Bitcoin mining economics appear to have worsened so far this year.

A recent report by The Block, citing JPMorgan analysts, said pressure on miners is increasing as bitcoin prices have stayed below estimated production costs for five consecutive months.

JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou (니콜라오스 파니기르초글루) said in a report that bitcoin hashrate and mining difficulty this year are responding more sensitively to price fluctuations.

More miners are operating near break-even, and are turning equipment on and off more frequently depending on price changes, the report said.

"If bitcoin falls below production costs, high-cost miners shut down operations and hashrate declines, leading to downward adjustments in difficulty," the JPMorgan analysts said.

JPMorgan estimates current bitcoin production costs at about $78,000. Bitcoin is currently trading at about $62,500. About 20 percent of bitcoin miners are estimated to be operating at a loss, according to CoinShares' first-quarter 2026 mining report.

JPMorgan forecast that as long as bitcoin continues to trade well below production costs, the size and frequency of mining difficulty adjustments will increase. It added that the current bearish sentiment could instead be a "signal of a reversal to bullish."