Bitcoin’s mining network has taken a noticeable hit after renewed enforcement actions in China’s Xinjiang region forced a large number of mining operations offline, sharply reducing global hashrate and adding fresh pressure to already strained miners.
Industry analysts estimate that roughly 400,000 ASIC mining machines in Xinjiang have been shut down in recent days. As a result, Bitcoin’s network hashrate has dropped by around 8% to 10%, a significant move for a system of Bitcoin’s scale. The decline comes as China intensifies regulatory enforcement in one of its remaining major mining hubs.
According to market analysts, the impact of the crackdown extends beyond the immediate hashrate loss. Many Asian-based miners and long-term holders appear to have started reducing exposure weeks ago in anticipation of tighter restrictions. On-chain data shows increased selling activity over the past two months, suggesting that miners were preparing for operational disruptions.
With mining farms forced offline, operators have been selling bitcoin reserves and liquidating hardware to cover expenses and losses. This wave of forced selling has coincided with a widening gap in regional market behavior. Asian exchanges such as Binance, Bybit, and OKX have recorded consistent net spot selling throughout the fourth quarter, while U.S.-based exchanges, including Coinbase, continue to show net buying activity.
Mining pool operator Luxor reported that Bitcoin’s hashrate has fallen from roughly 1,160 exahashes per second in October to around 1,045 EH/s in December. The drop has triggered three consecutive negative difficulty adjustments, reflecting the sustained reduction in network computing power.
Luxor attributed the downturn to a combination of factors. Falling bitcoin prices have pushed older mining hardware into unprofitable territory, regulatory actions have removed capacity from key regions like Xinjiang, and rising winter energy costs have led to seasonal curtailments across parts of North America.
Adding to the pressure, hashprice a key metric that measures expected miner revenue per unit of hashrate has fallen to an all-time low. This has left miners operating with razor-thin margins at a time when operational risks are increasing.
Bitcoin’s price has remained near the lower end of its trading range that formed in late November, struggling to regain upward momentum as miner-driven selling and macro uncertainty weigh on sentiment.
The latest Xinjiang shutdown underscores the ongoing vulnerability of Bitcoin’s mining sector to regulatory shocks, particularly in regions where policy risks remain high. While the network continues to function as designed, the pressure on miners highlights the fragile balance between regulation, profitability, and global hashpower distribution.
