Halving Woes Already Over? Bitcoin Hashrate Smashes All-Time High

As an experienced analyst, I have closely observed the Bitcoin market and its underlying metrics for several years now. The recent surge in the Bitcoin mining hashrate to a new all-time high (ATH) is a development that warrants close attention.


The mining power for Bitcoin, as reflected in on-chain data, has bounced back significantly from its dip following the Halving event and reached an unprecedented peak.

7-Day Average Bitcoin Mining Hashrate Has Just Set A New ATH

As a crypto investor, I’d describe it like this: The Bitcoin network relies on a consensus mechanism called “proof-of-work” (PoW). In simple terms, this means that validators, referred to as miners, race against each other using their computational resources to earn the right to add the next block to the blockchain.

As an analyst, I would describe the “mining hashrate” as the overall computational power that miners are contributing to the network at any given moment in time for the purpose of mining cryptocurrencies.

As a crypto investor, I would interpret an increase in this specific metric as a sign that existing miners are broadening their operations or new miners are entering the network. This trend suggests that the network is currently drawing validators in due to its attractiveness.

An alternate expression could be: Contrarily, the declining indicator implies that certain mines may have withdrawn from the network, possibly due to the lack of profitability in mining with the chain.

Here’s a chart illustrating the development of Bitcoin’s 7-day average mining hashrate over the past twelve months.

Halving Woes Already Over? Bitcoin Hashrate Smashes All-Time High

The 7-day average Bitcoin mining hashrate, as shown in the graph, began decreasing after reaching a record high (ATH) last month. This downtrend worsened during the initial two weeks of the current month, resulting in significantly lower values for this metric.

The indicator has experienced a significant decrease recently, which can be attributed to last month’s major event on the Bitcoin network – the fourth halving. Halvings are recurring occurrences that take place approximately every four years, resulting in a reduction by half of the rewards given for mining new blocks.

Miners are compensated in two ways for adding new blocks to the cryptocurrency network. These compensation methods are block rewards and transaction fees. Historically, transaction fees have yielded relatively small revenues for miners compared to the more substantial block rewards. Consequently, miners’ primary earnings have come from the block rewards.

It’s no wonder that certain miners residing in areas with expensive electricity and operating inefficient mining equipment might choose to disconnect once the economic implications of the Bitcoin Halving kick in.

A valid query emerges: given that there were previously three Halving events for this asset, how was it possible for the hashrate to continue reaching new peaks if the miner revenues had been progressively shrinking?

Two key reasons underlie this phenomenon. Initially, advancements in mining rig technology have led to increased efficiency, enabling miners to harness greater computational power with reduced energy consumption.

“Another significant point is that the value of the coin, specifically Bitcoin, has generally increased throughout its existence. Although block rewards remain constant in Bitcoin terms until the Halving occurs, their worth in US dollars continuously changes based on the current market price.”

Once more, the increase in price has effectively compensated for mining revenue declines caused by halvings. Lately, there’s been a price uptick, which is reflected in the rebound of the hashrate as depicted on the chart.

The miners seem content with the revenue surge from the recent rally, leading them to direct their computing power to a new all-time high.

BTC Price

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $68,000, down more than 3% over the past week.

Halving Woes Already Over? Bitcoin Hashrate Smashes All-Time High

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2024-05-28 23:11