Bitcoin miners are already doing greater than securing Bitcoin’s base chain. In accordance with Rootstock’s Q1 2026 merged-mining report, 84.01% of Bitcoin’s complete hashrate contributed to securing Rootstock throughout the quarter, giving Bitcoin DeFi a hashrate-backed safety declare.
The community averaged 833.92 EH/s of Rootstock hashrate.
The quantity is placing as a result of Rootstock sits beside Bitcoin fairly than competing for a separate set of machines. It’s a Bitcoin sidechain that makes use of merged mining, permitting Bitcoin mining swimming pools to submit work to Rootstock whereas persevering with to mine Bitcoin.
In Rootstock’s framing, miners can earn extra $BTC-denominated rewards from Rootstock community charges with out including {hardware} or interrupting their Bitcoin operations.
Precision issues. The metric tracks hashrate contributed via mining swimming pools fairly than particular person miners’ intent, leaving DeFi demand unanswered.
It reveals that a big share of Bitcoin’s hashpower, as measured by Rootstock’s Q1 methodology, was additionally getting used to safe a Bitcoin smart-contract layer.
That turns the report right into a sign for mining and Bitcoin DeFi infrastructure. Bitcoin DeFi, typically referred to as BTCFi, is the broader class that Rootstock is making an attempt to safe via merged mining.
The following sign is whether or not that safety turns into significant payment income, liquidity, and consumer exercise.
What the hashrate quantity means for Bitcoin DeFi
Merged mining permits a miner to mine multiple suitable proof-of-work chain on the identical time. CryptoSlate’s personal glossary defines merged mining as mining multiple cryptocurrency with out sacrificing hash fee.
In Rootstock’s case, the sensible declare is that Bitcoin miners can reuse their current infrastructure to safe Rootstock whereas remaining centered on Bitcoin.
Rootstock mentioned 93.10% of noticed mining-pool hashrate participated in merged mining throughout Q1. Its full report lists Foundry USA, AntPool, F2Pool, ViaBTC, and SecPool among the many largest contributors to Rootstock’s securing hashrate.
Foundry USA accounted for 36.62% of Rootstock’s reported distribution, adopted by AntPool at 19.92%, F2Pool at 12.79%, ViaBTC at 11.79%, and SecPool at 4.98%.
Mining-pool participation determines whether or not merged mining stays a distinct segment technical possibility or turns into a safety layer backed by main Bitcoin infrastructure.
A sequence secured by a small pool of marginal hashpower carries a unique danger profile from one receiving work from swimming pools that already sit close to the middle of Bitcoin mining.
Rootstock’s Bitcoin hashrate knowledge makes use of blockchain.com seven-day averages, and that Rootstock hashrate is extrapolated from the share of Bitcoin blocks additionally used to mine Rootstock blocks.
That methodology makes the quantity a security-participation metric. Pockets utilization, lending exercise, buying and selling quantity, and protocol income require separate measures.
Hashrate explains the safety flooring, whereas charges and utilization clarify whether or not that flooring turns into worthwhile for the broader Bitcoin economic system.
Pool distribution additionally belongs close to the highest of the dialogue. A excessive headline ratio can conceal focus, and Rootstock’s personal desk reveals the safety base relies upon closely on a small group of huge swimming pools.
Why miners might care now
Bitcoin mining margins have come below strain. CoinShares’ Q1 2026 Bitcoin mining report described This fall 2025 because the hardest quarter for miners for the reason that April 2024 halving.
The agency mentioned hashprice was compressed by Bitcoin’s late-2025 worth decline and excessive community competitors. It fell additional to about $29 per PH/day in Q1, and CoinShares estimated that 15% to twenty% of the worldwide mining fleet was unprofitable at round $30 per PH/day.
Hashrate Index has hashprice at $35.78 per PH/day, and Bitcoin community hashrate at 984.34 EH/s.
CryptoSlate market knowledge reveals $BTC buying and selling round $77,300 with a market cap close to $1.55 trillion, whereas its market rankings positioned Bitcoin dominance at 60.1%.
At that worth, the three.125 $BTC block subsidy stays the core mining reward. Further payment streams change into simpler to grasp in enterprise phrases when miners are managing {hardware} refreshes, energy prices, treasury gross sales, and AI or high-performance computing alternatives.
Rootstock’s pitch to miners is {that a} pool can add one other payment supply whereas utilizing the identical proof-of-work. That could be a modest declare, however it’s also why the Q1 hashrate determine is extra broadly related.
Merged mining provides Bitcoin miners an possibility on BTCFi payment progress whereas holding their primary operation anchored to Bitcoin.
For $BTC holders, the implication is totally different. If miners can safe Bitcoin-native smart-contract infrastructure with out redirecting hashpower away from Bitcoin, then a part of the BTCFi stack is already connected to Bitcoin’s financial engine.
The safety base exists earlier than the market has settled on how worthwhile that infrastructure will change into.
The Q1 quantity lands first as optionality for miners, then as a problem for builders: convert a robust safety base into common financial exercise.
The earnings impact stays unquantified. Merged mining could make sense even when charges are small as a result of the incremental operational burden is restricted, based on Rootstock’s mechanics, however materiality nonetheless will depend on precise payment move.
The place safety has to show into utilization
Hashrate can rise quicker than utilization. Messari’s State of Rootstock Q1 2025 report confirmed that Rootstock’s merged-mining participation averaged 81% in that quarter after the mixing of Foundry and SpiderPool.
In the identical report, Messari recorded weaker consumer metrics, together with decrease energetic addresses, decrease new addresses, and a decline in DeFi TVL.
That earlier break up is the important thing caveat for the brand new Q1 2026 determine. Excessive participation in merged mining could make a community tougher to assault, whereas debtors, merchants, stablecoin liquidity, and builders decide whether or not the secured community turns into economically energetic.
Safety is a prerequisite for monetary exercise, whereas payment income and utilization present whether or not persons are utilizing the rails.
The obtainable Q1 2026 mining report leaves an important miner-economics quantity outdoors the desk: precise Rootstock payment income to miners.
Rootstock says rewards are paid in Bitcoin from community charges, however the Q1 mining report focuses on hashrate participation and pool distribution fairly than a miner income breakdown.
The small scale of Rootstock’s token economic system reinforces that caveat. CryptoSlate market knowledge reveals rBTC, the Bitcoin-pegged asset used on Rootstock, with a market capitalization of about $19.9 million. RIF, the Rootstock Infrastructure Framework token, is bigger at about $74.4 million, however nonetheless modest by crypto-sector requirements.
Collectively, these figures present that Rootstock’s safety footprint is way bigger than the market worth at the moment connected to its core ecosystem property.
Rootstock has proven that the majority Bitcoin hashrate can safe BTCFi infrastructure via merged mining. But it surely nonetheless wants exercise and payment knowledge to indicate that the infrastructure is turning into economically vital for miners and $BTC holders.
The following check is financial. If Rootstock payment income, energetic addresses, transaction quantity, liquidity, and utility utilization stay modest, merged mining will appear like worthwhile optionality for miners and a safety characteristic for customers.
If these metrics develop alongside sustained mining-pool participation, the argument adjustments: Bitcoin’s hashrate can be serving to miners earn from an actual Rootstock smart-contract economic system secured via merged mining.
For now, Rootstock’s 84.01% determine provides Bitcoin DeFi a stronger infrastructure declare. It reveals {that a} Bitcoin smart-contract layer can sit on high of a big share of Bitcoin’s mining work whereas miners proceed their primary enterprise.
The tougher half is changing that safety headline into sufficient exercise and charges for miners and $BTC holders to care past the hashrate quantity.
