Crypto Biz: Mining Weakness Tests Bitcoin’s Market Cycle 2025

Bitcoin miners face record margin pressure as proxy stocks sink, Kalshi lands $1B funding and Ether derivatives volumes overtake Bitcoin on CME.

Bitcoin (BTC) miners are learning the hard way that “number go up” doesn’t always trickle down. Even with Bitcoin prices still elevated by historical standards, mining margins have been sharply squeezed, with some industry analysts describing the current climate as the “harshest margin environment” on record. Balance sheets are shrinking, leverage is being reduced, and companies such as CleanSpark are moving to pay down Bitcoin-backed credit lines.

The strain is spilling into public markets. Bitcoin miners and other BTC “proxy” trades have come under heavy pressure, highlighted by the collapse in shares of American Bitcoin.

Not every corner of the market is retreating, however. Capital is flowing into crypto-adjacent platforms, with prediction market Kalshi recently raising $1 billion at an $11-billion valuation after a tenfold increase in trading volumes since 2024, overtaking Polymarket.

Meanwhile, Ether is gaining traction in derivatives markets. CME Group reports that Ether (ETH) futures volumes have recently surpassed those tied to Bitcoin, reflecting rising options volatility and growing trader interest.

This week’s Crypto Biz examines the intensifying pressure on Bitcoin miners, the surge in Ethereum derivatives activity and Kalshi’s blockbuster funding round.

Renewed volatility in the Bitcoin market has pushed mining economics into the “harshest margin environment of all time,” according to TheMinerMag, which cited structurally low mining revenues driven by falling hash prices, rising operating costs and equipment payback periods stretching beyond 1,000 days as key warning signs.

“Balance sheets are retracting” in response to the worsening economics, the publication said, pointing specifically to CleanSpark’s decision to fully repay its Bitcoin-backed credit line with Coinbase as an example of miners moving to reduce financial risk.

Bitcoin mining stocks have remained volatile in 2025 as the industry continues to adjust to the revenue shock from last year’s Bitcoin halving, which cut mining rewards in half. At the same time, many miners are pivoting toward AI and high-performance computing workloads in an effort to secure more stable, predictable revenue than Bitcoin mining alone can provide.

Shares of American Bitcoin, a mining and digital asset treasury company associated with Eric Trump, plumme

Source: CoinTelegraph