Data: The average cash cost to mine one bitcoin has reached $74,600

According to ChainCatcher, citing the latest data from CryptoRank.io, the average cash cost to mine one bitcoin has reached $74,600. When including depreciation and stock-based compensation (SBC), the total cost soars to $137,800.

As network hashrate surpasses the symbolic milestone of 1 ZH/s, industry competition is intensifying and mining profit margins are plummeting. This shift is prompting many public miners to reallocate computing power to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads, as these sectors offer significantly higher profit margins compared to traditional bitcoin mining.

The industry is splitting into two distinctly different business models: Infrastructure providers—transforming mining data centers for high-profit computing tasks; and traditional miners—continuing operations in a more competitive, near-zero profit environment.

Analysts point out that the high mining costs also reflect the scarcity of bitcoin, which may be one of the factors driving the current price increase.