According to recent blockchain data, the Bitcoin hashrate has been on the rise as it touched a new all-time high on Friday, January 3rd, 2025. This new peak comes as the premier cryptocurrency continues to recover after a disappointing end to the year 2024.
Positive Correlation Between Bitcoin Price And Hashrate
The “hashrate” is a metric that measures the total amount of computing power that secures a Proof-of-Work blockchain network (Bitcoin, in this case). It is used to determine the mining difficulty of a blockchain and gauge network participation.
When the hashrate metric increases, it indicates that Bitcoin miners are devoting more computational resources to the network, with the blockchain becoming more secure as a result. Meanwhile, a lower hashrate suggests reduced network participation and less security.
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On Friday, the Bitcoin hashrate briefly hit a new record high of over 1,000 exahashes per second (EH/s). According to the latest on-chain data, the hashrate has retraced back to around 783.02 EH/s, as of this writing.
Data from CoinWarz shows that this new all-time high for Bitcoin hashrate is nearly double its value about a year ago. As of January 2024, the BTC network hashrate stood at around 510 EH/s.
From a historical standpoint, there is a positive correlation between the network hashrate and Bitcoin price. For instance, substantial increases in the hashrate during the 2017 and 2021 bull cycles overlapped significant price rallies.
Moreover, a higher hashrate signals strong network fundamentals, which can improve the sentiment surrounding the premier cryptocurrency. While this may not lead to immediate surges, it could contribute to the price growth over time.
As of this writing, the price of Bitcoin stands at around $98,264, reflecting an almost 2% increase in the past 24 hours. This optimistic single-day action adds to the somewhat positive weekly performance, with the flagship cryptocurrency up by nearly 5% in the past seven days.
US Mining Pools Now Account For 40% Of Global Hashrate: Report
A new report has revealed that the United States accounted for more than 40% of Bitcoin‘s global hashrate at the end of 2024. Specifically, two US-based mining pools, Foundry USA and MARA Pool, were responsible for over 38.5% of all blocks mined.
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A TheMinerMag report showed that Foundry USA improved its hashrate from 157 EH/s at the beginning of 2024 to approximately 280 EH/s by December to become the single largest mining pool by hashrate. Meanwhile, MARA Pool accounts for about 4.35% of global hash power.
While this represents significant growth for the United States in the BTC mining industry, China-based mining pools still control the majority of the total hashrate. Despite a ban on crypto in the country, Chinese mining pools controlled 55% of the global hashrate, as of September 2024.
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView
