Bitcoin hashrate hits a new ATH as the halving approaches

The long-anticipated third Bitcoin halving is almost here, only 7 days away at this point. In one week’s time, on May 12th, Bitcoin’s block rewards will once again get cut in half, and the rewards per block will drop to 6.25 BTC.

Bitcoin hashrate surges alongside price

As mentioned, this is the third time that this will happen in Bitcoin’s history. However, despite the fact that the inflow of new coins will get cut in half, Bitcoin miners are working at full power. Not only that, but recent data shows that they are increasing their processing power.

The data, published by a cryptoanalysis company, Glassnode, shows that Bitcoin’s network saw over 140 exahash per second (EH/s). This is not only huge, even for Bitcoin, but it actually represents a new all-time high for the project.

Bitcoin’s market price is also seeing significant movement, as the coin breached the $9k barrier for the second time in the last week. Previously, BTC managed to go as high up as to $9.300, which happened on April 30th.

It managed to remain above $9,000 until May 3rd. Early in the morning, the price dropped below this level, hovering there for a time, but prevented from further drops by a support at $8,500. Right now, the price is once again above $9,000, although barely — currently sitting at $9,004 after seeing 3,39% growth. The demand is huge, as many wish to buy Bitcoin (BTC) before its price skyrockets.

Meanwhile, the coin network’s overall hashrate surged by around 10x since BTC hit its ATH on December 17th, 2017. Back then, the hashrate sat at 14 EH/s. These days, it sits at $140 EH/s, signifying that Bitcoin has come a long way in the last two and a half years.

What happens next?

Now, with the halving being only days away, all eyes are on Bitcoin’s price and hashrate. Everyone in the industry has their own expectations, doubts, and above all — curiosity. Bitcoin might surge right away, or it might drop, or even stay unchanged. The halving might not have an impact for months to come, or only minutes after the event.

The uncertainty is extremely strong, although many remain bullish, due to Bitcoin’s historic post-halving performance. On both occasions, investors had to wait for months before the price surge, but the price did grow eventually. Hopefully, this will remain the same this time around, too.