Bitcoin Hashrate Tops 1 ZH/s Amid Rising Mining Competition

Bitcoin’s seven-day average hashrate has climbed above 1 zettahash per second, or 1,000 exahashes per second, marking its highest level since March 3, according to BlocksBridge Consulting. The recovery indicates that miners continuing to secure Bitcoin’s network are facing increased competition despite large mining companies redirecting capacity toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads.

Bitcoin mining difficulty rose 5.92% on Oct. 16, and BlocksBridge projects a further 5.16% increase at the next adjustment. If the estimate holds, difficulty will increase by approximately 11.4% across two consecutive adjustments, offering limited relief to smaller miners expected from the industry’s migration to AI. BlocksBridge previously reported a 23% decline in realized hashrate among publicly traded miners, while their reported AI and high-performance computing revenue increased 52% quarter over quarter. An estimated $1.5 billion worth of mining hardware may have been displaced by those conversions, although much of it could return to Bitcoin through smaller operators purchasing used equipment. Sazmining, for example, is advertising secondhand Antminer S21 XP machines that can be deployed through hosting facilities in Paraguay and Texas. Miners with access to low-cost electricity may find retired AI-era hardware more economical than buying new machines, potentially sustaining Bitcoin’s hashrate and keeping pressure on network difficulty.