Bitcoin’s network hashrate has surpassed 1 ZH/s for the first time on a sustained basis, with the 7-day simple moving average hitting this mark around early September and recent daily figures fluctuating around 1.08–1.09 ZH/s (or 1,080–1,090 EH/s). The hashrate in 2024 hovered around 600–800 EH/s. The recent increase in hashrate represents a roughly 25–30% year-over-year growth driven by new mining hardware, post-halving efficiency gains, and global expansion of mining operations.
Bitcoin’s hashrate refers to the total computational power dedicated to mining and securing the Bitcoin network. It represents the aggregate number of hash calculations (essentially, guesses or attempts to solve complex mathematical puzzles) that all miners perform per second to validate transactions, add new blocks to the blockchain, and earn rewards. This is typically measured in hashes per second (H/s), with common units scaling up to terahashes (TH/s = 10^12 H/s), petahashes (PH/s = 10^15 H/s), exahashes (EH/s = 10^18 H/s), and zettahashes (ZH/s = 10^21 H/s). The hashrate is a key indicator of the network’s health and security. A higher hashrate means more miners are participating, which makes the network more resistant to attacks, such as a 51% attack, where a malicious actor would need to control over half the total hashrate to potentially double-spend coins or disrupt the chain. It also influences mining difficulty, which adjusts roughly every two weeks to maintain a consistent block time of about 10 minutes. As hashrate rises, difficulty increases to keep pace, making mining more competitive and energy-intensive.
Reaching 1 ZH/s is a historic milestone that underscores Bitcoin’s maturation as a global digital asset.