While Bitcoin’s hashprice has been languishing below $44 per petahash per second (PH/s) each day, the network’s hashrate is beginning to climb once more. Between Aug. 9 and Aug. 17, the hashrate increased from 612 exahash per second (EH/s) to 637 EH/s, adding 25 EH/s over eight days.
Miners Increase Bitcoin’s Hashrate After Difficulty Decline Eases Pressure
In the past week, bitcoin miners have ramped up their computational power, especially following the Aug. 14 difficulty adjustment. The network’s difficulty fell by 4.19% from 90.66 trillion to 86.87 trillion, providing some relief after the 10.5% increase on July 31. Just days earlier on July 25, the seven-day simple moving average (SMA) showed BTC’s hashpower peaking at 677 EH/s, but by Aug. 9, it had slipped to 612 EH/s.
In the last eight days, the hashrate has climbed by 25 EH/s, with a significant boost occurring after the recent difficulty reduction. On that day, the hashrate was at 624 EH/s, meaning 13 EH/s came online within just 72 hours. Bitcoin’s price and the low onchain fees paid to miners have contributed to an exceptionally low hashprice, which reflects the daily expected value of 1 PH/s of SHA256 hashpower mining BTC.
Before the halving, hashprice hit two lows in November 2022 following the FTX collapse, with rates dropping to $56 per PH/s, and in mid-October when it dipped to $59 per PH/s. The current rate under $44 per PH/s, and the low of $35 per PH/s on Aug. 5, mark the lowest levels the network has ever experienced. However, miners enjoyed a brief respite with a higher hashprice in March and April before the fourth halving.
Miners have also geared up for the reward halving by acquiring tens of thousands of more efficient mining rigs that deliver higher terahash per second (TH/s) output. Some are diversifying into artificial intelligence (AI) deals, and several publicly listed mining firms have secured billions in cash through private offerings of senior convertible notes. But this runway won’t last forever, and the market will need to shift for miners to thrive once again.