Bitcoin’s hashprice has recently surged to a two-month high, surpassing $50 for the first time since mid-August. Data from Hashrate Index reveals that on Oct. 17, the hashprice reached $53.64, its highest point in nearly two months. This increase comes after a significant drop in September when the hashprice plummeted to an all-time low of below $40.
Nico Smid, the founder of Digital Mining Solutions, emphasized that this uptick in the hashprice is a welcome relief for miners who have been struggling in the harsh market conditions. Last year, the hashprice consistently stayed above $60 per petahash per day (PH/day). Smid mentioned that in order to return to that level with the current network difficulty, Bitcoin would need to reach $83,000.
Hashprice is a metric that measures the daily earnings miners generate based on the computational power used in mining operations. The recent recovery in the hashprice aligns with Bitcoin’s recent price rally. On Oct. 16, Bitcoin surged past the $68,000 mark for the first time since August, marking nearly a 10% gain over the previous week before slightly pulling back to $67,126 at the time of writing.
The increase in network fees has also played a role in the hashprice recovery, driven by heightened activity on the Runes protocol. Data from Dune Analytics indicates that Runes transactions accounted for over 10% of all Bitcoin network transactions in the past week, signaling increased network engagement. This heightened activity has led to a high-fee situation on the network, as reported by OKLink data. Additionally, a 5% drop in the network’s hashrate from 700 EH/s to 665 EH/s may have also influenced the rise in hashprice.
While the exact cause of the hashprice recovery remains uncertain, Smid speculated that recent hurricanes in the US may have disrupted mining operations in affected areas due to power grid issues.
The 35% rebound in hashprice is particularly beneficial for miners, especially those based in the United States. According to JPMorgan, US-listed Bitcoin miners now control a record 28.9% of the global network hashrate, representing a 70% increase in their collective power year-to-date. This growth surpasses the overall network’s 33% increase, showcasing the operational efficiency of US miners compared to their counterparts in other jurisdictions.
JPMorgan also highlighted that mining stocks experienced a rally in early October as Bitcoin prices climbed, with companies involved in high-performance computing (HPC) attracting continued interest from hyperscalers seeking strategic partnerships. This surge in hashprice and mining efficiency bodes well for the US mining sector and its impact on the broader Bitcoin network.