Glossary · Crypto

Hash rate

The hash rate is how many guesses per second a proof-of-work network’s computers make at the puzzle that adds the next block; bitcoin’s runs into quintillions.

Also called: hashrate, hashing power, hash power, EH/s

Live numbers, updated every night

Bitcoin’s hash rate

1,026 EH/s

Average of the 30 days to November 11, 2026: 1.0 sextillion guesses every second.

Compared with five years earlier

6.57 times

Against November 2021.

In plain words

A hash is a fingerprint a computer makes from any data: feed in a block of payments and out comes a fixed-length code. In mining, machines change one number in the block and hash it again and again, hunting for a code that starts with enough zeros. The hash rate counts those tries per second.

The units climb fast: a terahash (TH/s) is a trillion guesses a second, an exahash (EH/s) a billion billion. One modern mining machine does a few hundred TH/s. The whole bitcoin network did about 1,026 EH/s over the last 30 days.

The hash rate is a gauge of how much computing power, and so how much money and electricity, guards bitcoin. To rewrite its history, an attacker would need more of it than everyone else combined.

Each step up the ladder is a thousand times more guesses a second.

Example

How the hash rate is estimated

Nobody counts the guesses. The network only sees the blocks that were found, and the difficulty tells how many guesses a block takes on average.

Suppose a block needs, on average, 6 × 10²³ guesses.
In one day the network finds 144 blocks.
Guesses a second: 144 × 6 × 10²³ ÷ 86,400 seconds = 10²¹, or 1,000 EH/s.
Luck matters: on some days the network finds 160 blocks, on others 130, so a one-day estimate can be off by 10% or more.

That is why the hash rate is usually quoted as an average over days or weeks. The last 30 days: 1,026 EH/s.

One level deeper

A higher hash rate does not make blocks come faster for long. Every 2,016 blocks bitcoin adjusts the difficulty, how small a winning hash must be, so that blocks keep coming about every 10 minutes. More machines simply make each block harder to win.

It has grown enormously: the network now makes 6.6 times as many guesses a second as five years earlier, in November 2021. The growth comes from more machines and from better chips, which make more guesses from each kilowatt-hour.

Sharp drops are rare and tell a story. After China banned mining in mid-2021, the hash rate fell by more than a third within two months, then recovered as machines were shipped abroad.

Bitcoin’s hash rate since 2016

On a log scale, equal steps are equal percentage growth. The dip in mid-2021 is China’s ban on mining; the climb resumed as miners moved elsewhere and chips got faster.

Mean hash rate of the bitcoin network in exahashes per second (10¹⁸ guesses), estimated by Coin Metrics from the blocks found and their difficulty. Log scale. Monthly averages of daily data.

The numbers behind the chart

Date	Hash rate, EH/s
Jan 2016	0.9
Dec 2016	2.3
Dec 2017	13.3
Dec 2018	38.3
Dec 2019	95.4
Dec 2020	136.5
Dec 2021	173.2
Dec 2022	248.4
Dec 2023	507.3
Dec 2024	778.5
Dec 2025	1,048.0
Nov 2026	972.9

Why it matters

It measures the security of a proof-of-work blockchain: the more guessing power, the costlier an attack.

It is a window on the mining industry: a rising hash rate means more machines switched on, usually because mining pays.

Sudden falls can signal trouble: a ban, an energy crunch, or a price crash that makes mining unprofitable.

A common mistake

Myth: A rising hash rate makes bitcoin payments faster.

In fact: Blocks keep coming about every 10 minutes whatever the hash rate, because the difficulty adjusts every 2,016 blocks. More hash rate buys more security, not more speed.

Questions people ask

What does EH/s mean?

Exahashes per second: a billion billion (10¹⁸) guesses each second. Bitcoin’s network ran at about 1,026 EH/s over the last 30 days.

Does the hash rate affect bitcoin’s price?

Not directly. The arrow mostly points the other way: a higher price makes mining pay better, so more machines switch on. A drop in the hash rate says little about the price on its own.

Why does the hash rate jump around from day to day?

Because it is estimated from the number of blocks found, and finding blocks is a matter of luck. A daily figure can be off by 10% or more; weekly or monthly averages are steadier.

About the numbers

The numbers on this page are recalculated from the data every night; the sources are listed at the end of the page.
Bitcoin hash rate: Coin Metrics Community Network Data, metric HashRate. License: CC BY-NC 4.0.
The hash rate is not measured but estimated from the blocks found and the difficulty, so single days are noisy; the numbers above are 30-day averages.
Crypto data: Coin Metrics Community Network Data, used under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
This page explains a term. It is not investment advice.