What is hash rate in crypto? Bitcoin hashrate explained

Hash rate is the total computing power that miners use to secure a proof-of-work blockchain such as Bitcoin, measured in hashes per second. Each hash is one guess at the puzzle miners must solve to add a new block, so a higher hash rate means more guesses per second and a network that is harder to attack. Bitcoin’s network hashrate is now measured in exahashes per second: billions of billions of guesses every second.

Hash rate explained: what it measures

Hashrate refers to how many hash calculations a miner, or the whole network, performs per second: in other words, how much computational power is at work. A hash is the output of a mathematical function that turns any block data into a fixed-length code; changing one character changes the result completely, so the only way to find a specific result is to keep guessing.

There are two ways the term is used:

• Individual hash rate: the speed of one mining machine or mining pool.
• Network hashrate (total hashrate): the combined computing power of all miners on a blockchain network.

Hash rate only exists on proof-of-work blockchains. Each uses its own hashing algorithm (Bitcoin uses SHA-256), so hash rates on different networks can’t be compared directly. Ethereum no longer has a hash rate at all since it moved to proof of stake in 2022.

How bitcoin mining uses hash rate

Bitcoin mining is a race to find a valid hash. Miners validate transactions waiting to be confirmed, take the data of a new block, add a random number (the nonce), and hash the result. If the hash value is below the target set by the network, they have found a valid block hash and win; if not, they change the nonce and try again, billions of times per second.

The winner adds the next block to the Bitcoin blockchain and earns two kinds of income: the block reward in newly created bitcoins, and the transaction fees from the transactions in that block. Hash rate is therefore a measure of how many guesses all miners together make per second, and how hard it would be for anyone to outguess them.

Bitcoin hashrate and the Bitcoin network

The Bitcoin network targets an average block time of ten minutes, however much computing power joins. More hash rate doesn’t make blocks or confirmations faster; it makes the network more expensive to attack. Bitcoin’s hash rate secures the order of transactions, while the speed of confirmation stays roughly the same, because the protocol adjusts the difficulty.

Hashrate measured: from hashes to exahashes

Hashrate describes a speed, so it is measured in hashes per second (H/s), with standard prefixes for larger amounts:

Nobody can count every guess on the network directly. The network hash rate is estimated from the current difficulty and how quickly recent blocks were found, which is why short-term readings jump around and data sites often show a seven-day average.

Bitcoin mining difficulty and hash rate

Mining difficulty, also called network difficulty, is the target that sets how hard it is to find a valid hash, and it moves with hash rate. Every 2,016 blocks, roughly every two weeks, the Bitcoin protocol compares how long those blocks took with the ten-minute target. If blocks came too fast because many miners joined, the difficulty rises; if they came too slowly, the difficulty decreases. In short: when the hashrate falls, the network difficulty falls with it at the next adjustment.

Our page on difficulty explains the adjustment in more detail.

Hashrate increases and mining competition

When hashrate increases, competition gets tougher. New, more efficient hardware joins, the next adjustment brings higher difficulty, and every existing machine earns a smaller share of the rewards. Rising difficulty squeezes miners with old machines first. Energy costs are the biggest expense, so miners with cheap electricity remain profitable longest; when energy costs jump, mining activity in that region drops.

Bitcoin miners and mining profitability

Mining profitability comes down to the bitcoin price, the block reward, the mining difficulty and the electricity bill. Most bitcoin miners join a mining pool, combining their hash rate and sharing rewards, which turns rare large wins into small, steady payouts. Every halving cuts the block reward in half and puts extra pressure on margins.

Why is hashrate important?

Hashrate is important because it shows how much computing power protects the network, and so how much it would cost to attack it. To rewrite recent transactions, an attacker would need more than half of all mining power, which on Bitcoin means a vast amount of specialised hardware and electricity.

Bitcoin’s hash rate and network security

A high hashrate makes the Bitcoin network’s proof of work security stronger, because honest miners keep extending the chain faster than any single entity could on its own. It isn’t a complete security assessment, though: concentration in a few large mining pools, software bugs and other risks matter too.

How a 51% attack relates to hashrate

A 51% attack happens when one group controls more than half of a network’s hash rate. It could then reverse its own recent transactions to double spend coins, or block other people’s transactions. It could not steal coins from other people’s wallets or change Bitcoin’s rules. Such attacks have hit smaller proof-of-work networks; Ethereum Classic suffered several in 2019 and 2020. On Bitcoin, the hardware and energy required make it impractical.

What causes bitcoin hashrate to change?

Hashrate changes for several reasons, and the bitcoin hashrate reflects the market dynamics of mining:

• Bitcoin price: a rising price makes mining more profitable and attracts new miners; a falling price pushes some out.
• Electricity prices: cheaper power draws mining operations; expensive power closes them.
• Hardware efficiency: newer machines do more hashes for the same energy.
• Regulation and events: when China banned crypto mining in 2021, the network hash rate dropped sharply and then recovered over the following months as miners moved to other countries. Weather, outages and grid problems also cause dips.

Current bitcoin hashrate: how to read the data

To check the current bitcoin hashrate (often shown as the current BTC hashrate), use a reputable chart from a block explorer or mining data site, and look at the timestamp and the averaging window. Compare a seven-day average with longer trends rather than reacting to one day’s figure. Historical growth in hash rate says nothing certain about future returns.

Hash rate, bitcoin price and crypto traders

Some crypto traders read a rising hash rate as a sign of miner confidence and positive market sentiment, since miners invest in machines when they expect mining to pay. But the link with the bitcoin price runs mostly the other way: price drives miner participation, not the reverse. Miners also sell bitcoin to cover costs, which can add selling pressure when margins are tight. Treat hash rate as one input on network health, never as a price signal on its own.

Hash rate for European crypto investors

For European investors, hash rate is a useful way to judge how secure a proof-of-work network is, not whether to buy. Under MiCA, licensed crypto providers must publish information about the climate and environmental impact of the consensus mechanisms behind the digital assets they offer, which is where energy use linked to hash rate shows up. Buy only through an exchange with a MiCA licence that serves your country. Crypto-assets are highly volatile, and you can lose all the money you invest.

Related terms

• Mining
• Proof of work
• Bitcoin
• Difficulty
• Halving