Bitcoin hash price reaches new record high

The BTC price weakened, but the Bitcoin network's hashrate is reaching new heights. Why this puts pressure on the mining industry.

While the BTC price fluctuates, the cryptocurrency's hashrate marks a new record. At the beginning of the week, it reached 742 Exahashes per second (EH/s), according to data from ycharts.

The hashrate measures the total computing power of the network of cryptocurrencies with a proof-of-work consensus mechanism. The higher it is, the more secure the Bitcoin network can be considered. More here read here.

Meanwhile, the main cryptocurrency is trading around $56,335, a price loss of 4.5% in the past 24 hours. Compared to the previous week, the BTC price has fallen by more than 5.07%.

Although the hashrate is not directly related to the BTC price, the more valuable the reward for finding a block is, the more capital miners can invest in the search. Therefore, the hashrate usually follows a rising BTC price.

The more computing power miners make available, the harder it becomes for attackers to take control of more than 50 percent of the Bitcoin network.

Increased hashrate and the associated higher difficulty are simultaneously intensifying competition in the mining industry. To keep up, BTC miners must purchase new equipment and consume more power.

Since the fourth Bitcoin hike in April, many mining companies have been under high financial pressure anyway. Recently, the mining revenues dropped significantly and amounted to only $827.56 million in August.

Despite the recent price declines of many mining stocks, their total market capitalization still an impressive $23.7 billion.