Wall Street bank JP Morgan speaks out about Bitcoin BTC$95,498.51 Miners and data center operators are starting 2026 on stronger footing, pointing to improving fundamentals that could support the sector in the coming months.
In its January update released Friday, the bank estimated that the market capitalization of the 14 U.S.-listed mining companies and operators it tracks increased by a combined $13 billion in the first two weeks of this year, to a total of about $62 billion.
The report attributes this early strength to a combination of a modest rise in Bitcoin’s price and a decline in the network’s hash rate, easing competitive pressures.
Analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce wrote: “On the mining side, average daily revenue per EH/sec increased as Bitcoin recorded a slight rally while the network’s average hashrate has declined since the end of December.”
Average daily revenue per exahash increased during the period, with mining gross margins improving by about 300 basis points from December to about 47%, according to analyst estimates. Hashprice, a key indicator for measuring mining profitability including transaction fees, had increased 11% as of mid-January from the end of December.
Efforts in artificial intelligence and high-performance (HPC) computing by Bitcoin miners are emerging as important levers to improve profitability as operators look to diversify their revenue beyond block rewards.
Looking ahead, analysts highlighted the continued decline in network hashrate as a potential supporting factor. The bank estimated that the network’s average hashrate fell by about 2% in the first half of January, still well below October levels, and that if this trend continues, it could sustain increased revenue per unit of computing power.
Hashrate refers to the total computational power used to mine and process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain, measured in exahashes per second.
Still, analysts warned that earnings per exahash were still well below last year’s levels, underscoring the importance of further efficiency and disciplined capital deployment.
Expansion of production capacity by U.S.-listed mining companies continues to be a theme. JPMorgan estimates that the group, led by BitDeer (BTDR) and Riot Platforms (RIOT), has added about 12 exahashes of capacity since late November, pushing the total hashrate of U.S.-listed miners to about 419 exahashes. The bank believes this represents approximately 41% of the global network, its highest share ever, and strengthens the strategic importance of listed operators in the global mining ecosystem.
Improving profitability, less intense competition, and higher but not flattened valuations create a more constructive structure for the sector into 2026, especially if Bitcoin prices stabilize and network conditions continue to normalize, the report added.
read more: JPMorgan says Bitcoin miners continue to face declining profits despite increased competition
