Bitcoin Network Hits Record Hashrate Amid Miner Profit Squeeze and AI Pivot in October 2025

The Bitcoin network demonstrated exceptional resilience in October 2025, achieving a record-high monthly average hashrate, even as the immediate economic outlook for miners faced continued contraction, according to analysis from JPMorgan.

The collective computational commitment to the network surged to an unprecedented 1,082 exahashes per second (EH/s) for the month, representing a 5% expansion over September’s figures. This increase in security expenditure was mirrored by a rise in mining difficulty, which stood 3% higher than the previous month and a substantial 80% above the level recorded before the April 2024 halving event. This escalating difficulty confirms that securing the ledger now demands significantly greater capital and energy investment from participants.

Despite this robust security posture, miner profitability metrics showed sustained pressure for the third consecutive month. Daily block reward revenue per EH/s averaged $48,000, marking a 3% decrease from September, while the gross profit margin for block rewards declined by 4%. This squeeze indicated that the cost of maintaining heightened network security was currently outpacing immediate block rewards and transaction fees.

Investor sentiment, however, remained strongly forward-looking regarding publicly traded U.S. mining entities. The combined market capitalization of 14 tracked U.S. mining companies grew by $14 billion, a 25% increase, reaching a total valuation of $70 billion. JPMorgan analysts linked this market buoyancy not to current block rewards, but to market anticipation surrounding the sector's strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure.

This strategic realignment is evidenced by stock performance divergence. Cipher Mining (CIFR) experienced a significant 48% surge, while Cango (CANG) contracted by 5%, underperforming Bitcoin’s 3.9% fall for the month. This suggests investors are prioritizing the potential for stable, dollar-denominated revenue streams from AI compute contracts over immediate crypto-based earnings. Miners are leveraging their expertise in power management and bare-metal infrastructure for this diversification.

A concrete example of this industry evolution was CleanSpark’s announcement on October 29, 2025, regarding its acquisition in Texas, which secured 285 megawatts of capacity specifically for both mining and AI expansion. This shift positions these firms as essential providers of decentralized, high-density computing power, creating new avenues for sustained growth beyond the traditional blockchain reward structure.