Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Plunges to 19.9%, Third Steepest Drop on Record
RIOT has more than doubled off its 52-week low of $10.59.
Summary
Bitcoin mining difficulty fell to 19.9% in July, marking the third steepest decline on record and only the second time it has turned negative year-over-year. The drop reflects sustained pressure on miners as BTC prices remain rangebound near $60,000–$65,000 and power capacity shifts to AI data centers. Dollar revenue per block has been cut to 3.125 BTC, while the network hashrate has fallen sharply from over 1 ZH/s in late 2025 to around 868 EH/s. For Riot Platforms, which already reported a $500.5 million net loss in Q1 2026, this further squeezes mining economics. The industry sold over 32,000 BTC in Q1 alone, exceeding all of 2025, signaling liquidity stress. MARA Holdings faces the same headwinds, but Riot's larger market cap and recent equity incentive dilution make it more directly exposed to margin compression.
At the time of this announcement, RIOT was trading at $22.42 on NASDAQ in the Crypto Assets sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $8.5B. The 52-week trading range was $10.59 to $30.32. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: CryptoProwl.