Summary
- The hash rate of the top 10 public Bitcoin miners has increased by 82% YoY.
- Leading the pack is Core Scientific with 30% of the hash rate share.
- Mining difficulty is set to adjust by over 10% on Friday, Feb. 24th.
Overview of Public Mining Companies
Public mining companies have seen an exponential growth in recent years, with the hash rate share of the top mining companies increasing from 23.93 EH/s to 56.98 EH/s between Jan. 2022 and Jan. 2023 – representing a staggering 82% growth in hash rate YOY. CryptoSlate analyzed ten of the top public Bitcoin miners and their hash rates to gain further insight into this growth, leading the pack being Core Scientific with approximately 30% of the hash rate share followed by Riot and Marathon in second and third place respectively – combined accounting for almost 60% of the hash rate share taken up by public companies. The majority of these ten public miners have either increased or equaled their hash rate share YOY, holding approximately 60 EH/s which accounts for roughly 20% of total 7DMA (seven-day moving average) has rate though estimated to be closer to 25%.
Hash Rate & Difficulty Increases
The increase in Bitcoin’s hash rate is depicted in a chart showing a solid positive trend line since July 2021 following China’s mining ban – resulting in an increase in mining difficulty set to adjust by over 10% on Friday, Feb. 24th marking it as one of biggest positive adjustments since October 2022 and September 2021. This growth indicates both ever-increasing demand for Bitcoin technology as well as more robust network security due to higher difficulty levels.
Effects on Mining Industry
This significant increase will affect all sectors within cryptocurrency mining industry from hardware manufacturers and service providers through to small-scale miners who may struggle with competition from larger players such as those mentioned here that benefit from economies of scale when it comes to energy costs among other things. It is also likely that some smaller players will exit or consolidate their operations due this shift, leaving fewer but larger players occupying an even larger market share than before – providing them with greater control over mining rewards and setting difficulty parameters among other decisions affecting crypto users worldwide.