Bitcoin’s hashprice, which is the estimated earnings generated by operating 1 petahash per second (PH/s) of mining power, has decreased from $53.13 per petahash to its current value of $49.81 over the past seven days. On the other hand, Bitcoin’s total hashrate has significantly increased, bouncing back from its low on February 25 and adding over 41 exahash per second (EH/s) to reach the present rate of 794 to 796 EH/s.
In February, bitcoin miners earned $1.24 billion, a decrease from the $1.4 billion earned in January. In the first week of this month alone, miners earned $250.75 million, including $2.97 million from onchain transaction fees. To put it into perspective, 30 days ago, Bitcoin’s hashprice was at $56.73 per PH/s, significantly higher than the current figure of $49.81.
Current indicators suggest that March may not be as profitable for bitcoin miners as the previous two months, unless conditions change favorably. However, there is positive news regarding the hashrate, as mining power has increased by a solid 5.44% from its recent low of 753 EH/s to a healthier 794 EH/s. Among the total hashrate, the mining pool giant Foundry dominates with a 31.43% share, while Antpool contributes a substantial 17.44%. Viabtc comfortably occupies third place with a 13.99% share, bringing the combined control of these three mining pools to 62.86% of Bitcoin’s total hashrate.
Currently, bitcoin miners are not experiencing ideal conditions, as they are preparing for a potential difficulty increase of around 1.29% on or around March 9. Blocks are currently being mined at an average pace of 9 minutes and 52 seconds each. Those who wish to expedite transactions through high-priority transfers are facing fees averaging 3 satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB), which translates to roughly $0.36 per transaction. Based on the current trajectory, bitcoin miners are likely to face tighter profit margins unless there is a significant shift in market dynamics or transaction demand.
With mining pools consolidating their control and mining costs increasing, there may be a need for strategic adaptations to maintain profitability. The industry’s immediate future depends on finding a balance between the rising network difficulty and efficient mining operations amidst fluctuating revenue streams, while also hoping for an improvement in bitcoin’s market value.
