Survey: US Military Strike on Iran Causes Sharp Drop in Bitcoin Mining Hashrate

According to Jinse Finance, Bitcoin’s global hash rate has seen a sharp decline within just a few days, sparking widespread speculation on the X platform. Many believe that this sudden drop in hash rate may be related to the U.S. airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 22. Iran is considered one of the major countries for Bitcoin mining. In 2019, the Iranian government legalized mining and issued licenses to operators. Iranian miners use cheap electricity generated from fossil fuels and nuclear power for mining. At one point, Iran accounted for 4.5% of the global mining share, though this has now dropped to about 3.1%. The recent U.S. bombing may have targeted power infrastructure near Iran’s main mining facilities. Following the escalation of tensions, there have been reports of power outages and internet disruptions in both Iran and Israel. This suggests that Iranian miners have been affected, whether through direct damage or power outages. While it is still unclear whether disrupting Bitcoin mining was an intentional target of the attack, it is likely a collateral effect of damaging the energy system. According to Al Jazeera, the U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities—including Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—on June 22 damaged power infrastructure. For example, key power infrastructure at Natanz, such as substations, main power buildings, emergency power supply, and backup generators, was destroyed, which may have led to mining machines going offline.