Bitcoin Sets New Record of 946 EH/s Miners Continue to Expand Computing Power Despite Declining Revenues
The Bitcoin network recorded a new historical milestone as its hashrate, a measure of the total computing power used to mine and process transactions on the blockchain, peaked at 946 exahashes per second (EH/s), marking an all-time high. This came just a day after the 12th mining difficulty adjustment of the year, which saw a slight decrease of 0.45% to 126.41 trillion.
The seven-day average hashrate, as measured by hashrateindex.com, shows the network is operating at an unprecedented level, surpassing the previous record set on May 31 of 943 EH/s. As of the morning of June 15 (Eastern Time), the index continued to maintain at 944.84 EH/s, confirming the steady growth trend in the overall computing power.
Notably, this record was achieved in the context of miners facing many pressures on profitability. The value per petahash (PH/s), a unit of mining profitability, has decreased from $55.53 on May 14 to $52.92 at the moment. This reflects a decrease in mining revenue, despite the continuous increase in overall computing power.
Part of the reason is that the block reward rate remains unchanged while the cost of maintaining operations including electricity and equipment remains high. Over the past 24 hours, miners have earned an average of 3.17 BTC per block from both block rewards and transaction fees, but only 1.32% of that came from fees, indicating a greater reliance on block rewards than transaction costs.
With the high difficulty level continuing, many small miners may face the risk of being forced off the network if they do not optimize their operating costs or upgrade their equipment. While the recent difficulty reduction has brought some breathing room to the mining community, this situation is unlikely to last if the hashrate remains high and the average block time continues to lag behind the ideal target of 10 minutes.
The forecast for the next difficulty adjustment, which is expected to take place around June 29, suggests a further 7.74% reduction, depending on how the hashrate and block production rate perform over the next two weeks. This will be an opportunity for miners to take advantage of the short period of time to maximize profits before the new adjustment cycle begins.
The current scenario shows that the Bitcoin network is growing stronger technologically, with the hashrate continuously reaching new highs. However, this growth also comes with the problem of economic efficiency, as miners have to compete more fiercely to maintain profits in an increasingly demanding ecosystem.
In the long term, only participants with superior technological capabilities, effective scaling capabilities, and cost optimization strategies will be able to survive. Conversely, those who cannot keep up with the growth rate of the network may soon be eliminated from this fierce game. With the current situation, Bitcoin is entering a new era - where computing power is the key, but operational efficiency is the vital factor.