Bitcoin Hashrate Rises 2% as Miner Profitability Improves 13%

The Bitcoin network hashrate experienced a slight increase of 2% in the first two weeks of May, reaching an average of 885 exahashes per second (EH/s). This information was revealed in a research report published by JPMorgan, a prominent Wall Street bank. The hashrate is a critical metric that represents the total computational power utilized by miners to process transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. It serves as an indicator of the level of competition within the mining industry and the overall difficulty of mining.

According to the report, miner profitability saw an improvement in May. This was primarily due to the rise in the price of Bitcoin, which led to an expansion in gross margins. The hashprice, a key measure of daily mining profitability, increased by 13% from April, a development that JPMorgan analysts described as "encouraging." The analysts, Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce, estimated that miners earned approximately $50,100 in daily block reward revenue per EH/s over the first two weeks of the month. This figure represents a 13% increase from the previous month and a 3% year-over-year increase.

U.S.-listed miners maintained their share of the network hashrate, accounting for about 30.5% of the total network hashrate. This figure marks a 1.1% increase from the previous month. The total market capitalization of the 13 U.S.-listed Bitcoin mining stocks tracked by the bank rose by 24%, or $4.6 billion, this month. Among these, Bitdeer (BTDR) stood out with a 43% gain, while Greenidge (GREE) underperformed the sector with a 5% decline.