Bitcoin's computational power has soared to unprecedented levels, hitting 609 EH/s on Feb. 8, 2024, according to the seven-day simple moving average (SMA). The three-day SMA peaked at 617 EH/s while the 30-day metric stood at 551 EH/s. Over the past year, the hashrate has surged by an astonishing 332 EH/s, reflecting a 120% increase from 277 EH/s in early 2023.
Hashrate Rally Aligns with BTC Price Surge
The hashrate breakout correlates strongly with Bitcoin's price appreciation. On Thursday, BTC breached the $45,000 mark, pushing daily mining earnings per PH/s from $74.91 to $79.61. Several factors fuel the hashrate growth: rising BTC prices incentivize miners, while new-generation ASIC rigs with higher terahash output and lower energy consumption are entering the network at scale. Publicly listed miners have deployed tens of thousands of these machines and expanded site capacity to boost megawatt (MW) power.
Mining Pool Distribution and Difficulty Outlook
As of press time, about 54 mining pools actively compete for BTC blocks. Foundry USA leads with 185.45 EH/s (30.79% share), followed by Antpool at 166.26 EH/s (27.6%), F2pool (71.62 EH/s, 11.89%), Viabtc (69.06 EH/s, 11.46%), Binance Pool (19.18 EH/s, 3.18%), Mara Pool (19.18 EH/s, 3.18%), and Luxor (16.63 EH/s, 2.76%).
The network recently absorbed a 7.33% difficulty increase on Feb. 2, 2024. With block intervals averaging between 9 minutes 2 seconds and 9 minutes 17 seconds—faster than the target ten minutes—the next adjustment on Feb. 15 is expected to raise difficulty by 5.3% to 10.3%. Approximately 1,000 blocks remain until the next epoch, signaling sustained computational pressure.
Miners Expand Capacity and Acquire Efficient Rigs
Following the launch of advanced ASIC models, mining companies have invested heavily in new hardware. Some firms secured affordable rigs and turnkey setups from liquidated entities during the previous 'crypto winter,' further lowering their cost basis. These expansions, combined with favorable BTC prices, have propelled hashrate to new peaks, strengthening network security while intensifying competition among miners.