The combined market value of 14 US-listed bitcoin mining firms shrank by 25% in March, wiping out around $5 billion in investor wealth.
This marks the third-worst monthly decline for the group since JP Morgan began tracking the sector.
The drop followed a broader slump in mining profitability, driven by falling bitcoin block rewards and increased competition.
Only one miner, Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG), managed to outperform bitcoin itself last month.
Other players with exposure to high-performance computing (HPC) fared even worse than those focused solely on bitcoin mining, continuing a two-month trend.
Revenue per EH/s down 13% in March
JPMorgan analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce reported that bitcoin miners earned an average of $47,300 per exahash per second (EH/s) in daily block reward revenue in March. This marked a 13% drop from February.
Profitability declined more sharply, with daily block reward gross profit falling 22% month-on-month to $23,000 per EH/s.
The lower revenue and tighter margins reflect increased pressure on miners as the halving event draws nearer, reducing the incentives that power their business models.
Mining difficulty also edged higher, as the average network hashrate rose to 816 EH/s in March.
A higher hashrate signals increased competition across the Bitcoin network, further compressing margins for existing miners.
Stronghold Digital led, Cipher Mining fell 45%
Among the 14 tracked mining stocks, Stronghold Digital Mining was the only one to beat Bitcoin’s performance in March, recording a relatively mild 2% decline.
In contrast, Cipher Mining (CIFR) suffered the steepest loss, plunging 45% over the month.
The report noted that miners with HPC exposure — operations that diversify into computing for AI, machine learning, or data centres — lagged behind pure-play bitcoin miners for the second month in a row.
That underperformance has raised questions about the resilience of diversification strategies in a market where the bitcoin price and network difficulty remain the dominant forces.
Valuations near post-FTX lows
JPMorgan’s analysts highlighted that the sector is currently trading at its lowest valuations relative to the block reward since the collapse of FTX in late 2023.
This signals widespread investor caution and shrinking confidence in the long-term profitability of mining operations.
Bitcoin’s price performance in March did little to support the sector.
Although the cryptocurrency itself dropped less than mining stocks, the downward trend in rewards and increased operating costs took a toll on publicly traded firms.
Halving pressure looms for miners
The upcoming Bitcoin halving — expected in April — will reduce block rewards by half, further impacting miner revenues.
This could add more strain to firms already struggling with falling profitability and rising network difficulty.
Without significant increases in Bitcoin’s price or reductions in power costs, miners may face continued margin pressure.
As a result, market participants are watching closely for signs of industry consolidation or operational restructuring, particularly among heavily leveraged firms.
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