Bitcoin Miners Are Leaving for AI. So Why Is Hash Rate Near a Record?

Bitcoin (BTC) hash rate has climbed back to within 6.5% of its all-time high, according to Glassnode data. The rebound comes even as several large public miners redirect power to artificial intelligence (AI) clients.

Three months ago, the network was in its longest hash rate decline on record. Data now suggests private and international operators are filling the gap left by the AI pivot.

Bitcoin Hash Rate Holds Its Floor and Nears a Record

On-chain analyst Will Clemente noted on X that hash rate is nearly back at record highs despite the miner shift to AI.

The 14-day moving average of hash rate peaked near 1.135 zettahashes per second (ZH/s) in late 2025. It then fell roughly 22% between October 2025 and February 2026.

The decline stalled near 870 exahashes per second (EH/s). Hash rate rebounded sharply in February, then retested that floor in June and again in August.

Each test held. The latest leg higher is the steepest since the February rebound, lifting the metric to roughly 1.06 ZH/s.

BeInCrypto’s August analysis described the drawdown as the longest on record, with no bottom forming. In hindsight, the August retest marked the floor.

Price tells a different story. BTC trades at $79,774, down 0.8% over 24 hours and about 37% below its $126,210 peak.

Hash rate, by contrast, sits only 6.5% below its own record. That gap suggests miners are expanding for the long run rather than chasing short-term margins.

Mining Difficulty Climbs Back Toward Its Record

Difficulty confirms the trend. The network raised it 5.92% to 140.58 trillion (T) on October 16, according to mempool data.

Another increase of roughly 5% to 6% is projected for October 29. Two jumps of that size in a row stand out in 2026, as most adjustments this year were cuts.

Glassnode’s chart shows the path. Difficulty slid from a record 155.97T in late October 2025 to about 126T by February.

After a brief spring rebound, it bottomed at 124.93T in June. That 10.09% cut was the largest of the year.

If the projection holds, difficulty would reach roughly 148T to 150T. That would be its highest level since late 2025 and only 4% to 5% below the record.

The August analysis argued that a negative year-over-year reading through autumn would confirm a lasting contraction in Bitcoin’s security budget. The reading is still negative because late 2025 set the record. However, rising difficulty and hash rate suggest the contraction has stalled.

The AI Pivot Has Not Slowed

The recovery does not mean miners have abandoned AI. Riot Platforms disclosed a 20-year, 191-megawatt (MW) hosting deal at its Rockdale, Texas campus on August 10.

The contract is worth $9.1 billion, or up to $16.1 billion with extensions. Reports named Anthropic as the client, though Riot did not identify the customer.

In October, The Information reported that IREN signed a multiyear cloud deal with Anthropic. Neither company has confirmed it.

IREN is also leaving mining. The company plans to retire about 23.2 EH/s of capacity by December 31.

According to BlocksBridge Consulting, public miners’ realized hash rate fell 15% in the first half of 2026. Disclosed AI and high-performance computing (HPC) contracts across listed miners now exceed $70 billion.

However, CoinShares estimates only about $1.1 billion of that backlog is billed annually so far. ViaBTC CEO Haipo Yang recently argued that AI is pushing mining out of the most expensive sites.

Private Miners and New Regions Replace Lost Bitcoin Hash Rate

If public miners are shrinking, the new hash rate must come from elsewhere. Bitdeer is the clearest exception among listed firms.

Its self-mining hash rate reached 82.3 EH/s in September, up from 35 EH/s a year earlier.

Older machines are also changing hands. BlocksBridge suggested that rigs retired by public miners are being bought by smaller operators with cheap power.

Texas played a role too. Luxor attributed September’s rebound largely to Texas fleets returning after the state grid’s last summer peak on September 12.

Growth is spreading geographically as well. Hashrate Index data showed Ethiopia’s hash rate up 129% year over year in the first quarter. Paraguay rose 54%, and Oman gained 28%.

Price helped, too. BTC recovered toward JPMorgan’s estimated $85,000 production cost in late September. Meanwhile, Capriole’s Hash Ribbons indicator signaled the end of miner capitulation on August 27.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju described the hash rate recovery as an indirect bullish signal for Bitcoin.

What the Hash Rate Recovery Means for Bitcoin Security

Hash rate measures the computing power protecting the network. A level near the record suggests attacking Bitcoin is about as costly as it has ever been.

The data also suggests ownership is more spread out, with private operators and new regions taking share from listed miners. Some analysts argue this energy base supports Bitcoin’s valuation.

Risks remain. Hashprice fell to about $36 per petahash per day on October 25, down roughly 11% in a month, per Hashrate Index data.

Rising difficulty will squeeze margins further unless BTC climbs. IREN’s planned exit in December could also remove meaningful capacity.

For now, miners leaving for AI have not weakened the network. Sustaining the recovery may depend on BTC’s price keeping pace with rising difficulty.

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