Bitcoin’s Hashrate Hits Record 549 EH/s in Early 2024 Amid Rising Difficulty and Lower Hash Price

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As the first week of 2024 concluded, Bitcoin’s hashrate shattered another lifetime high on Jan. 6, achieving an unprecedented 549 exahash per second (EH/s). Though the hashrate dipped post-Dec. 25, 2023, falling from 546 EH/s to a low of 510 EH/s, it rebounded amidst a declining hash price and an intervening hike in difficulty.

2024 Ushers in Record-Breaking Hashrate for Bitcoin at 549 EH/s

Bitcoin’s seven-day average hashrate achieved a new peak on Jan. 6, 2024, hitting 549 EH/s. This milestone surpassed the former record set on Dec. 25, 2023, when it reached 546 EH/s on Christmas Day. The 549 EH/s equates to 549 quintillion hashes per second (H/s) or 0.549 zettahash per second (ZH/s). One zettahash represents 1,000 EH/s or 1,000,000 petahash per second (PH/s).

Currently, the three-day simple moving average (SMA) indicates the hashrate peaked at 565 EH/s, yet the same three-day SMA documented on Dec. 25, reveals a superior high of 580 EH/s. As of Jan. 7, 2024, exactly 50 mining pools are actively contributing hashrate to the Bitcoin network, with three-day SMA data positioning Foundry USA at the forefront.

Over the recent three days, Foundry has dominated with 26.93% of the hashrate, delivering 141.59 EH/s, while Antpool closely follows, committing 139.13 EH/s and securing 26.46% of the overall hashrate. Trailing behind are F2pool, Viabtc, Binance Pool, and Marathon’s Mara Pool. This rise in hashrate coincides with a dip in the hash price per petahash per second (PH/s) value and a recent 1.65% increase in difficulty.

Despite the strong hashrate, projections indicate a potential decrease ranging from 1.59% to 8.5% due to slower block intervals compared to the expected 10-minute average, with recent blocks clocking in between 10 minutes and 32 seconds to 10 minutes and 55 seconds. There’s less than 1,800 blocks left until the next retarget scheduled for Jan. 19, 2024.

What do you think about the latest hashrate high? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.

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