That amount is smaller than the ETF outflows. But in financial markets, price is set at the margin. The most recent buyers and sellers, not the cumulative volume over months, determine where the price goes. In a downtrend, when buying interest is already weak, even relatively modest and steady selling can have an outsized impact.
“Early year sales from public miners are an underdiscussed contributing factor [in] Bitcoin’s poor price performance in 2026,” the research and analysis division of Blockware Solutions said in its latest newsletter.
Many of these companies are facing squeezed margins, with the average cost to produce one bitcoin at $74,300. In response, a growing number are pivoting into AI and using their secured high-voltage electrical capacity to support that shift.
At the same time, mining difficulty, the computational work needed to add a new block, has fallen about 18% from its November peak, marking the longest stretch of declining hashrate.
In other words, the exodus and AI pivot of several large miners has eased competition, making BTC cheaper to mine and boosting rewards for those still in the game, a classic free-market reset that could lure new miners back in.
“In other words, the rest of the miners are earning ~18% more Bitcoin now than they were 10 months ago. The exodus of the largest players in the industry is improving the economics for the miners that remain,” Blockware said.