Hashpower

Bitcoin’s Mining Difficulty Rises for the First Time in 57 Days, BTC Hashrate Slipped 1.7% Lower in Q2

04/08/2022 by Idelto Editor

The mining difficulty tied to the Bitcoin network increased for the first time in 57 days, rising 1.74% higher than the last two weeks. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s hashrate has been below average as the network’s computational power is down 1.7% lower in the second quarter than in Q1 2022. After reaching 292 exahash per second (EH/s) on June 8, Bitcoin’s hashrate today is coasting along below the 200 EH/s mark at 182 EH/s.

Bitcoin’s Difficulty Increases, Making It More Difficult to Discover Block Rewards for the Next 2 Weeks

Following the three consecutive difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA) reductions over the last six weeks, the DAA has shifted upwards for the first time since June 8. On August 4, at block height 747,936, the difficulty increased by 1.74%, bringing the metric up from 27.69 trillion to the current 28.20 trillion.

The DAA, or difficulty epoch, changes every 2,016 blocks or roughly every two weeks. The DAA increases when the 2,016 blocks are discovered too fast and the metric decreases when the discovery time is too slow. Satoshi Nakamoto’s design makes it so roughly every ten minutes, a new BTC block is found as the DAA system is modeled by a Poisson distribution scheme.

Since the 1.74% increase on Thursday, it is now harder to find a bitcoin block than it was during the last two weeks. Prior to the rise, the DAA shifted downwards three times in a row after June 8. Currently, the network’s 28.20 trillion difficulty metric is 9.76% lower than the all-time high in mid-May when it tapped 31.25 million.

With lower BTC prices and the latest difficulty increase, the changes could affect miners negatively during the next two weeks. At press time, the network’s computational power is under the 200 EH/s zone, as it’s coasting along at 182 EH/s today.

The overall Bitcoin hashrate slipped 1.7% lower in Q2 2022 compared to the first quarter, according to statistics compiled by stockapps.com’s fintech expert Edith Muthoni. “In the second half of the second quarter, Bitcoin’s overall hash rate grew more irregular and variable,” Muthoni notes in her research. “This behavior indicates miners are struggling to adapt to the changing market conditions.”

At 182 EH/s, Bitcoin’s hashrate is 37% lower than the 292 EH/s all-time high posted on June 8. Second quarter data indicates that Foundry USA was the top mining pool, capturing 22.27% of Q2’s overall hashrate. Foundry discovered 2,843 BTC blocks out of the 12,766 blocks found in Q2.

Antpool followed Foundry with 14.77% of the global hashrate as the pool discovered 1,885 blocks during the three-month period. The third largest mining pool in Q2 2022 was F2pool, with 14.31% of the global hashrate, as it mined 1,827 out of the 12,766 blocks discovered in the second quarter.

What do you think about Bitcoin’s difficulty rising 1.74% higher? Let us know your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.

As The Merge Gets Closer, Ethereum’s Hashrate Dropped Over 26% Since the Network’s All-Time High 45 Days Ago

19/07/2022 by Idelto Editor

While a tentative date for The Merge has been pencilled in by developers, and even though it’s quite possible it could be delayed once again, Ethereum’s hashrate has dropped 26.26% during the last 45 days. 18.21% of the hashrate loss took place after June 30, as Ethereum’s global hashrate slipped from 1,190 terahash per second (TH/s) to today’s 973.27 TH/s. While Ethereum’s hashrate decreased, Ethereum Classic’s hashrate spiked 12.07% higher during the last two days, but the added terahash was way less than the hashrate that left Ethereum during the last few weeks.

Ethereum’s Hashrate and Mining Revenue Slides, 217 TH/s Lost Since Ethereum’s All-Time Hashrate High

A few days ago, on July 16, 2022, Bitcoin.com News reported that while the timeline is not final, The Merge could be implemented on September 19, 2022. The software developer Superphiz shared a “planning timeline” last week, that set a provisional date for Ethereum to transition from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus model.

