Bitcoin Faces $1.78B Selling Pressure From Overlooked Market Group

Public Bitcoin Miners Add $1.78B in Selling Pressure

Publicly traded Bitcoin miners have become an overlooked source of selling pressure, adding fresh BTC supply to the market as prices remain under pressure.

Bitcoin has fallen about 27% since the beginning of 2026, dropping below $64,000 and trailing major traditional assets, including the S&P 500.

Much of the decline has been linked to outflows from U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs. Data from SoSoValue shows those funds have recorded more than $4.4 billion in net outflows, while analysts have also highlighted selling from long-term holders and corporate Bitcoin treasury firms such as Strategy.

Public miners, however, have received less attention despite their role in producing and selling newly issued Bitcoin.

Blockware Intelligence data shows publicly listed mining companies held around 127,000 BTC at the start of the year. Their combined holdings have since fallen to approximately 99,000 BTC, indicating that about 28,000 BTC has been sold, worth roughly $1.78 billion at current prices.

Although miner sales are smaller than ETF outflows, their impact can still be significant because markets are influenced by marginal supply and demand. When buying activity is weak, consistent selling from a relatively small group can exert disproportionate pressure on prices.

Blockware Solutions said sales by public miners early this year have been an underappreciated factor behind Bitcoin’s weak performance in 2026.

Rising Costs Push Miners Toward AI

Bitcoin miners are also facing tighter profit margins, with the average production cost reportedly reaching around $74,300 per BTC.

With mining economics becoming more challenging, several publicly traded miners are increasingly shifting toward artificial intelligence infrastructure. Their existing access to large amounts of high-voltage electricity gives them an advantage as they explore AI and data-center opportunities.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin mining difficulty has declined roughly 18% from its November peak, contributing to the longest period of falling hashrate in the network’s recent history.

The departure of several major mining operators has reduced competition, making it less expensive for the remaining miners to produce Bitcoin and improving their share of network rewards.

According to Blockware, miners that remain active are now earning approximately 18% more BTC than they were 10 months ago.

The trend highlights a broader shift in Bitcoin mining: while some large operators are selling BTC and reallocating power capacity toward AI, the resulting decline in competition is improving conditions for miners that continue to focus on Bitcoin.