According to data provided by cryptocurrency analytics company CryptoQuant, Bitcoin hashrate keeps hitting new record highs as measured by its 30-day exponential moving average (EMA).
This means that the network has reached its peak security despite the fact that the price of the leading cryptocurrency has been steadily declining in 2022.
The growing hashrate makes it much harder for bad actors to perform a 51% attack in order to violate its technology and perform a blockchain reorganization.
The cost of performing a 51% attack for just an hour currently stands at $772,364, according to data provided by crypto51.app.
As reported by U.Today, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty also recently reached a new high, putting additional pressure on struggling miners who are seeing dwindling profits. This metric updates roughly every two weeks in order to ensure a steady supply of newly minted coins.
Large miners deploying mining rigs at scale contributed to a significant increase in mining difficulty. Some industry players from states like Texas also resumed their operations in September since they no longer had to deal with the extreme summer heat.Rising energy costs will also likely threaten the profit margins of embattled mining companies.
Some retail miners might be forced to abandon their rigs in the fourth quarter if they don’t manage to break even.
The Bitcoin price will likely continue to struggle due to increasing interest rates making risk assets less appealing.