Zetahash Barrier Broken: Bitcoin Mining Power Surpasses 1 ZH
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Bitcoin is not just surviving, it’s thriving! It’s currently flexing some seriously impressive hashrate numbers, unlike anything we’ve seen before.
Bitcoin’s network has reached a mind-blowing processing power of 1 Zetahash per second (ZH/s)! This is a monumental achievement, marking a huge milestone in the cryptocurrency’s impressive 16-year journey.
The news of this milestone has been buzzing, with multiple blockchain tracking services confirming it happened between April 4th and 5th, 2023. While they agree on the achievement, there’s a bit of friendly debate about the exact moment the network crossed that 1 ZH/s threshold.
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Different Trackers Report Varying Dates For Historic Milestone
Let’s break down what this means: A Zetahash (ZH/s) is a unit that measures Bitcoin’s hashrate. Think of hashrate as the muscle of the Bitcoin network – it shows how much computing power is dedicated to keeping the network secure through mining.
Looking at data from mempool.space, Bitcoin’s hashrate reached its peak at 1.025 ZH/s on April 5th. BTC Frame’s metrics indicated an even earlier peak, hitting 1.02 ZH/s on April 4th.
Coinwarz, meanwhile, reported an even higher spike, reaching 1.1 ZH/s also on April 4th at block height 890,915. Interestingly, Coinwarz also suggests that the network might have first brushed against the 1 ZH/s mark a bit earlier, on March 24th.
Why the slight differences in reporting? It all comes down to how each service calculates hashrate. As blockchain expert Jameson Lopp has explained before, the method of estimation – whether using data from a single “trailing block” or averaging over five blocks – can lead to variations of more than 0.04 ZH/s.
Mitchell Askew, the lead analyst at Blockware Solutions, points out that just looking at the raw hashrate numbers can be misleading due to natural fluctuations in block creation times. He highlights that when you average it out over 30 days, Bitcoin’s hashrate is consistently strong at around 0.845 ZH/s.
Network Shows Massive Growth Since 2016
This milestone truly highlights the incredible growth of the Bitcoin network. Reaching 1 ZH/s now means Bitcoin is operating at 1,000 Exahashes per second – that’s a staggering 1,000-fold increase since way back in January 2016, when it first hit 1 EH/s!
To really grasp the scale of this computational power, consider this: Bitcoin is now performing around 40,000 times more calculations every second than Litecoin, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency using the same proof-of-work system. According to Coinwarz data, Litecoin’s hashrate is currently just 2.49 Petahashes per second.
Commercial Mining Operations Drive Hashrate Growth
According to Askew, this dramatic increase in hashrate is closely linked to the growing competition among major Bitcoin mining companies. “Miners are really stepping up their game,” he explained, “expanding their operations and plugging in more powerful and efficient mining machines.” However, he also cautioned that smaller, less efficient miners could face challenges if Bitcoin prices don’t climb higher in the near future.
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It’s noteworthy that at least 24 publicly traded companies are now running Bitcoin mining operations, according to CompaniesMarketCap.com. Leading the charge is MARA Holdings, boasting over 50 EH/s of computing power. Other significant players include Riot Platforms, Core Scientific, CleanSpark, Hut 8 Mining, and TeraWulf.
Looking at the big picture, most of this immense hashrate is concentrated in major mining pools, with Foundry USA Pool and AntPool currently holding the largest shares, as reported by the Hashrate Index.
Record Hashrate Coincides With Market Downturn
Interestingly, this impressive technical achievement for the network is happening during a bit of a dip in the market. Bitcoin’s price actually dropped by 8% in 24 hours, settling at $77,210, while US stock markets also saw a significant two-day downturn, described by analysts as the largest ever recorded for that period.
Featured image from Gemini Imagen, chart from TradingView
