Bitcoin Hash Rate Hits Record High as Price Holds Flat

Bitcoin’s network has just reached a historic milestone: the seven-day average hash rate has surpassed 1 zettahash per second (ZH/s) for the first time.

While Bitcoin’s price has been steady around US$111,985 over the past 24 hours, mining activity has surged. On Tuesday, the single-day hash rate peaked at 1.279 ZH/s, according to CoinWarz data.

The hash rate measures the computing power securing the Bitcoin network. A higher hash rate means stronger security, as it becomes increasingly difficult for any bad actor to control more than half of the network. At 1 ZH/s, miners worldwide are completing one sextillion (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) hashes every second, which is a staggering level of computational effort.

This record comes despite mounting challenges for miners:

• Lower rewards: Following last year’s halving, payouts dropped from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
• Rising energy costs: Power consumption remains one of the biggest pressures on mining profitability.

To adapt, some large operators are diversifying into high-powered computing beyond Bitcoin mining.

Bitcoin mining has shifted dramatically since China’s 2021 ban, with North America now leading the industry. This expansion of hash power reflects continued investment in infrastructure, even during periods of price volatility.

With the hash rate at record highs, Bitcoin’s underlying network is more secure than ever, which is another reminder that beyond its price swings, the fundamentals of the world’s largest digital asset continue to strengthen – and remains a real decentralised hard asset.