Bitcoin Miners Move $5.6B to Exchanges as AI Offers Escape

Between October 9 and October 15, Bitcoin mining wallets sent 51,000 BTC, worth more than $5.6 billion, to Binance alone according to CryptoQuant data. The largest daily transfer occurred on October 11, when over 14,000 BTC moved to exchanges—the biggest miner deposit since July 2024. These substantial transfers represent a classic bearish on-chain signal, indicating that miners are exiting long-term accumulation phases and preparing to sell.

Blockchain researcher ArabChain explained that such large transfers from miner wallets typically indicate either direct liquidation or preparations for collateralized borrowing. According to the researcher, miners sometimes deposit coins to use as collateral for derivatives contracts or for financing purposes, though in some cases these deposits may be technical reallocations between wallets associated with mining entities and trading platforms for regulatory or operational reasons.

This behavioral shift marks a significant turning point for the industry. For much of this year, miners were consistent net accumulators, banking on post-halving scarcity to drive prices higher. However, they are now reacting to shrinking margins and intensifying network difficulty that are driving their profitability to concerning lows.

Bitcoin mining difficulty, which measures how hard it is to find a new block, peaked above 150 trillion in September after seven consecutive positive adjustments. According to Cloverpool data, the most recent epoch ending at block 919,296 finally eased by 2.73%, offering brief relief after months of relentless upward pressure. Difficulty adjustments occur roughly every two weeks, recalibrating the puzzle to ensure blocks arrive near Bitcoin’s ten-minute target.

Even this slight drop hasn’t improved profitability. According to Hashrate Index, hashprice—the revenue per terahash of computing power—has fallen to around $45, the lowest since April. Meanwhile, transaction fees, which should help offset lower rewards, have cratered instead. So far in 2025, the average fee per block has been 0.036 BTC, the weakest since 2010.

Bitcoin mining analyst Jaran Mellerud highlighted the paradox that many Bitcoin miners completely disregard transaction fees, noting that in just a decade, these fees will be almost the sole source of income for miners. With Bitcoin’s halving in April cutting block rewards to 3.125 BTC, miners are now competing in a zero-sum environment where every extra terahash of power reduces everyone’s payout, leaving many smaller operations underwater, particularly those running older, less efficient rigs.

Faced with razor-thin margins, major mining firms are discovering a lucrative alternative in AI and high-performance computing hosting. Companies such as Core Scientific have retooled their massive data center footprints, already optimized for power, cooling, and fiber connectivity, to accommodate compute-hungry AI workloads.

Hashlabs reported that a 1-megawatt mining site operating efficient rigs at around 20 joules per terahash can generate about $896,000 in Bitcoin revenue annually at a BTC price of $100,000. However, the same megawatt rented to AI clients for compute-intensive workloads can yield up to $1.46 million yearly in stable, contract-based income.

Nico Smid, founder of Digital Mining Solutions, explained that the rise of AI and high-performance computing is transforming the global compute landscape, with Bitcoin miners feeling the impact firsthand. What started as parallel industries are now competing for the same critical resources: power, infrastructure, people, and capital. This pivot doesn’t mean miners are abandoning Bitcoin entirely, but rather diversifying the same infrastructure that once secured the blockchain into a broader computing economy.

The short-term implications are clear: miner selling adds pressure to an already fragile market. Historically, sustained inflows from miner wallets have preceded periods of consolidation or capitulation. The $5.6 billion transfer to exchanges represents significant potential sell pressure that could further impact Bitcoin’s price stability.

However, the longer-term story may prove more consequential for Bitcoin’s fundamental security model. If mining facilities continue morphing into hybrid AI-crypto data centers, Bitcoin’s security—which depends on consistent hashpower incentives—could face structural change. As profitability from pure block rewards declines, Bitcoin’s hash rate may increasingly depend on firms whose primary business is no longer mining alone.

This transformation represents a fundamental shift in the mining ecosystem. Miners can now remain solvent through hosting contracts while waiting for the next crypto upcycle, but this diversification raises questions about the long-term commitment of hashpower to securing the Bitcoin network when more profitable alternatives exist.