Definition
Hashrate is a measure of computational power used for cryptocurrency mining. It shows how many cryptographic calculations (hashes) a network can perform per second.
Units of Measurement
| Unit | Value |
|---|---|
| 1 H/s | 1 hash per second |
| 1 KH/s | 1,000 H/s |
| 1 MH/s | 1,000,000 H/s |
| 1 GH/s | 1,000,000,000 H/s |
| 1 TH/s | 1,000,000,000,000 H/s |
| 1 PH/s | 1,000 TH/s |
| 1 EH/s | 1,000 PH/s |
Bitcoin Hashrate
Bitcoin network hashrate has grown from 0 to over 500 EH/s in 15 years.
| Year | Hashrate |
|---|---|
| 2010 | ~1 MH/s |
| 2015 | ~500 PH/s |
| 2020 | ~120 EH/s |
| 2024 | ~500+ EH/s |
Why Hashrate Matters
- Network security — higher hashrate = harder to attack
- Mining difficulty — automatically adjusts
- Health indicator — growing hashrate = growing miner interest
- Price correlation — indirectly linked to network confidence
Hashrate and Difficulty
Bitcoin network adjusts mining difficulty every 2016 blocks (~2 weeks):
- Hashrate rises → difficulty rises
- Hashrate falls → difficulty falls
Goal: 1 block every ~10 minutes.
Impact on Miners
More network hashrate = less chance for a single miner to find a block = less earnings without increasing power.
That's why miners join pools.