The developer stressed that the date was not finalized but he also remarked that it was “extremely exciting” to see the transition coming together. The proposed date for The Merge fueled ethereum’s (ETH) value against the U.S. dollar, but it also increased ether gas fees by a dollar or more per transfer, at a time when transaction fees have been low.

Interestingly, ETH’s hashrate has been dropping too, just as The Merge’s ostensible date was pencilled in by ETH developers last week. Overall, Ethereum’s computational power started to slide 44 days ago, after it reached an all-time high (ATH) at 1,320 TH/s or 1.32 petahash per second (PH/s) on June 4, at block height 14,902,285.

Since then, ETH’s global hashrate has been reduced by 26.26%, but the biggest drop during the last six months occurred on June 30. Ethereum’s hashrate dropped 18.21% from 1,190 TH/s to the 973 TH/s range, or under the 1 PH/s range. When Ethereum finally transitions from PoW to PoS, PoW miners will have to dedicate Ethash hashpower elsewhere or stop mining.

It is assumed that a majority of ETH’s PoW miners will simply mine ethereum classic (ETC), as the two networks share the same Ethash algorithm. One could assume that ETC’s recent 12.07% hashrate increase stemmed from ETH miners, however, while ETH lost 217 TH/s, ETC only gained 2.11 TH/s.

It’s arguably easier to assume that 217 TH/s shut off over the lack of profits from ETH’s fiat value dropping last month. Ethereum miners are not making the profits they once did months ago. On May 7, 2021, ETH miners made $93.16 million in 24 hours, and on January 5, 2022, ETH miners raked in $85.38 million in a 24-hour period. Today, more than half of that revenue is gone and during the last 24 hours, miners made $43.23 million.

Ethash is still the most profitable consensus algorithm today as the new Bitmain Antminer E9 with 2.4 gigahash per second can get an estimated $56.49 per day in profit. Compare that to one of today’s most profitable bitcoin miners, the Bitmain Antminer S19 XP with 140 TH/s, which makes $5.17 per day in profits.

Statistics show that there are 78 listed mining pools that mine ETH today and Ethermine.org is the largest miner in terms of hashrate. Ethermine.org commands 260.20 TH/s of today’s 973 TH/s. The 712.8 TH/s left stems from the dozens of ETH pools that mine ether every day.

What do you think about Ethereum’s hashrate dropping as The Merge approaches? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Bitcoin’s Hashrate Slips Below 200 Exahash, BTC Mining Profits Drop Lower

09/07/2022 by Idelto Editor

Bitcoin’s hashrate has declined in recent times after reaching an all-time high on June 8, 2022, at block height 739,928. 30-day statistics show the hashrate has slipped from 243 exahash per second (EH/s) to today’s 178.44 EH/s, losing 26.56% during that time frame. After two drops in a row, the difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA) is expected to drop again roughly 11 days from now or 1,600 blocks away.

Following the June 8 All-Time High, Bitcoin’s Hashrate Dropped 26% in 30 Days

Lower bitcoin (BTC) prices have impacted bitcoin miners who are not seeing the profits they once did a month ago today. Using today’s BTC exchange rates a block subsidy value is worth $136,625 per block and during the last 90 days, the hashrate averaged around 213.8 exahash per second (EH/s).

On June 8, 2022, the hashrate tapped a high of around 292.02 EH/s at block height 739,928 and today it’s much lower at 178.44 EH/s. Statistics recorded over the last month indicate that BTC’s hashrate slipped 26.56% lower than the average after the first week of June.

While BTC’s price is lower and hovering just above the $21K region, BTC miners have caught a break during the last two DAA changes after they saw two downward adjustments. The last two DAA shifts made it 3.76% easier to find BTC blocks and the next DAA change is expected to decrease again 0.13% lower.

