. Furthermore, the company expects to sell its entire holding of approximately 2,500 Bitcoins in the first quarter of 2026 to enhance liquidity and fund its AI computing hosting expansion. (The Block)
11.
Bitcoin mining company IREN will add over 50,000 Nvidia B300 GPUs, expanding its total GPU fleet to 150,000. The company stated this move aims to meet the growing demand for its vertically integrated AI infrastructure solutions, emphasizing that “speed to market for computing power” is increasingly critical in the current AI Cloud market. The new GPUs are expected to be deployed in phases during the second half of 2026.
12.
Canadian listed mining firm HIVE Digital Technologies announced it will phase down its ASIC Bitcoin mining operations at its Boden data center in Sweden due to tax disputes and operational uncertainties. Simultaneously, the company is expanding its AI data center capacity in Canada through its subsidiary BUZZ High Performance Computing, upgrading its liquid cooling capacity from 4MW to approximately 16.6MW, and plans to deploy thousands of GPUs for AI training and inference. (The Block)
13.
According to Blockspace, Bitcoin mining companies Cathedra Bitcoin and Sphere 3D have signed an all-stock merger agreement. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined entity will continue to operate under the Sphere 3D name and maintain its Nasdaq listing. The merged company will operate approximately 53 megawatts of power and 1.2 EH/s of Bitcoin hashrate, plans to advance an approximately 100-megawatt expansion project, and explore AI and high-performance computing (HPC) services.
14.
Bitcoin mining company Cango Inc. released its 2025 financial report, with total full-year revenue of $688 million (mining accounting for $675 million) and 6,594.6 Bitcoins mined. Impacted by mining rig impairments and other factors, the full-year net loss from continuing operations was $452 million. Its comprehensive mining cost per Bitcoin in 2025 reached $97,272. Cango CEO Paul Yu stated that the company is advancing its transition to an AI infrastructure provider. Bitcoin mining firm Cango disclosed that it sold 4,451 BTC in February 2026 to repay debt and raise funds for its transition to the AI infrastructure business. The company produced 6,594 BTC in 2025 with full-year revenue of $688.1 million, but recorded a net loss of $452.8 million due to factors like rig impairment and high costs. The company stated it will continue to leverage Bitcoin assets to optimize its balance sheet and advance its transition to AI computing infrastructure. (CoinDesk)
15.
Riot Platforms reported a record full-year revenue of $647.4 million for fiscal year 2025; it produced 5,686 BTC throughout the year and currently holds over 18,000 BTC. Driven by rising Bitcoin prices, BTC mining revenue increased to $576.3 million. Over the same period, the average mining cost per BTC rose to $49,645. The company stated it is accelerating its transition to Artificial Intelligence and High-Performance Computing (AI and HPC) infrastructure. (The Block)
16.
MARA, the listed Bitcoin mining company with the largest coin holdings, disclosed in its annual report that it generated $32.1 million in interest income in 2025 by lending 9,377 BTC. However, due to the drop in coin prices, the lending segment recorded a full-year loss of $86.3 million. By the end of 2025, MARA held 53,822 BTC (approximately $4.7 billion), with a fair value decline of $301 million for the year. Notably, the company relaxed its policy in 2026, allowing the sale of BTC on its balance sheet, no longer restricting sales solely to current mining output. (TheEnergyMag)
17.
Bitcoin mining company Bitdeer (BTDR) disclosed its February 2026 operational data: the company’s proprietary hashrate reached 68 EH/s, mining 705 BTC that month, a 541% year-over-year increase. Its AI cloud business has deployed 2,096 GPUs, with an annualized revenue of approximately $21 million and a 64% utilization rate. The company also stated it is in discussions with potential customers for data center hosting lease agreements and plans to begin mass production of the SEALMINER A4–1 mining rig in March 2026.
18.
Bitcoin mining company Cango has temporarily taken about 30% of its hashrate offline due to declining mining profitability. The company’s average operating hashrate dropped to 34.55 EH/s in February, below its deployed capacity of 50 EH/s. Cango stated this move is related to mining rig optimization, migration to regions with lower electricity rates, and renegotiation of hosting agreements. Meanwhile, the mining revenue indicator hashprice has fallen below $40/PH/s/day, approaching its operating cost level and creating pressure on miner profit margins.
19.
BitFuFu released its Bitcoin mining and operational update for February 2026. The report shows the company mined 221 Bitcoins in February; as of February 28, 2026, its total Bitcoin holdings increased to 1,830. Regarding hashrate, BitFuFu’s total managed hashrate reached 26.4 EH/s, of which hosting hashrate was 22.8 EH/s and self-mining hashrate was 3.6 EH/s.
20.
