Bitcoin's network tops 1 zettahash again: miners flee to AI, so how does mining add up in Uzbekistan?
On 16 October mining difficulty jumped 5.92% and the network passed 1 ZH/s. Miner revenue is falling, big players are selling bitcoin and moving into AI data centres. What one ASIC earns in Uzbekistan, and who can profit, with the numbers.
What happened? On 16 October 2026, at block 971,712, bitcoin mining difficulty rose 5.92%, from 132.72 to 140.58 trillion. According to Hashrate Index, network power that day was about 1,025 EH/s, back above one zettahash per second (1 ZH/s). It was the biggest rise of 2026: the previous largest increase this year was 4.16%.
Why the hype? When difficulty rises, every machine finds less bitcoin. Miners' key metric, hashprice (dollars earned per day by 1 PH/s), fell to $36.75 on 16 October after topping $41 several times in September. That is roughly a 10% cut in a miner's income in a month, while electricity got no cheaper.
Big players are selling bitcoin. Lookonchain reports that wallets linked to MARA, one of the largest listed miners, moved 1,000 BTC (about $82.8 million) to Binance and Gate over the past five days. MARA itself said it mined 2,422 BTC in Q2 2026, sold 2,213 at an average of $73,078, and will keep selling. A transfer to an exchange is not proof of a sale, but the market reads it as pressure.
Miners are moving to AI. In the first half of 2026 about 75 EH/s left bitcoin mining for AI and HPC data centres, with at least 35 EH/s more scheduled to go. Miners' disclosed AI/HPC contracts now exceed $70 billion: Hut 8, for example, signed a $9.8 billion deal for 704 MW in Texas. The reason is simple: the same electricity rented out for AI pays more steadily than bitcoin.
The world map. Hashrate Index's 5 October report puts the US at 35.6%, Russia at 18.1%, China at 11.7% (despite the official ban), Paraguay at 4.8%, Oman at 3.0% and the UAE at 2.8%. In Central Asia, Kazakhstan shrank 32% over the year and dropped out of the top 10 at about 15 EH/s, while Kyrgyzstan holds at about 4 EH/s. Uzbekistan is not shown separately on the map, so its share is still very small.
The halving is coming. The next halving happens at block 1,050,000. That is about 78,300 blocks after block 971,712, which at ~144 blocks a day lands around April 2028 (our estimate). The block reward then drops from 3.125 to 1.5625 BTC, and at the same bitcoin price miners' revenue halves.
What are the rules in Uzbekistan? Decree UP-121 of 27 April 2022 legalised mining for legal entities only, with mandatory registration at the National Agency of Perspective Projects (NAPP) and only at the registered address. A miner on the national grid pays double the tariff, and more at peak hours. In 2023 NAPP rules effectively limited mining to solar power, and mining anonymous coins such as Monero is banned.
New in 2026: Besqala Mining Valley. In April a presidential resolution opened a special mining zone in Karakalpakstan. Mining income of legal entities registered there is tax-exempt until 1 January 2035; instead they pay 1% of monthly mining income to the zone directorate. Any renewable source is now allowed, not only solar, and the grid at a higher tariff. Proceeds from selling mined crypto must go to banks in Uzbekistan.
What does power cost? From 1 June 2026, under the government decision of 15 May, the business tariff is 1,100 som per kWh and households pay 650 som for the first 200 kWh a month. A grid-connected miner pays double, 2,200 som. At the Central Bank rate of 17 October ($1 = 12,055.90 som) that is about $0.18 per kWh.
Calculation 1: a new ASIC on the grid. Take the newest Antminer S23e U2H: 865 TH/s at 10 J/TH, so 8.65 kW, selling for about $9,500. At a hashprice of $36.75 it earns 0.865 × 36.75 ≈ $31.8 a day. It uses 207.6 kWh a day, which at 2,200 som costs ≈ $37.9. Result: about −$6.1 a day, a loss of more than $180 a month. Break-even for a 10 J/TH machine is ≈ $0.153/kWh (≈ 1,850 som), and Uzbekistan's miner tariff is above that.
Calculation 2: an old machine at home. The Antminer S19j Pro that many people import: 104 TH/s and 3.07 kW per the manufacturer. It earns ≈ $3.8 a day and breaks even at ≈ $0.052/kWh, about 630 som. That is below even the cheapest household tariff of 650 som. So garage mining loses money even before any fine, and for individuals it is outside the law anyway.
Calculation 3: your own solar plant. Solar power in Uzbekistan is very cheap: in the 2021 Sherabad tender Masdar bid 1.8 cents per kWh. Suppose your own solar power costs 2 cents. If the S23e U2H runs around the clock: revenue $31.8, power ≈ $4.2, profit ≈ $27.6 a day, and the machine pays for itself in about 345 days. Without batteries, though, solar gives about 8 hours a day (our assumption): profit drops to ≈ $9.2 a day and payback to ≈ 2.8 years, while the halving in ~1.5 years cuts revenue in half.
The bottom line in numbers. At today's hashprice, mining in Uzbekistan pays only if three things hold: cheap renewable power (under ≈ 3 cents) around the clock, the newest machines at about 10 J/TH, and paying off the hardware before the halving. The Besqala zone's tax break (just a 1% fee) improves the maths, but running on the grid at the higher tariff still loses money. All calculations assume bitcoin's price and hashprice stay at 16–19 October levels.
Sources: CoinTribune (difficulty, 16.10.2026), Hashrate Index (Q4 2026 heatmap), MillionMiner (October 2026 update), The Crypto Times (MARA, 19.10.2026), The Block (Besqala Mining Valley), Kursiv Uzbekistan, Kinstellar (UP-121), CoinGeek (NAPP rules 2023), Yep.uz (tariffs from 01.06.2026), Powerline (Sherabad solar tender), Norma.uz (CBU rate)
News is for information only and is not investment advice. Use only crypto providers licensed in Uzbekistan.