However, there’s still 11 days left until the next DAA change and the time it takes to find 2,016 BTC blocks will determine if the DAA goes up or down. Since March 3, 2022, the Bitcoin network has recorded six downward adjustments and four increases.

Crunchtime: Less Than 100K Blocks Left Until the Next Block Subsidy Halving

While the hashrate has slipped by 26% during the last 30 days, 4,216 block subsidy rewards were discovered by miners. Foundry USA found the most with 959 blocks found last month and around 22.75% of the global hashrate.

Foundry was followed by Antpool which captured 14.61% of the global hashrate and discovered 616 blocks last month. There are 14 known BTC mining pools today, and unknown hashrate or stealth miners obtained around 56 block rewards last month which equated to 1.33% of the 30-day hashrate.

There’s less than 100K blocks left until the next reward halving (95,699 block away at press time) and miners will see revenues slashed in half at that point in time. The halving is expected to occur on or around April 16, 2024, which is 647 days away.

After that date, bitcoin miners will only get 3.123 BTC per block in comparison to today’s 6.25 BTC block reward. Metrics on Saturday, June 9, 2022, indicate that mining rig profitability at $0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) is low.

The most profitable ASIC mining rig today is the Bitmain Antminer S19 XP which produces 140 terahash per second (TH/s). The Antminer S19 XP makes an estimated $5.13 in profits with electrical costs at $0.12 per kWh.

What do you think about the hashrate slipping lower? Let us know what you think about the state of bitcoin mining during the past 30 days in the comments section below.

BTC’s Lower Price Shrinks Bitcoin Mining Profits, Hashrate Remains Unaffected

02/07/2022 by Idelto Editor

While bitcoin’s fiat value has dropped more than 70% below the all-time high recorded in November 2021, the price reduction has made it so miners are making fewer profits depending on the devices they operate. Despite miner profits sliding, Bitcoin’s hashrate has remained high coasting along at 180 exahash per second (EH/s) to 261 EH/s. In three days or more than 600 blocks away, Bitcoin’s next difficulty adjustment is also estimated to increase by 0.3%.

Bitcoin Mining Revenue Keeps Getting Smaller — Fewer Machines Profit

Miners continue to keep the hashrate going strong even though profits are much less than they were last month. During the past seven days, the network’s hashrate has been between 180 EH/s to 261 EH/s and a weekly average of around 212.6 EH/s.

On June 18, 2022, BTC’s U.S. dollar value briefly hit a 2022 low of around $17,593 per unit and managed to climb back toward the $19K to $21K per unit range. On May 27, 2022, bitcoin miners leveraging Bitmain Antminer Pro devices with up to 110 terahash per second (TH/s) and paying $0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) could get around $4.63 per day.

Today, at $0.12 per kWh, the same Antminer Pro machines lose $0.23 per day in operational costs. Of course, most bitcoin miners seeking profits in today’s market are likely paying far less for electrical costs than $0.12 per kWh which would make revenues increase.

Around that same time on May 30, 2022, the network was coasting along at 212.98 EH/s and 448 blocks were discovered in a three-day period. During the last three days leading up to July 1, 2022, 455 blocks have been found by miners.

Number of Bitcoin Mining Pools Drop During the Past 30 Days

A month ago, Foundry USA was the leading mining pool during the three-day span with 42.79 EH/s dedicated to the Bitcoin chain. 30 days later, Foundry commands 44.28 EH/s after capturing 94 out of the 455 blocks found.

While Foundry is still the top mining pool, it is followed by Antpool’s 33.92 EH/s and F2pool’s 29.68 EH/s. Last month, unknown or stealth miners dedicated 3.33 EH/s to the BTC chain and currently, the unknown hashrate is around 3.30 EH/s.

On May 30, 2022, there were 14 known mining pools and stealth miners but today there are only 11 known mining pools plus the unknown hash dedicating hashpower to the BTC blockchain. The Bitcoin network is expected to see a difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA) increase in three days.

