Bitcoin Hashrate Posts Steepest Three-Year Drop Amid Global Pressures
Bitcoin's hashrate fell dramatically from 943.6 billion terahashes per second (TH/s) on June 15 to 799.9 TH/s on June 24, a decline of over 15%. Speculation about the causes includes geopolitical and environmental factors, particularly linking the downturn to Iran's large-scale Bitcoin mining operations. Reports indicate that Iranian state actors, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, may contribute to local power outages affecting mining. An internet blackout in Iran on June 20 coincided with a global hashrate drop, followed by a US strike on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 22, which also led to electric grid outages. However, only about 3% of the hashrate decrease aligns with these events, and a significant decline had already begun prior. Contributing factors include rising electricity prices and a heatwave in the US, which reduces mining efficiency and profitability. Bitcoin's hashrate is calculated based on block time and mining difficulty, making precise measurement challenging. A combination of geopolitical, environmental, and economic pressures likely influences the current trend.
