Major miners expect Bitcoin’s hash rate to rise. Even as the crypto market corrects
Bitcoin’s collapse has become the most discussed topic in the cryptocurrency community since the beginning of this year. The correction of the main cryptocurrency has been unpredictable for many, falling by more than 50 percent in just a few weeks. However, amid all this, the hash rate, i.e. the total processing power of all BTC miners, reached a new all-time high of around 190.71 exascale per second, and at times exceeded the 200 exascale mark. Many miners believe that this figure will continue to grow rapidly for the foreseeable future. And here’s why.
We checked the current data: Bitcoin is trading above $38,000 today. Below on the four-hour chart, you can see that the intermediate bottom of the asset's value on this collapse was the $32,917 line. The cryptocurrency never fell below that line.
And as BTC is now slowly coming back to life again, miners continue to ramp up their capacity to earn more and more coins.
What will happen to Bitcoin’s hash rate?
Bit Digital’s Chief Strategy Officer Samir Tabar said in an interview with Cointelegraph that Bitcoin’s hashrate refers to the amount of computing power provided to the cryptocurrency’s network at any given time. He also voiced the well-known pattern that the higher the hash rate, the more secure the blockchain’s transaction validation process is.
Argo Blockchain CEO Peter Wall also noted that he was not surprised by the new record for miners. According to him, even with the recent events that have negatively impacted the BTC mining industry – for example, in the form of the same political turmoil in Kazakhstan – the overall computing capacity of the network will continue to increase. Here is the expert’s rejoinder, in which he shares his view of what is happening.
Argo Blockchain’s mining margin last year, which is our revenue minus our direct costs, was over 80 percent. It was a very good year for miners. In 2020, when the price of BTC was much lower, our margin was 41 percent. So this year I think we will still see high margins, despite the recent correction.
That is, the expert believes that the trend of popularization of Bitcoin mining will only intensify in the near future. Moreover, in the current environment, it will be primarily due to the hopes of equipment owners for the rapid growth of the cryptocurrency and its popularization around the world. Although the latter factor may not help crypto-asset value - at least such idea was voiced by Goldman Sachs bank representatives.
The co-founder of blockchain firm Core Scientific, Darin Feinstein, noted the high level of development in the cryptosphere following China’s total ban on mining last year. Here’s his rejoinder.
A year ago, the Bitcoin network’s hash rate was around 143 exasheesh per second. After China banned mining, the figure dropped to 63 exascale per second. Today, however, it has risen to around 198 exaheshs per second. This suggests three important indicators. Firstly, the increase in computing power of 130 exaheshs per second. Secondly, it is the deployment of a new generation of mining equipment, and thirdly, it is the use of more “clean” electricity for BTC mining.
Feinstein also stated that while the BTC network has achieved record hash rates, thanks to significant improvements in mining chip technology and the geographical distribution of miners outside of China, the network is now more efficient and resilient than ever.
Core Scientific co-founder Michael Levitt supports his peers’ views – he too expects hash rates to increase for the foreseeable future. However, Levitt mentioned that this growth depends on Bitcoin’s price movement, as well as the success of the infrastructure currently under construction. Here’s his quote.
The expected amount of infrastructure will depend on global supply chain issues.
Feinstein added that infrastructure is the biggest challenge when it comes to mining.
The constraints for mining are land, energy, equipment and finally the entire infrastructure.
We believe that the current Bitcoin hash rate situation proves the cryptocurrency's serious ability to survive times of crisis and recover with even more vigour. Miners have now found a way to move their equipment and go about their business in a different environment. Now we can only hope that BTC's recovery can be seen further in terms of its rate as well.
What do you think about it? Share your opinion in our Millionaire Crypto Chat. There we will discuss other important developments affecting the blockchain industry.