2024 marked a groundbreaking period for the Bitcoin mining sector, with numerous advancements and notable achievements being reached, as suggested in reports from mining companies such as NiceHash and Digital Mining. This exceptional year set new records for the rapidly expanding industry.

2024 saw a surge in block space demand, higher hashrates, and innovative changes in mining equipment designs within the mining sector, as reported by NiceHash and Digital Mining. Furthermore, major mining corporations broadened their reach through mergers and acquisitions, leading to increased productivity and operational efficiency.

Mining Developments in 2024

In the year 2024, the Bitcoin network generated a total of 53,463 blocks, with an average interval between each block being approximately 9 minutes and 83 seconds, starting from block 823,807 and ending at block 877,270. This mining process took place around the fourth Bitcoin halving event, where miner rewards were reduced from 6.25 Bitcoins to 3.125 per block. By this point, roughly 93.75% of all possible Bitcoins had been mined.

ViaBTC, a Bitcoin miner, created the block for the network’s most recent halving, which contained the highest transaction fees observed since May 2021 – approximately 37.626 BTC. Interestingly, Marathon Digital mined the largest Bitcoin block ever, totaling 3,990.36 kilobytes, nearly a month before the halving event. It’s worth mentioning that during the first hundred blocks following the previous halving, the average transaction fees were around 11.19 BTC.

Despite the year 2024 posing difficulties for miners due to halving, these operators managed to increase the Bitcoin network’s hashrate to an unprecedented level. The year commenced with a hashrate of 515 exahashes per second (EH/s) and concluded with 807 EH/s following a peak of 808 EH/s. This signifies a growth of approximately 56.7% or an additional 292 EH/s in the hashrate.

As an analyst, I observed a significant drop in the Bitcoin hashprice following the halving event, reaching unprecedented lows. Simultaneously, the Bitcoin network underwent 26 difficulty adjustments.

Predictions for 2025

In summary, while the United States continues to be a major player in the mining sector, research by NiceHash and Digital Mining indicates that Africa and South America are rapidly growing areas of interest for miners due to their largely untapped sources of energy.

Additionally, there occurred a significant change in the mining community of Bitcoin, as numerous miners started adopting a bitcoin (BTC) reserve approach. Instead of spending or investing their newly-mined Bitcoins, these miners opted to store them. Furthermore, some even took extra measures to secure funding for further purchases.

Furthermore, miners enhanced their capabilities by updating their mining equipment, making strategic purchases, and acquiring funds through diverse methods, such as initial public offerings. Notably, the market value of shares issued by mining companies surpassed $50 billion for the first time.

Remarkably, the halving event resulted in less Bitcoin being produced in 2024, yet a higher Bitcoin price served as a buffer against the effects of decreased production.

In the year 2025, NiceHash and Digital Mining foresee some significant trends in the mining sector. They predict a wider implementation of the bitcoin treasury approach, increased profits for miners, and the network hash rate exceeding one quintillion hashes per second (1 zetahash).

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2025-01-11 17:22