The Bitcoin network has set a new historic mining hashrate record as the market prepares for next year’s halving.
The hashrate for Bitcoin hit a record high on Saturday, cresting at 543 EH/s at 8:00 am GMT. This beat the 525 EH/s recorded on the 7th and 10 of October. The current high puts the Bitcoin network in perspective, especially as the market anticipates the halving event expected in April 2024.
Bitcoin’s hashrate is a number that estimates hashes Bitcoin miners generate as they solve computational problems to create blocks. The hashrate is generally a measure of the difficulty required to produce a block. When the hashrate is high, the network is more secure and less likely to be compromised by hackers looking to change transaction data or try double-spending.
A high hashrate usually has a positive effect on the price of Bitcoin. An increase in the hashrate translates to an improvement in the network’s security, which may boost investor confidence and then spur demand for Bitcoin. This set of events then pushes prices higher.
According to CoinMarketCap data, Bitcoin is trading at $34,505 after climbing 12.76% in the last 7 days. Over the last month, the king coin has risen nearly 28% and more than 100% year to date (YTD).
Predictions Around Bitcoin’s Bullish Price and Hashrate Record Trajectory
As the market anticipates the halving amid Bitcoin’s bullish price movements, positive projections have come in from several quarters. For instance, financial analyst CryptoCon has predicted that Bitcoin will hit $45,000 as soon as November. In a thread posted on X (formerly Twitter), CryptoCon insists that there is much room for a spike despite other expectations pointing at a retracement in the short term.
There are also several bullish predictions, many predicated on the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF. Although the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, most analysts believe it is only a matter of time.
SkyBridge Capital Founder and Managing Partner Anthony Scaramucci said recently that Bitcoin’s market price could multiply 11 times upon approval. Scaramucci said:
“Think of the magnitude of that. If there’s a hundred billion dollars that flows into Bitcoin, the guys at Fidelity think that could have an 11 times factor in terms of valuation, so you could see Bitcoin go from a $600 billion asset to a $6 trillion asset.”
Another optimistic prediction came from a popular investor and entrepreneur known as Lark Davis. In a September post on X, the analyst referenced estimates that suggest a Bitcoin ETF would attract up to $30 billion. He added that the money would buy “about half of all coins on exchanges at current prices”.
To buttress his point, Lark Davis added an image showing a chart of gold’s trajectory since the first gold ETF launched in the US. The chart showed a more than 360% increase since the approval in 2004, with the analyst wondering whether history could repeat itself.
Tolu is a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast based in Lagos. He likes to demystify crypto stories to the bare basics so that anyone anywhere can understand without too much background knowledge.
When he’s not neck-deep in crypto stories, Tolu enjoys music, loves to sing and is an avid movie lover.
