The hash rate of Bitcoin recently reached a new record high, according to the Bitcoin mining data monitoring website MiningPoolStats. The network reportedly hit the milestone of processing 300 Exahashes per second (300 EH/s), or 300 quintillion (300,000,000,000,000,000,000) hashes per second.
The hash rate of a bitcoin is used as a proxy for the processing power that the network’s army of miners devotes to maintaining its security. Growing network adoption and increased network security are both seen as indicators of an increasing hash rate.
The accomplishment was independently verified by the bitcoin mining business Braiins. “The estimated total network hash rate based on API-reported hash rate values for all mining pools and estimated hash rate values based on blocks identified for miners and pools who are not reporting their real-time hash rate,” is how they defined the real-time network hash rate.
In response, one Twitter user cautioned against giving the “daily hash rate” too much weight because statistically speaking, it isn’t a genuine depiction of hash rate. They advised, “I would always look at the 7 day hash rate or at LEAST the 3 day.” They said, “Still, it’s great,” alluding to the hash rate breaking a previous record.
A rising hash rate is good news for all Bitcoin owners, even though it isn’t typically considered a sign that the cryptocurrency is about to enter a bull market because it shows that the network is getting stronger despite 2022’s devastating price decline.
Other websites gave slightly lower hash rate estimates for the Bitcoin network. Earlier this week, Blockchain.com assessed the network’s hash rate to be about 274 EH/s, whereas the most recent estimate from BTC.com was 283.38 EH/s.
As Mining Difficulty Increases
As the Bitcoin network’s computational power soars, mining difficulty is expected to increase. In less than a day, the next challenging adjustment will take place, increasing the difficulty of effectively mining a block by 3.7% to a new high of 38.99 trillion.
Rising mining difficulty is a sign that miners are in more intense competition than ever to find blocks as a result of Bitcoin’s recent recovery from its lows last year in the $15,500 to current levels around $23,000.
According to on-chain data reported by cryptocurrency analytics company Glassnode, BTC flows from bitcoin miners to exchanges recently hit a fresh three year low. This might be interpreted as a sign that miners are less keen to sell their BTC and a possible indication of confidence that the most recent uptick in the price of Bitcoin is the beginning of a longer-term recovery to levels last attained in early 2022.
In fact, a growing confluence of technical and on-chain indicators as well as an apparent easing macro backdrop as financial conditions ease on declining US inflation/stuttering growth suggest that last year’s dip below $16,000 may have ultimately been the bottom for the next market cycle for Bitcoin.