Bitcoin mining has once again become lucrative, with miners earning revenues not seen since before June 2022. In the last 30 days, 4,498 blocks were mined, generating 28,112 new bitcoins and a total revenue of $734.78 million. Transaction fees also contributed to earnings, accounting for $22.66 million in March. Two mining pools, Foundry USA and Antpool, dominated the pack, accounting for 52.87% of the global hashrate in March.
Bitcoin’s network hashrate has remained steady at around 341 exahash per second (EH/s) over the past two weeks, with the hashrate reaching an all-time high of 414.34 EH/s on March 25, 2023. This high level of hashrate combined with block intervals below the ten-minute average may lead to a difficulty change on April 6, 2023.
The current difficulty estimates for the next change are approximately between 1.20% to 1.38% higher than the current difficulty of 46.84 trillion. Three years ago, Bitcoin’s hashrate surpassed the 100 EH/s range, and today it is 240% higher than that period. In April 2020, the total revenue obtained by Bitcoin miners was $412.42 million, with transaction fees accounting for $6.07 million of the aggregate.
Bitcoin’s increasing revenue and hashrate have drawn renewed interest and investment in the cryptocurrency industry. Investors are keen to take advantage of the opportunities offered by Bitcoin mining, with cryptocurrency market analysts predicting a continued upward trend in revenue and hashrate.
However, the future of Bitcoin mining is not without concerns. The energy consumption required for mining Bitcoin has raised environmental issues, with critics pointing towards the carbon footprint generated by the mining process. The increasing hashrate of Bitcoin mining has the potential to lead to a further increase in energy consumption, which in turn may lead to further concerns about sustainability and environmental impact.
Despite these concerns, the current trend in Bitcoin mining revenue and hashrate presents an opportunity for investors in the cryptocurrency market. As with all investment opportunities, however, it is essential to assess the potential risks and benefits before committing funds.
