⛏️ Mining & Staking: Mining Profitability

Bitcoin mining profitability has slumped to record lows in 2026, with average daily earnings per megawatt falling below $5 per MWh in major mining hubs. This decline follows a sharp drop in BTC price to $28,000 in March, coupled with higher electricity tariffs and intensified regulatory scrutiny in China and the EU. Miners are pivoting to AI‑data‑center models, repurposing cooling and power infrastructure to host GPU‑based workloads, thereby diversifying revenue streams and reducing idle capacity. The shift also mitigates the risk of abrupt shutdowns mandated by upcoming EU AI regulations, which could curtail data center operations. Staking remains comparatively stable, with Ethereum 2.0 validators earning ~4% APY, while Bitcoin’s Lightning Network node operators see modest fee income. Market liquidity is tightening, prompting a cautious risk appetite; safe‑haven flows are increasingly directed toward traditional assets, pressuring crypto volumes and further compressing mining margins.