%Bitcoin ($BTC) miners around the world are cheering as the computing power of the cryptocurrency’s network, known as its %Hashrate hit 300 exahash per second (EH/s).
The increase in computing power on the Bitcoin network comes at the same time that energy prices are declining around the world, providing relief to miners of the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
The hashrate of the Bitcoin network gained 100 EH/s within the last year, which was twice as fast as it grew from 100 EH/s to 200 EH/s, according to data from Luxor Technologies.
Beginning in late 2021, Bitcoin mining firms took out sizable loans to enhance their mining operations and capacity. This led to the development of massive new mining sites, and the hashrate across the entire network quickly increased as a result.
However, the economics of Bitcoin mining took a hit last year due to increased competition and sky-high energy prices. One of the main criticisms of cryptocurrencies is that excessive amounts of energy are required to mine for the digital tokens.
However, over the last few weeks, the costs of mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has improved.
The hash price, a measure of mining profitability, has increased to $70 per petahash/second (PH/s), up from below $60 PH/s at the end of 2022.
At the same time, electricity costs have fallen in recent weeks due to unseasonably warm winter weather around the world, which has made it more cost efficient to mine for Bitcoin.
The price of Bitcoin is also on an upswing, having risen 37% so far in 2023 to trade at $22,750.00 U.S.