Analysts say Bitcoin’s hashrate surge will ‘smack miners’

Crypto mining analytics firm Hashrate Index says public Bitcoin miners are energizing their ASIC orders on schedule.

Bitcoin miners are about to face a “hefty upward difficulty adjustment” in eight days as public mining giants accelerate their operations. According to analysts at Hashrate Index, top public miners have 76.6 EH/s of equipment on order for 2024, with 12.9 EH/s scheduled for delivery in Q1 and nearly 36 EH/s expected in Q2.

“[…] the current surge in hashrate is going to smack miners with a hefty upward difficulty adjustment in about 8 days. It’s too early to say how large the adjustment will be for sure, but our estimate right now puts it at +5.97%.”

Hashrate Index

As of press time, Bitcoin’s 7-day average hashrate hit an all-time high of 659 EH/s, marketing a 13.6% increase from its post-halving low of 580 EH/s, analysts say, adding that with at the current level, an average block time is about 9 minutes and 26 seconds.

In the Bitcoin blockchain’s transaction landscape, analysts observed that transaction fee volumes “have completely deflated” since the halving.” Despite anticipation surrounding the launch of the Runes fungible token standard, trading activity has “petered out, and transaction fees have subsided to normal levels,” the analysts say.

Earlier in May, Hashrate Index analysts predicted a rise in hashprice over the next six months, citing expectations of stagnant difficulty, increased transaction fees, or a rise in Bitcoin’s price. Looking ahead, U.S. miners may reduce BTC mining in the summer, potentially slowing hashrate growth. However, analysts note that global miners might offset this decline, offering insights into the broader landscape of hashrate expansion.