Bitcoin mining company Canaan released its February Bitcoin mining update report, disclosing a mining output of 86 BTC. To date, its total cryptocurrency holdings have reached a record 1,793 Bitcoins and 3,952 Ethereum, valued at approximately $128 million. Additionally, it disclosed that its deployed hashrate reached 14.75 EH/s.
21.
Bitcoin mining company Bitdeer released weekly BTC data showing that for the week ending March 13, 2026, the company produced 158.8 BTC, all of which were sold, resulting in a net addition of 0 BTC; its current proprietary BTC holdings stand at 0 (excluding customer deposits).
22.
American Bitcoin Corp. (Nasdaq: ABTC) announced the purchase of 11,298 ASIC miners, expected to add approximately 3.05 EH/s in hashrate with an energy efficiency of about 13.5 J/TH. This brings the company’s total self-owned fleet to 89,242 miners, with a total hashrate of approximately 28.1 EH/s and an average energy efficiency of about 16.0 J/TH, representing a 12% expansion. The equipment is expected to be delivered and deployed at the Drumheller site in Canada in March 2026.
23.
BGIN BLOCKCHAIN (Nasdaq: BGIN) announced the successful initial tape-out of its first self-developed 4nm BT1 Bitcoin mining ASIC chip. The project entered the tape-out phase in October 2025, and the chip is now entering system-level testing and mass production preparation. This marks BGIN’s seventh successful ASIC chip tape-out since 2022. The company stated this move signifies its transition from altcoin computing business to mainstream Bitcoin mining infrastructure, and it has simultaneously initiated the R&D of the next-generation chip architecture to further improve energy efficiency and performance.
24.
Bitdeer (NASDAQ: BTDR) released the new generation Litecoin / Dogecoin miner, SEALMINER DL1 Air. The device supports the Scrypt algorithm and can be used to mine coins such as Litecoin, Dogecoin, Bellscoin, Junkcoin, Luckycoin, and Pepecoin. Official data shows the model has a standard hashrate of 25 GH/s, power consumption of 3725W, and energy efficiency of 149 J/GH. The equipment offers standard, low-power, and high-hashrate operating modes, with the low-power mode providing a hashrate of 20.5 GH/s and energy efficiency of 136 J/GH.
25.
Foundry, a subsidiary of DCG, announced plans to launch an institutional-focused Zcash mining pool in April 2026. The pool will offer compliance features, reporting tools, and US-based operational support, aiming to reduce the centralization of hashrate on the Zcash network and improve its institutional-grade mining infrastructure. Foundry currently operates Foundry USA Pool, the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pool. (The Block)
26.
US Senators Bill Cassidy and Cynthia Lummis introduced the “Mined in America Act,” which seeks to promote cryptocurrency mining and related infrastructure in the United States by establishing a voluntary certification mechanism. It requires certified facilities to phase out mining equipment linked to foreign adversaries while leveraging existing energy and rural development programs to support transitions and boost domestic miner manufacturing. Additionally, the bill incorporates Donald Trump’s executive order on establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve into law.
27.
According to Bloomberg, US Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to the Secretary of Commerce on Thursday requesting documents related to mining rig giant Bitmain to review its potential “national security concerns.” She specifically requested clarification on communications between Bitmain, the Trump family, and the Commerce Department, questioning whether national security decisions were influenced by political interests. The report also mentioned that federal authorities secretly investigated the risk of Bitmain miners being remotely controlled to disrupt power grids, and that American Bitcoin Corp., invested in by Trump’s son Eric Trump, spent $314 million to acquire 16,000 Bitmain miners last year.
28.
A US federal court ruled that a lawsuit alleging Nvidia and its CEO Jensen Huang concealed cryptocurrency mining-related GPU revenues can proceed as a class action, involving investors from August 10, 2017, to November 15, 2018. Plaintiffs claim the company hid over $1 billion in crypto mining-related GPU sales and recorded the revenue in its gaming business segment, exposing the stock price to crypto market volatility. The court deemed Nvidia failed to prove the related disclosures had “no impact” on the stock price, and the case will move to subsequent trial stages, with the next case conference scheduled for April 21. Previously, the SEC fined Nvidia $5.5 million in 2022 for failing to disclose the impact of crypto mining on its business. (Decrypt)
29.
Paraguay’s state power company ANDE signed a Memorandum of Understanding with crypto infrastructure firm Morphware, planning to launch the country’s first government-led Bitcoin mining project using miners seized by law enforcement. The pilot phase will deploy about 1,500 confiscated rigs and utilize local surplus hydropower resources for compliant mining. Under the arrangement, ANDE will oversee mine ownership and regulation, while Morphware will provide technical and operational guidance. The government is internally debating whether to sell the mined Bitcoin directly for public spending or hold a portion of the assets while hedging risks through financial markets. (Bitcoin Magazine)
30.
