Bitcoin (BTC) is seeing more computational power invested in coin generation than ever before.
As of Jan. 6, Bitcoin’s mining network has reached a hashrate of 120 exahashes per day. This number has been growing steadily over the past decade, but it has grown significantly in recent months. In the last year alone, the network has tripled.
Bitcoin hashrate, via Bitinfocharts
It’s unclear how rising hashrates will affect the price of BTC, as they may encourage or discourage investment. Furthermore, trading activity and overall market sentiment may have a greater effect on prices.
BTC is currently trading at $8,311, and some analysts have suggested that it is on the verge of a price breakout in either direction.
Litecoin’s Hashrate Is Lower
Unlike Bitcoin, Litecoin‘s hashrate is on the decline. The coin’s hashrate currently stands around 150 terahashes per day, the lowest it has been since January 2019.
This is seemingly due to Litecoin’s recent reward halving, which sliced block rewards in half last August. Falling profits likely caused many miners to leave the network.
Litecoin hashrate, via Bitinfocharts
However, Litecoin’s low hashrate is not necessarily a bad thing. Analyst Willy Woo has noted that although the halving resulted in Litecoin’s largest miner capitulation to date, the coin’s difficulty ribbon is “now in recovery.” In addition to drawing miners back to Litecoin, this could have positive effects on the price of LTC.
Industry Developments
The crypto mining industry has been pushing forward regardless of hashrates. SBI Holdings has announced plans to open a mining facility in Texas, while Argo Blockchain has announced that it has added 3,600 new mining machines to its cloud mining service.
Finally, Bitmain and Canaan have revealed new and improved mining chips. Not all is well in the mining community, however.
Bitmain, one of the largest outfits in the sector, may lay off several of its employees in advance of Bitcoin’s upcoming reward halving. Elsewhere, the Canadian mining firm Great North Data has filed for bankruptcy.
The mining industry is highly competitive with little room for extra expenses—something that is true regardless of mining conditions.
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