Mining, which used to be a great option to make passive income in yesteryears, is no more a profitable proposition. Bitcoin miners are feeling the heat of a decrease in the computational power of Bitcoin’s network hashrate.

According to media reports, Bitcoin’s network hashrate hit an all-time peak of 693 exahash per second (EH/s) in September 2024. However, since then the difficulty has surged by 3.58% and computational power has gone south. Since hitting its peak nine days ago, the Bitcoin hashrate has slumped by 9.95%, taking all hopes of Bitcoin miners to the cleaners.

Hashrate Decline Puts Bitcoin Miners in a Spot of Bother

The days when Bitcoin mining was a lucrative proposition seem gone. Since Bitcoin Halving 2024, the revenues associated with Bitcoin mining have gone down considerably, putting Bitcoin miners in a spot of bother. The pressure to quit is mounting on miners as the subsidy slumped from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC per block since the fourth Bitcoin reward halving in April 2024.

The misery doesn’t end here for Bitcoin mining industry. Bitcoin miners also used to derive fees from all their processed transactions. However, the on-chain fees have also gone down drastically to the levels not witnessed since 2022.

Bitcoin Computational Power Contracts 9.95% in 9 Days

It isn’t easy math for everyone to calculate Bitcoin’s computational power or hashrate. According to Mempool.space, a high priority fee for Bitcoin hashrate is 3 Satoshis per virtual byte or sat/vB, which equals $0.25 in monetary value. Similarly, Bitcoin price has been mostly staying bearish in the last few weeks, thereby making it tough for Bitcoin hashprice, or the overall value of 1 petahas per second (PH/s) per day to bounce back from lower levels.

If that’s not all, the Bitcoin network reported a 3.58% increase in difficulty, hitting a fresh peak on September 10, 2024, just two days after the hashrate smacked an all-time high. The Bitcoin computational power hit an all-time peak on September 8, 2024, when Bitcoin network smashed 693 EH/s. The above calculation has deflated the hashpower by 9.95% in mere nine days.

This scenario has pushed the Bitcoin mining industry to the brink where mining players may start looking for other avenues for money generation in the coming days. Since the filing of this report, 69 EH/s has been eliminated from the system since hitting the all-time peak nine days ago, thereby plummeting to the ongoing low of 624 EH/s. What it means for Bitcoin miners? Oxygen seems to be running out for miners amid rising challenges in the industry in the wake of lower rewards coupled with lower transaction fees.

The Final Word

Bitcoin mining industry was a lucrative affair only a few months ago. In the wake of lower profitability, only top mining operators are set to prolong their existence. As far as medium and lower Bitcoin miners are concerned, the going is getting tougher by each day. With the Bitcoin hashrate deflating by 9.95% in just 9 days, it seems tough times are ahead for Bitcoin miners.

For more updates and developments about Bitcoin mining industry, stay tuned to TheBITJournal.