The hashrate of the Bitcoin network has reached a record level, which puts even more pressure on miners who are already struggling.
The "horsepower" of the Bitcoin network is increasing, which is excellent for its security but problematic for miners who are now up against more competition than ever.
According to Blockchain.com, Bitcoin's hashrate reached a new high of 447 exahashes per second on October 12.
Both sites agree that this is the highest the statistic has ever been, with Bitinfocharts having a slightly higher average value of 481 EH/s.
Since the start of this year, the hashrate has increased by 77%, and since the bull market's apex in November 2021, it has increased by 170%. This implies that mining the following block in the chain is now more difficult than before.
Additionally, the upcoming difficulty adjustment could increase by as much as 7.4%. A measure of the rivalry between miners, difficulty is at an all-time high of 57.3T.
The overall result is a drop in mining profitability or hashprice. The price of hashing power, or hashprice, has decreased to $0.06 for every TH/s of hashing power each day.
As mining profitability declines, this is down 85% from the bull market peak of $0.40 per TH/s per day.
The present triple whammy for Bitcoin miners includes high hash rates and difficulty, low asset prices, and high energy expenses.
In addition, JPMorgan forecasted a 20% decline in hash rates with the subsequent halving in late April or early May.
Trader Oliver Velez noted earlier this week that with almost 38% of the world's hashrate, the United States holds the greatest stake. Additionally, the largest Bitcoin mining companies Riot Platforms, Marathon Digital, Cipher Mining, Hut 8, and Terawulf have received funding from asset management behemoth BlackRock. Moreover, in December, it made a loan to the insolvent Bitcoin miner Core Scientific.
“It is clear that the U.S. is playing to win the hashrate war. Despite these numbers seeming large, all publically traded Bitcoin miners combined control only 25% of the global hashrate. Not small, but still not as big as some think.” Velez added.
What about Bitcoin prices?
If Bitcoin prices do not rise soon, another miner capitulation might occur. The block reward will be half in about six months, which will cause miners twice as much trouble.
It was estimated that for mining to be profitable at the present price levels, BTC would need to hit around $90K.
Markets are currently moving in the opposite way, though. BTC's price is stable for the day at $26,844 but has declined 4% since the weekend.
The $26K level, which may be where it is headed in the near future, has strong support.