Bitcoin jumped about 14% in a day on a US Treasury bond announcement, and mining revenue is up 29% from June. Here is how it happened:
Info sheet · Updated August 20, 2026 · Reference, skim in 3 min · BlockOps Mining Team
Every number here is a snapshot taken on August 20, 2026. Price, hashprice and difficulty all move daily, so check them before acting on anything below. This is general information, not financial advice.
Key Takeaways
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A 29% revenue rise turned into a 5.6x profit rise on an efficient machine. An S21 XP at $0.08/kWh went from $0.47 a day of net profit to $2.65. That is operating leverage, and it works just as violently in reverse.
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Efficiency decided who this rally reached. At $0.08/kWh an S21 XP now clears $2.65 a day. An S19j Pro still loses $2.17 a day. Older hardware did not get rescued.
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At a Glance
What happened
Bitcoin rose roughly 14% in a day, from about $64,100 on August 19 to $72,950 on August 20, its highest since early June.
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What caused it
A US Treasury announcement doubling long-dated bond buybacks, amplified by more than $1 billion of leveraged short positions being liquidated.[1]
What it did to mining
Why the gain is outsized
Difficulty is 18% below its November 2025 peak, so the same machine earns more of a larger pie. Only the second time in bitcoin history difficulty has fallen year on year.[4]
Who it helped
Anyone running efficient hardware on cheap power. At $0.08/kWh the S21 series is comfortably profitable and the S19 series is not.
How long it lasts
The price part is anyone’s guess. The difficulty part is already ending: hashrate at 933 EH/s is running ahead of what current difficulty implies, so the next retarget rises.[3]
Why Did Bitcoin Rise?
Short answer
The US Treasury said it would double its long-dated bond buybacks to at least $4 billion per operation starting September 9. That pushed long bond yields down, which made risk assets more attractive, and a crowded short position did the rest.How it's supposed to work: When the Treasury buys back its own long-dated bonds, it removes supply. This theoretically lifts prices and pushes yields down. Lower yields on government debt make everything riskier look relatively better. The Bloomberg index for 20-year-plus Treasuries had its biggest single day since February 2025 on the same news. [1]
August 19, morning
Bitcoin trading around $64,100, near the bottom of its summer range.[2]
August 19
Treasury announces the buyback expansion, from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, effective September 9. Long bond yields fall.[1]
August 19, White House
President Trump urges Congress to move the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act at an event with crypto executives, adding a second reason to buy.[1]
Overnight
More than $1 billion of leveraged short positions liquidate. Forced buying accelerates the move.[1]
August 20
Bitcoin prints $72,950, its highest since early June, up about 14% from the previous day low.[2]
Why this matters more than a typical rally
A move driven by a short squeeze can unwind as fast as it arrived. A move driven by a change in government bond supply has a mechanical reason to persist, at least until September 9 passes and the market sees the actual operations. As one analyst put it, this is really a Treasury story.[2]What Does It Mean For Mining Economics?
Short answer
Hashprice is $35.74 per petahash per day, up 29% from the late-June low. Because power cost is fixed and revenue is not, that 29% turns into a much larger swing in profit. On an S21 XP at $0.08/kWh, daily net went from $0.47 to $2.65, which is 5.6 times more profit from 29% more revenue.At a hashprice of $35.74 per PH per day, August 20, 2026. Nameplate wattage, before pool fees and downtime.