It is currently estimated to be 0.3% higher than today’s 29.57 trillion difficulty metric. A higher DAA shift will make miners feel a touch more pressure, unless BTC prices rise higher. Currently, at $0.12 per kWh, most bitcoin ming rigs with lower hashrate ratings are not profitable with the electricity they pull from the wall.

What do you think about the current state of bitcoin mining, the network hashrate and the next DAA shift? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Bitcoin’s Sinking Price Pushes Hashrate Below 200 Exahash, Mining Difficulty Expected to Slide 2.8% Lower

18/06/2022 by Idelto Editor

While bitcoin’s price dropped below the $20K region, the network’s hashrate slipped under the 200 exahash per second (EH/s) region to 167 EH/s on June 18. At the time of writing, the hashrate is coasting along at 184 EH/s after a slight rebound following the drop. With the price per bitcoin lower this week and the hashrate dropping, bitcoin miners may get a break in four days as the network’s difficulty adjustment algorithm (DAA) is expected to slide 2.8% lower than today’s current mining difficulty metric.

Bitcoin’s Hashrate Slides Lower Amid Price Drop, DAA Expected to Shift Downward in 4 Days

It is becoming less profitable for bitcoin miners this week as the price of bitcoin (BTC) slid to a low of $18,732 per unit on June 18, 2022. The price of bitcoin has not been this low since December 2020 and the exchange rate has caused the hashrate to slide roughly 15% during the past 24 hours.

The hashrate has not tapped a low of 167 EH/s since the first week of March 2022, as a great majority of the time it remained well above the 200 EH/s zone. At the time of writing, the hashrate is around 184 EH/s or 8% lower than the 200 EH/s region.

Bitcoin’s fiat exchange rate has made it so a great number of application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) mining rigs are currently unprofitable. With electricity costs at $0.12 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), only three ASIC devices are profitable today.

Bitmain’s Antminer S19 XP with 140 terahash per second (TH/s) gets an estimated $2.91 in BTC profits per day, while Microbt’s Whatsminer M50S with 126 TH/s gets an estimated $0.99 per day in profit. However, if electrical costs are $0.05 per kWh, then a few dozen ASIC mining rigs that produce 30 TH/s or more can profit.

Eight days ago, bitcoin miners also saw the mining difficulty increase, which makes it harder for miners to find block rewards. The DAA increase combined with the price decline has made it even harder for bitcoin miners to secure profits.

However, with just under 600 blocks left until the next DAA shift on June 22, the difficulty is expected to decrease by 2.8%, which will alleviate some of the pressure miners are facing. Block times on average have been about 10 – 17 minutes and a block reward without fees is around $119,838 at the time of writing.

SHA256-Based Crypto Networks Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoinsv Hashrates Drop

Today, the top five mining pools include Foundry USA, F2pool, Antpool, Binance Pool, and Viabtc, respectively. Foundry is the top mining pool at the time of writing, with 20.91% of the global hashrate or 42.05 EH/s.

F2pool commands 15.82% of the global hashrate with 31.81 EH/s on Saturday morning (ET). While Foundry found 78 blocks out of the 373 mined in three days, F2pool discovered 59 blocks. There are 13 known mining pools today and stealth miners or “unknown” hashrate commands 2.14% of the global hashrate, or 4.31 EH/s.

Additionally, while BTC’s hashrate has dropped in recent times, other crypto assets that leverage the SHA256 consensus algorithm have seen hashrate drops as well. The hashpower behind the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) network is roughly 1.21 EH/s on Saturday and the Bitcoinsv (BSV) network’s hashpower is 0.57 EH/s.

Statistics show that BCH has lost 77.83% of its computational processing power since May 14, 2021, and BSV has shed 88.53% of its hashpower since January 15, 2020. Interestingly, the SHA256-based crypto namecoin (NMC), has 131 EH/s due to its merge mining capabilities.

What do you think about bitcoin’s hashrate sliding below 200 EH/s and the state of other SHA256-based crypto networks? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.