Bitcoin Mining Enters the Zetahash Era as Profitability Tightens

Bitcoin mining reached a historic milestone in late 2025, entering the zetahash era by exceeding 1 zetahash per second of computing power, according to a GoMining report. This massive scaling, driven by industrialization and hardware upgrades, resulted in record hashrates. However, this growth coincided with a sharp decline in miner profitability, as revenue per unit of compute tightened to one of its lowest ranges ever. Post-halving, transaction fees accounted for less than 1% of total block rewards, leaving miner earnings almost entirely dependent on Bitcoin's price and the block subsidy. Consequently, hashprice fell to an all-time low near $35 per PH per day in November 2025. This economic pressure has set clear shutdown prices; for common S21 miners with $0.08/kWh electricity, breakeven is near $69,000–$74,000. While this doesn't set a price floor, sustained trading below these levels could trigger weaker miners to sell reserves or shut down, potentially amplifying market volatility.

(Source：BeInCrypto)