Bitcoin Hashrate Hits All-Time High as Publicly-Listed Miners’ Share of the Network Peaks

As a seasoned researcher with years of experience in the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrencies, I find myself continuously astounded by the resilience and growth of Bitcoin, especially when it comes to its hashrate. Breaking the 700 EH/s barrier is a testament to the network’s strength and adaptability, reflecting the relentless pursuit for profit that drives miners worldwide.

As an analyst, I’ve just noticed that the seven-day moving average of Bitcoin’s (BTC) hashrate has soared to a record high of 703 exahashes per second (EH/s), marking the first time the network’s hashrate has surpassed the 700 EH/s threshold, based on data from Glassnode.

The hashrate represents the collective computational strength employed for mining and processing transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain networks like Bitcoin. Notably, since the halving event in April, Bitcoin’s hashrate has increased by approximately 13%. This significant growth was due to the reduction of newly minted Bitcoins per day to around 450 BTC following the halving event.

Public bitcoin miners increase their hashrate share

12 leading publicly traded bitcoin miners accounted for approximately 28.9% of the total hashrate in September, which equates to more than 200 exahashes per second (EH/s). This percentage has been consistently growing each month and saw a nearly 10% rise since October 2022.

Ski alludes to “The public miners are taking market share away from other miners in the world.”

Ski also mentions that the biggest gainers in hashrate growth in the past 12 months are: CleanSpark (CLSK), MARA Holdings (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and IREN. This also coincides with the top bitcoin miners seeing month-over-month production growth for September.

Bitcoin mining is exceptionally challenging for profitability because it requires substantial capital investment, and every four years, block rewards are halved. Consequently, less efficient miners may need to shut down their operations, as running at a loss is unsustainable. This leaves room for miners with lower energy costs or stronger financial stability to expand their presence within the network.

Hashprice jumps to two-month high

Bitcoin’s hashprice, which measures mining profitability, recently jumped to $50 per petahash per second (PH/s) for the first time since August, according to Glassnode data. The slight surge in hashprice was due to bitcoin’s price climbing to $68,000 and an increase in transaction fees due to the on-chain minting of the runes protocol that made up over 50% of all transaction fees on Oct. 17.

Due to the hashrate reaching record highs, the upcoming difficulty adjustment is set for a rise of more than 4% on October 23rd. The Bitcoin network adjusts its difficulty approximately every 2016 blocks, depending on the hashrate, with the aim of maintaining an average block time of around 10 minutes.