The Russian Federal Tax Service stated that crypto mining companies are expected to pay approximately 567 million rubles (about $7 million) in taxes to the government in 2025, far below the previous expectation of around 6 billion rubles. Officials attributed the tax revenue shortfall to rising electricity prices, falling BTC prices, a depreciating dollar, and the fact that a large number of mining farms remain unregistered. Currently, about two-thirds of Russian mining enterprises are still unregistered. (Cryptopolitan)
31.
According to CriptoNoticias, Spanish police raided an illegal Bitcoin mining farm in the province of Barcelona, discovering 88 ASIC miners connected directly to the high-voltage grid via three-phase lines without meters or protection systems. Electricity company Endesa estimated the stolen electricity value at approximately 860,643 euros. The report notes that the investigation began in October 2025 due to anomalous power consumption, and the case currently focuses on alleged electricity theft.
32.
According to local police reports, on March 25, 2026, the Ergong Township Police Station of the Urumqi Public Security Bureau High-tech Zone (New City District) Branch uncovered an illegal “mining rig” repair den during a patrol. A large number of dismantled and to-be-repaired devices were found on-site, suspected of violating domestic regulations comprehensively banning the production, sale, repair, leasing, and hosting of “mining rigs.” Additionally, the premises posed safety hazards such as unauthorized electrical wiring, lack of annual fire facility inspections, and unimplemented fire safety management protocols. Police have inventoried and confiscated approximately 310 devices for evidence collection, ordered the cessation of illegal activities, and transferred the case to relevant departments for further processing.
33.
Space computing startup Starcloud announced the completion of a $170 million Series A funding round at a $1.1 billion valuation, led by Benchmark and EQT Ventures, bringing its total funding to $200 million. The company plans to launch its next-generation satellite, Starcloud 2, later this year. In addition to carrying multiple GPUs (including NVIDIA Blackwell chips) and AWS server modules, the satellite will feature a Bitcoin miner to validate the orbital computing infrastructure model. (TechCrunch)
34.
Fund services firm Apex Group (with over $3.5 trillion in assets under management and administration) announced it will tokenize the Omnes Mining Note (OMN) structured note and issue it on the Base network. The product targets non-US professional investors, providing economic exposure to newly mined Bitcoin. Each OMN corresponds to 1 PH/s (petahash per second) of Bitcoin hashrate with a 36-month term. Note ownership will be recorded in a book-entry format and mapped on-chain via the ERC-3643 standard. (CoinDesk)
35.
According to official sources, luxury jewelry and watch brand Jacob & Co. partnered with Bitcoin mining platform GoMining to launch the Epic X GoMining co-branded watch. Priced at approximately $40,000 and limited to 100 pieces, the watch features a 44mm DLC titanium case and includes 1000 TH of digital miner hashrate, which can be directly connected to the user’s GoMining account for Bitcoin mining.
36.
A technical report by an Alibaba AI ecosystem-related research team stated that while training the autonomous AI system ROME, they discovered the model attempted to divert GPU resources intended for training to cryptocurrency mining and created a reverse SSH tunnel to connect to an external IP. Researchers noted that these behaviors occurred during reinforcement learning runs, were not programmed by humans, but emerged as the model explored environment and tool interactions. ROME, developed by research teams including ROCK, ROLL, iFlow, and DT, is part of the Agentic Learning Ecosystem (ALE) framework. (Cointelegraph)
37.
Hackers are spreading malicious apps by spoofing Google Play pages, resulting in large-scale infections of Android devices in Brazil. Once downloaded, users’ phones are converted into cryptocurrency mining devices (e.g., running XMRig), and some versions also implant banking trojans that intercept USDT transfers in apps like Binance and Trust Wallet to replace the receiving address. This malware possesses strong stealth capabilities, dynamically controlling mining behavior based on battery level and temperature. It can remotely control the device through legitimate services like Firebase, and even supports audio recording, screen capturing, and keylogging functionalities. (Cryptopolitan)
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The 20 millionth BTC milestone is a genuine inflection point that gets underplayed. At 95.2% of the total supply mined, the remaining 4.8% will take roughly 120 more years to release due to the halving schedule, which means the fee market has to do increasingly more of the work that block subsidies currently do for miner revenue. A single mining cost exceeding $80k when BTC is trading near or below that level is not a sustainable dynamic for mid-tier miners without access to sub-3 cent electricity. The market is effectively bifurcating into large institutional miners with cheap energy contracts who can weather compressed margins, and everyone else who cannot. The AI-GPU mining angle is worth watching carefully because if GPU-based AI compute and crypto mining start competing for the same hardware and electricity infrastructure, the cost curves for both get distorted in ways that are hard to model right now.