[Bitcoin Now] Hashrate Hits All-Time High... Miners Anticipate Price Increase

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The competition rate for Bitcoin mining has reached an all-time high due to expectations of a rise in Bitcoin prices. However, as negative factors emerged, such as the US stock market?which tends to move in sync?closing lower, the trend has turned downward again.

According to cryptocurrency mining information site CoinWarz, as of 12 PM (local time) the previous day, Bitcoin's hashrate recorded 314.57 exahashes per second (EH/s). This is the highest figure ever, showing an upward trend since it recorded 295.57 exahashes on the 2nd.

The hashrate indicates the speed at which cryptocurrency mining is conducted. It is designed to increase as competition among miners intensifies. When the hashrate rises, mining becomes relatively more difficult, reducing Bitcoin supply and potentially leading to price increases.

Until July 14, when the Luna incident and inflation concerns overlapped, Bitcoin's hashrate had fallen to 169.63 exahashes, causing some miners to stop mining. However, the recent record high in hashrate is interpreted as reflecting expectations of a future rise in Bitcoin prices.

Bitcoin prices, which had remained in the $19,000 range until the 3rd of this month, settled at $20,000 following a rise in the US stock market and forecasts that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would find it difficult to continue its aggressive tightening policy. The number of US job postings in August was approximately 10,053,000, about 10% lower than the previous month, which led to analysis that the Fed's tightening policy might change due to economic slowdown. Cryptocurrency media CoinDesk also evaluated, "Crypto and other markets responded favorably to the US employment data, which showed a surprisingly large decline, providing the latest evidence of economic slowdown."

However, if expectations for Bitcoin price increases are shattered, the hashrate can decline at any time. When the pivot expectation that the Fed might shift its tightening policy was dashed, the US stock market fell the previous day and Bitcoin prices dropped, causing significant volatility in the hashrate. On the 5th, the Nasdaq index, focused on tech stocks, closed down 27.77 points (0.25%) at 11,148.64. According to global cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 9 AM that day, Bitcoin was priced at $20,161 (approximately 28.54 million KRW), down 0.85% from the previous day. As a result, the hashrate, which had set an all-time high, dropped by more than 70 exahashes.