Bitcoin’s network hashrate has experienced its steepest decline since the April 2024 halving, as roughly 400,000 mining machines in China reportedly went offline, according to former Canaan chairman Jack Kong.

Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, noted that the 30-day simple moving average (SMA) hashrate for bitcoin (BTC $87,182.84) reflects the drop. The hashrate measures the total computational power securing the network.

In a post on X, Kong said computing power fell by approximately 100 exahashes per second (EH/s) compared with the previous day, an 8% decline. Based on an average of 250 terahashes per second per machine, this translates to over 400,000 mining rigs going offline. He added that mining farms in Xinjiang were shutting down one after another, indirectly benefiting U.S.-based miners without any direct intervention.

This development comes just one month after China re-emerged as the world’s third-largest bitcoin mining hub, contributing roughly 14% of the global hashrate.

Glassnode data shows total hashrate falling from about 1.1 zettahashes per second (ZH/s) to just above 1 ZH/s. The decline coincides with ongoing pressure on miner revenues, as hash price hovers near $37 per petahash per second—a roughly five-year low.

Bitcoin mining difficulty is projected to drop by roughly 3%, providing temporary relief to miner revenue. The metric currently sits at 148.2 trillion (T), slightly below its all-time high.