Bitcoin Mining Weekly: March 10-16, 2026

Market Overview

Bitcoin closed the week at $73,783, up +3.2% over the past 24 hours and marking its best weekly performance since September 2025 with an approximate 8.5% gain. ETF inflows during March have totaled around $1.3 billion, providing sustained buying pressure even as market sentiment indicators remain in "extreme fear" territory. The crypto market as a whole has shed $540 billion year-to-date, but this week's reversal offered miners a significant reprieve.

Hashprice Index

Hashprice ended the week at $35.53/PH/day (48.16 sat/TH/day), up +19.9% from the week's opening level of $29.64/PH/day. The weekly low of $29.64 was set on March 9, with hashprice climbing steadily through the week to hit its peak of $35.53 on March 16.

The rally was almost entirely BTC-price-driven. Network hashrate remained flat below 1 ZH/s throughout the period, meaning the hashprice improvement came from the numerator (price) rather than any reduction in competition. The weighted average real yield tracked from $28.61/PH/day on March 9 to $30.17/PH/day on March 13, with the efficiency gap between theoretical hashprice and actual payouts averaging 3.3% across the week.

Network Stats

Network hashrate stands at 939.5 EH/s, remaining below the 1 zettahash level. Current difficulty is 145.04T at block height 939,456. Average block time this week was 648.3 seconds (10.8 minutes), running slightly above the 600-second target and consistent with the hashrate sitting below the level implied by current difficulty.

The next difficulty adjustment is estimated at -7.4%, expected around March 20. This would bring difficulty down to approximately 134.3T. Daily block emission remains at 450 BTC, worth roughly $33.2 million at current prices. The next halving is 110,544 blocks away.

Real Yield Rankings

Top 5 pools by actual payout rate (sat/TH/day) for the week ending March 16:

1. Headframe — 44.63 sat/TH/day (0.9% fee, FPPS)
2. Luxor — 43.90 sat/TH/day (2.5% fee, FPPS)
3. TrustPool — 43.88 sat/TH/day (1.0% fee, PPS+)
4. EMCD — 43.30 sat/TH/day
5. 21Pool — 43.24 sat/TH/day (4.0% fee, FPPS)

Headframe maintains its lead at 44.63 sat/TH/day, a 1.7% premium over second-place Luxor. Notably, TrustPool at a 1.0% fee delivers nearly identical yield to Luxor at 2.5%, making it a competitive option for cost-sensitive operators. The spread between the top and bottom of the top 5 is 1.39 sat/TH/day, or roughly 3.2%.

Pool Landscape

Top 10 pools by hashrate share across 98 active pools:

1. Foundry USA — 34.1% (0% fee, FPPS)
2. AntPool — 15.9% (4.0% fee, FPPS)
3. F2Pool — 11.8% (4.0% fee, FPPS)
4. SpiderPool — 7.8% (4.0% fee, FPPS)
5. ViaBTC — 7.4% (4.0% fee, PPS+)
6. MARA Pool — 5.2% (0% fee, FPPS)
7. SECPOOL — 4.9% (4.0% fee, PPS+)
8. Luxor — 3.5% (2.5% fee, FPPS)
9. SBI Crypto — 2.4% (1.5% fee, FPPS)
10. Binance Pool — 1.6% (4.0% fee, FPPS)

Foundry USA continues to dominate with over a third of global hashrate. The top 3 pools collectively account for 61.8% of the network. The total active pool count holds steady at 98.

Mining News Highlights

Bitcoin Hashrate Falls Below 1 ZH/s — Network hashrate dropped below the 1 zettahash mark, with hashprice hovering around $31/PH/day at the time. A difficulty reduction of approximately 6.57% is expected on March 20, which should improve operating margins across the board. Read more

Bitcoin Posts Best Week Since September 2025 — BTC surged roughly 8.5% on the week, clearing $71,000. March ETF inflows of around $1.3 billion provided a tailwind, while sentiment indicators paradoxically remained in "extreme fear" — a divergence that historically precedes further upside. Read more

Russia Lifts Mining Ban in Buryatia and Zabaikale — The seasonal mining restriction in Russia's Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai, active since November 15, 2025, officially expired on March 15, 2026. Miners in these regions are now free to resume operations, potentially adding hashrate back to the network. Read more

Iran Geopolitical Tensions and Bitcoin Mining — Analysis from Luxor and Hashrate Index explores how a potential oil price shock tied to Iran tensions could ripple through mining economics via energy cost volatility, particularly affecting operators in regions dependent on fossil-fuel power. Read more

Strategy Accumulates 738,731 BTC — Strategy now holds 738,731 BTC valued at $52.9 billion after purchasing an additional 17,994 BTC for $1.28 billion. The company carries $8.25 billion in debt with 11% net leverage. Their continued accumulation at these levels signals strong institutional conviction in Bitcoin's long-term trajectory. Read more

Looking Ahead

The headline event for the coming week is the difficulty adjustment on March 20, currently projected at -7.4%. If realized, this would be the most significant downward adjustment in recent months, dropping difficulty from 145T to approximately 134.3T.

The timing is favorable: a rising BTC price combined with falling difficulty creates a double tailwind for mining economics. Hashprice could push above $38/PH/day if Bitcoin holds above $73K through the adjustment. Operators who held on through the margin compression of recent weeks are positioned to benefit from what could be the most profitable mining window since late 2025.

The lifting of Russia's seasonal mining ban may introduce additional hashrate to the network over the coming weeks, though the effect on global difficulty is likely marginal. More impactful will be whether Bitcoin can sustain its momentum above $73K or whether the broader macro environment, including geopolitical tensions around Iran, introduces fresh headwinds for risk assets.