Why Bitcoin Miners Are Shutting Down Rigs in 2025

Bitcoin miners are facing one of the toughest margin environments due to the 2024 halving, which cut the block subsidy in half, combined with record-high network hashrate. Hash revenue has dropped significantly (from about $55 to $35 per PH/day), while median all-in costs are near $44 per PH/day, pushing many operations into a loss. Even the most efficient, new-generation ASICs (like the Antminer S21) show payback periods exceeding 1,000 days, which is longer than the time remaining until the next halving. Miners must pass both a cash-flow test (daily revenue covering operating costs) and a payback test (earning back the purchase price before the next halving). If operations are burning cash, miners have options like throttling machines, seeking cheaper power sources (like stranded energy), repurposing sites for AI workloads, or consolidating/exiting the market. Ultimately, the current economic bar for sustainable mining requires very cheap power (around $0.06/kWh or better) and current-generation efficiency, as smaller operators may find buying BTC directly is more profitable than mining.

(Source：Cointelegraph)