#IsraelStrikesIranBTCPlunges

Bitcoin miners are operating at significant losses, with average production costs around $88,000 per coin versus a market price of approximately $69,200, as rising energy prices and war-related disruptions squeeze margins.
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, including oil prices above $100 and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, are driving up electricity costs and contributing to declining hashrate, slower block creation times, and sharp decreases in network difficulty.
The strained economics of mining are forcing miners to sell more bitcoin and pivot toward AI and high-performance computing for more stable income, adding further pressure to a market already burdened by holders with losing positions and significant leverage.
The math has turned against bitcoin miners, and the war is making things worse each week.
Checkonchain's difficulty regression model, which estimates average mining costs based on network difficulty and energy consumption, put this figure at $88,000 per bitcoin as of March 13.
Cost pressures have been mounting since the October collapse when bitcoin fell from $126 ,000 to below $70 ,000, but the Iran war has accelerated the process. Oil prices above $100 directly impact electricity costs for mining operations, particularly for the roughly 8-10% of global hashrate running on energy markets sensitive to Middle East supply disruptions.
Hashrate declined to approximately 920 EH/s, significantly below the record level of 1 zettahash achieved in 2025. Average block time over the last epoch period was 12 minutes and 36 seconds, substantially exceeding the 10-minute target.