Bitcoin has recovered approximately 35% from its recent low, but its seven-day average hash rate remains below its all-time high after 316 days, according to a CryptoSlate report. Hash rate, the total computing power securing the network, usually rises with Bitcoin prices as improved mining profitability encourages miners to deploy more equipment. This time, the recovery has remained limited despite lower mining difficulty and improved profitability metrics. Aging ASIC miners, higher energy costs and uncertainty around equipment investment are weighing on the sector. Some mining companies are also shifting power infrastructure and data-center capacity to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, which can provide more predictable revenue than cryptocurrency mining. Hive Blockchain and Hut 8 have announced initiatives to add AI services alongside mining. The slower hash-rate recovery leaves Bitcoin’s security at historically high levels but could theoretically increase vulnerability to certain attacks, although such scenarios remain highly improbable. It also reduces competition for block rewards among miners that remain focused on Bitcoin, potentially improving their margins, while diversification into AI could slow future hash-rate growth and alter mining economics and network dynamics.