Antminer S21e XP Hydro 3U, 860 TH
Revenue per day$30.74
Net at $0.08/kWh$9.27
Break-even power rate$0.115/kWh
Antminer S21 XP, 270 TH
Revenue per day$9.65
Net at $0.08/kWh$2.65
Break-even power rate$0.110/kWh
Antminer S19 XP, 141 TH
Revenue per day$5.04
Net at $0.08/kWh-$0.74
Break-even power rate$0.070/kWh
Antminer S19j Pro, 104 TH
Revenue per day$3.72
Net at $0.08/kWh-$2.17
Break-even power rate$0.050/kWh
What the rally actually bought you
✓An S21 XP break-even power rate moved from $0.085 to $0.110 per kWh
✓That is a wider band of power prices you can survive, not just more profit
✓Machines idled over the summer become worth switching back on
✓Hardware resale values firm up alongside hashprice
What it did not do
✗Rescue the S19 series. At $0.08/kWh both machines above still lose money
✗Help anyone paying above roughly $0.11 per kWh on current generation hardware
✗Change your contract. A rally does not renegotiate a bad rate
✗Remove the risk that leverage unwinds as quickly as it built
The Part That Expires
Short answer
Roughly half of the hashprice gain came from difficulty being 18% below its peak, and that half is already reversing. Network hashrate is about 933 EH/s while current difficulty of 127.48 trillion implies around 913 EH/s, so the next retarget adjusts upward.Difficulty fell this year for an unusual reason. Compressed revenue and the migration of capital and power toward AI and high performance computing took machines off the network, and difficulty followed. It is only the second time in bitcoin history that difficulty has been lower than a year earlier. The first was after China banned mining in 2021.[4]
That is worth understanding because it cuts both ways. Difficulty falling was a gift to anyone who kept hashing. Difficulty catching up is the bill. Price can stay where it is and your revenue per machine will still drift down as hashrate returns.
Do not do this
Do not buy hardware on the assumption that today hashprice holds. The forward market has been pricing roughly $31.85 per petahash per day on average through December, below where we are now.[4] Model your purchase at a lower number than the one on the screen today.What To Do About It
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Work out your real break-even power rate.
Divide your daily revenue per machine by its daily kWh. If that number is close to what you actually pay, a rally is the only thing keeping you solvent, and that is not a plan.
2
Check what your invoice really says per kWh.
Unbundle the management fee from the power charge. Plenty of miners discover their all-in rate is above $0.11, which is the line where current generation hardware stops working.
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Decide about your S19s now, while resale is firm.
Hardware values track hashprice. If those machines are underwater at your rate, selling into strength beats holding into the next difficulty rise.
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If you idled machines, run the numbers before racking them.
An efficient machine that was marginal in June is comfortably profitable now. An S19 is not.
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Do not sign a long contract at a rate that only works at today hashprice.
Ask what the rate is, whether power is passed through at cost, and what the curtailment cap is in hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is bitcoin going up right now?
The US Treasury announced on August 19, 2026 that it would double its long-dated bond buybacks to at least $4 billion per operation from September 9. Long bond yields fell, capital rotated into risk assets, and more than $1 billion of leveraged short positions were liquidated, which accelerated the move.[1]
Is bitcoin mining profitable again?
It depends entirely on your machine and your power rate. At $0.08 per kWh an Antminer S21 XP nets about $2.65 a day and an S19j Pro still loses about $2.17. The break-even power rate for current generation hardware is around $0.11 per kWh. Above that, the rally has not reached you.
What is hashprice and why did it rise 29%?
Hashprice is the daily revenue a miner earns per unit of hashrate, quoted in dollars per petahash per day. It rose from a late-June low of $27.66 to $35.74 for two reasons at once: bitcoin price went up, and network difficulty fell about 18% from its November 2025 peak, so each machine earns a larger share.[3][4]
Should I buy miners now?
If you buy, model the purchase at a hashprice below today. The forward market has been pricing around $31.85 per petahash per day through December, and network hashrate is already running ahead of current difficulty, so the next retarget increases and revenue per machine drifts down.[4] Efficiency and power rate matter more than timing.
How long will this last?
Nobody knows the price half. Analysts quoted at the time expected consolidation around $70,000 as short-term holders take profits.[2] The mining half is more predictable: the difficulty tailwind is ending, because hashrate at roughly 933 EH/s already exceeds what current difficulty implies.
Does the CLARITY Act have anything to do with this?
Sources
[4]Mining difficulty shrinks 14% from this year high as revenues force operators to pivot · CoinDesk, August 1, 2026
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