Bitcoin network turns 13, celebrates with new hash rate all-time high

The Bitcoin network underwent a six-month-long rally to attain a new all-time high hash rate of 207.53 exahashes per second on Saturday.

Monday marks the 13th year since Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, mined the genesis block, or block 0, of the Bitcoin network and, for the first time, mined a reward of 50 Bitcoin (BTC) back on Jan. 3, 2009. Fast-forward to 2022, the Bitcoin network shows no signs of slowing down, reaching a new all-time high hash rate of 207.53 exahashes per second (EH/s).

The Bitcoin hash rate, which correlates to the strength of the network based on the number of active miners, saw a temporary downfall after China banned citizens and businesses from pursuing crypto mining and trading activities. As a direct result of China’s blanket ban on crypto causing a sudden shortage of miners, the Bitcoin hash rate fell to 58.46 EH/s.

*Bitcoin hash rate in June 2021. Source: YCharts*

As evidenced by the above graph, Bitcoin’s hash rate saw an eventual comeback as Chinese miners began migrating to friendly jurisdictions. On Saturday, the Bitcoin network recorded a new all-time high of 207.53 EH/s, reclaiming the network’s security by increasing the mining difficulty.

*Bitcoin hash rate in January 2022. Source: YCharts*

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin network hash rate stands at 190.64 EH/s, down 8.14% from its all-time high.

BTC holdings of private corporations significantly increased last year, as revealed by on-chain analyst Willy Woo.

Since MicroStrategy’s “Bitcoin for Corporations” conference in Feb 2021, public companies* holding significant BTC have gained market share from spot ETFs** as a way to access BTC exposure on public equity markets.

* MicroStrategy & public mining companies
** Mainly Grayscale pic.twitter.com/e18OEfgiEW

— Willy Woo (@woonomic) January 2, 2022

A Cointelegraph report on the matter highlights that purchases made by Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy exceeded $6 billion in crypto assets. In December alone, the firm purchased a further 1,914 BTC, worth $94 million.