📰 What happened in mining last week
EMCD Digest | July 20–26, 2026

♦️ Bitcoin mining difficulty drops by 0.74%

At block 959,616, difficulty fell to 126.23 T. That means mining became slightly easier after a period of slower network activity.

♦️ Bitdeer raises its self-mining hashrate to 73 EH/s

The company mined 990 BTC in June — 388% more than a year earlier. At the same time, Bitdeer continues expanding its AI infrastructure while keeping Bitcoin mining at the core of its operations.

♦️ Kazakhstan introduces new rules for strategic mining

From August 1, eligible companies will be able to sign direct power contracts for up to 10 years. They will also contribute 10% of mined assets remaining after electricity and transmission costs to the national crypto reserve.

♦️ Poolin files for Chapter 11 in the US

Poolin Technology and two US affiliates filed for Chapter 11 protection in New Jersey on July 22. The companies plan to wind down operations and sell two mining sites in West Texas, with an opening bid of $52M.

♦️ Thailand seizes around 1,900 mining devices

Authorities found high-voltage connections that bypassed official meters. The estimated damage from the illegal electricity use exceeded 280M baht (approximately $8.3M).

🏭 Stay informed, keep your operations efficient, and put your hashrate to work with EMCD Mining Pool.

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30M reasons to keep mining.
Built on one simple principle: miners support miners.

When market conditions get tougher, a mining partner should do more than watch from the sidelines.

EMCD is stepping in with $30M in tools and special terms designed to ease pressure on margins and help mining operations keep moving. Meet EMCD Miner Support Program 🚀

The program includes:

♦️ 0% pool fee
♦️ Higher Coinhold rates
♦️ OnLock financing at 3.9%
♦️ A special discount on VNISH firmware
♦️ Partner offers on mining hardware and data center services

Because the right partner shows up when every operational decision matters.

👉 See how to join the program and get your custom offer

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AI vs. mining? Dallas had a clear message for BTC miners ⛏️

Last week at the Energy Investors Forum, some of the people closest to the AI infrastructure boom gave BTC miners a surprisingly straightforward recommendation: don't rush into buying GPUs.

Here’s the key takeaway 👇

According to the panel, mining and AI are fundamentally different businesses that happen to share one major input. The infrastructure miners already own — land, power access, and cooling — have value on its own.

Mike Alfred, founder of Alpine Fox and a board member at IREN, framed the choice this way:

♦️ Own the GPUs → greater upside and more control, but you're financing hardware that can become obsolete in months

♦️ Lease the infrastructure → customers bring the GPUs while you provide the power, land, and cooling. It’s a real estate-style model — slower, more predictable, easier to finance

The economics reinforce that point. A mining site typically costs about $200K–300K per MW, while AI infrastructure can cost roughly 10x more — even before adding the GPUs themselves. Most mining sites simply aren’t designed for AI workloads: the overlap largely ends with the land and the substation.

The panel also pointed to real risks — several speakers said they expect at least one major AI infrastructure deal in the mining sector to fall apart before the 2028 Bitcoin halving 🤔

That doesn’t make mining the loser in the comparison. Mining’s biggest advantage is flexibility — it can absorb cheap or stranded power and shut down within seconds when conditions change. A GPU data center doesn’t have that luxury.

The takeaway wasn’t that miners should abandon AI. It was that infrastructure may be the stronger long-term asset.

Keep it simple — point your hashrate at the pool ⚡️
And if you're looking for a reliable place to mine, EMCD Mining Pool is always ready.

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