The computing power used to mine bitcoin is at all-time highs, rising by more than sixfold since November 2019.
Today, 94% of bitcoin’s supply has been mined out of the total cap of 21 million. To mine bitcoin, powerful computers solve complex math problems that validate and secure the network. The total computing power, or bitcoin hashrate, measures how many guesses per second are made to solve these calculations.
This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, shows bitcoin’s hashrate since 2016, based on data from Blockchain.com.
Below, we show how the total bitcoin hashrate hit a 693.1 million terahashes per second in late October, rising significantly over the past month:
Since bitcoin’s fourth halving in April 2024, the hashrate has hit all-time highs, while bitcoin’s price has increased by roughly 4% as of November 4, 2024.
During each halving event, which occurs every four years, the reward for mining bitcoin is cut in half. In April, it dropped from 6.25 to 3.125 bitcoins, making it harder for miners to turn a profit with unchanged operating costs.
Despite this, rising hashrates indicate a rising number of active miners, signaling a bullish outlook. As bitcoin’s price rises, it incentivizes miners to join the network since it becomes more profitable, pushing up the hashrate.
Today, notable miners include publicly traded companies like Core Scientific, Riot Platforms, and Marathon Digital, which operate machines capable of trillions of hashes per second using specialized hardware. For instance, Core Scientific runs 169,000 miners, while Riot Platforms aims to fully deploy at least 100,000 miners by 2025.
Still, performance varies across major bitcoin mining companies this year. While Core Scientific stands as one of the top-performing miners year-to-date, with 267% returns as of November 4, both Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital have declined over 20%. By comparison, bitcoin has risen 53%, approaching record highs seen in March.
To learn more about this topic from a crypto ownership perspective, check out this graphic on the largest corporate holders of bitcoin.