Bitcoin Mining Power Reaches Historic High as Profitability Drops

Bitcoin's mining network has reached an extraordinary level of computational power, achieving over 1 Zettahash per second (ZH/s) for the first time.

This remarkable milestone highlights both a new peak in network security and a growing financial burden for miners.

The mining network’s hashrate briefly crossed the 1 ZH/s threshold on Friday, an enormous leap from the 1 EH/s level first recorded in 2016.

According to data from Glassnode, this new record surpasses the previous peak of 975 EH/s, which was set at the end of January. However, this achievement arrives at a time of market uncertainty, as Bitcoin’s price has recently dropped by almost 10%, falling to around $77,000. This decline is largely linked to economic instability, exacerbated by the latest round of tariffs imposed by President Trump.

In response to the increased hashrate, Bitcoin’s network difficulty has also seen a significant rise. Over the weekend, the difficulty level surged by nearly 7%, marking the most substantial adjustment since July 2024. The difficulty now stands at a record 121.5 trillion, as reported by Glassnode.

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Bitcoin’s protocol automatically recalibrates the difficulty approximately every two weeks, ensuring that the time taken to mine new blocks remains consistent at around 10 minutes, regardless of changes in mining capacity. Over the past 17 adjustments, 14 have resulted in increased difficulty, indicating that despite the challenges miners face, participation continues to grow.

Yet, the financial outlook for miners is increasingly grim. Despite the positive signal of network strength, profitability has taken a hit. The hashprice, which measures earnings per unit of computational power, has plummeted to a historic low of $42.40 per EH/s per day. This downturn is driven by several factors, including increased competition among miners, a stagnant market for transaction fees, and Bitcoin’s recent price stagnation.

Although the higher hashrate suggests strong long-term security for the network, many mining operations, particularly smaller ones with higher operational costs, are under significant pressure to remain financially viable. As the network becomes more competitive, some miners may struggle to keep up, raising concerns about the sustainability of less efficient mining setups.

Alexander Stefanov