The Bitcoin network’s hash rate, a metric measuring mining competition, fell for the second straight month in December, according to a report released by Wall Street giant JPMorgan ( JPM ) on Monday.
“The monthly average network hash rate, a proxy for industry competition, fell 30 EH/s (-3%) m/m to an average of 1,045 EH/si in December,” wrote analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce.
Hash rate refers to the total combined computational power used to mine and process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain, and is measured in exahashes per second.
Despite the lower competition for miners, the profitability of mining also fell. The analysts estimated that miners earned an average of $38,700 per month. EH/si daily block reward revenue last month, “down 7% from November and 32% y/y, representing an all-time low.” Daily block reward gross profit also fell last month, falling 9% to $17,100 per EH/s, the report states.
Although the bank did not go into detail about why mining profitability is falling, lower bitcoin prices since October likely added to the margin squeeze for miners already feeling the pain of the recent halving and higher energy prices.
Although it’s not all doom and gloom. The combined market capitalization of the 14 US-listed bitcoin miners and data center operators the bank tracks rose to $48 billion by the end of 2025, up 73% for the year. Hut 8 (HUT) was the best performer of the group last month, up 2%, while CleanSpark (CLSK) underperformed, down 33%.
While only two of the companies outperformed bitcoin in December, 9 of the 14 beat the biggest cryptocurrency over the year, led by IREN (IREN) and Cipher Mining (CIFR), the report added.
Read more: Bitcoin Mining Earnings Fall For Fourth Month In A Row In November: JPMorgan
