Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Slides From 155 T Peak as Miners Exit for AI Deals

On-chain data show that since November 2025, Bitcoin's mining difficulty has been falling from an all-time high of nearly 155 T to about 141.67 T by late January 2026. Over the same period, miner hashprice dropped from roughly $49/PH/s to about $35/PH/s before stabilizing around $38–$40, creating a profitability squeeze that is pushing operators to shut down rigs and repurpose facilities for higher-paying AI and high-performance computing contracts.