Bitcoin BTC$110,723.62 Investment bank Jefferies said mining profitability fell by more than 7% in September as the price of the world's largest cryptocurrency fell 2% and the network's hashrate rose by about 9%.
Although the network's hash rate has eased somewhat this month, the sharp decline in Bitcoin prices will increase pressure on miners' profitability heading into the fourth quarter of 2025, the bank said in a report on Sunday.
Hashrate refers to the total computational power used to mine and process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain, and represents industry competition and mining difficulty.
According to Jefferies, North American publicly traded mining companies produced 3,401 BTC in September, down from 3,576 BTC in August. The company's share of the global network fell to 25% from 26% the previous month.
MARA Holdings (MARA) led production with 736 Bitcoins mined in September, up from 705 Bitcoins in August, while CleanSpark (CLSK) followed with 629 BTC, down from 657 Bitcoins, the bank noted.
MARA's activated hashrate remains the highest of the group at 60.4 exahash per second (EH/s). According to the report, CleanSpark held the second largest position with 50 EH/s.
Along with prices, profits also declined. A theoretical fleet with a capacity of 1 EH/s would have earned about $52,000 per day in September, down from about $56,000 in August, according to the report. A year ago, that number was nearly $43,000.
Jefferies said margins across the mining sector continue to shrink due to falling Bitcoin prices and increasing network difficulty.
The company raised its price target for Galaxy Digital (GLXY) from $37 to $45 and reiterated its buy rating on the stock. Shares rose 3.5% in early trading to about $39.
The bank also raised its price target on MARA Holdings (MARA) with a hold rating from $18 to $19, pushing the stock up 5% to $20.55.
read more: Bitcoin network hashrate took a breather in the first two weeks of October: JP Morgan
