BTC Hashpower Doubles During Bear Market as Miners Sacrifice Profit for Position

[arvinabeabe]

According to Fundstrat analyst Sam Doctor, it appears Bitcoin Core (BTC) hashpower has doubled since just before the start of summer. That figure is impressive considering the lingering and deep bear market. “Even with upgrades to existing equipment, implies almost 1GW of new power consumption vs 5.2GW in May ’18m” Mr. Doctor tweeted. “Breakeven now $7,300 ($5,300 cash BE) vs. $6,000 in May.” An exchange report confirms miners might also be accepting lower shorter term gains in favor of market position.

BTC Hashpower Doubles Since May in Bear Market

As indicators go, increases in the BTC difficulty and hashrate are considered pluses, potentially adding robustness and resilience to the network. That miners might be continuing to plod along in a bear market, and in the face of huge price drops and their own profits, could signal better days for all, concerned proponents are concluding.

One theory about why this might be occurring comes from crypto exchange Bitmex. They claim powerhouse mining operations such as Bitmain have welcomed market prices bottoming out, as it pushes out weaker hands and helps increase its relative position. “These low prices are likely to be a deliberate strategy by Bitmain,” the exchange explains, “to squeeze out their competition by causing them to experience lower sales and therefore financial difficulties. In our view, herein lies the key to one of the main driving forces behind the decision to IPO. A successful IPO may increase the firepower available to continue this strategy and eliminate an advantage rivals could have by doing their IPOs first.”

[dragononcrypto]

It's nearly quadrupled from 16,000 to over 60,000 since the Bitcoin Bear Market began. Says it all really, people believe in the future of Bitcoin as they continue to mine at a loss with the difficulty ever increasing from the continued growth of the network.
Graph: https://www.blockchain.com/en/charts/hash-rate