As Bitcoin climbs above $60,000, analysts at Hashrate Index say it’s still unclear whether or not the network is “out of the woods just yet.”
Bitcoin’s (BTC) mining difficulty is expected to see a significant increase this week as the network’s hashrate appears to stabilize post-halving. However, analysts caution that the market should be patient, waiting to see the impact of summer conditions on the U.S. grid to draw definitive conclusions.
Bitcoin’s 7-day average hashrate has returned above 600 EH/s for the first time since mid-June, raising questions about the network’s stability. Despite this, analysts mention that Bitcoin’s difficulty is set to rise, providing miners a slight relief in terms of hashprice, potentially easing their selling pressure.
In a weekly research update, Hashrate Index analysts highlighted that although Bitcoin’s transaction fees are low, they pose challenges for miners. Over the past week, miners earned only 97.92 BTC in transaction fees, an 11.6% decrease from 110.73 BTC the previous week.
“Transaction fees are still in the gutter, which is great for users but not so good for miners. Over the past week, Bitcoin miners reaped a measly 97.92 BTC in transaction fees, an 11.6% decrease from the prior week’s 110.73 BTC,” Hashrate Index stated.
On a monthly scale, hashprice remains down, and analysts express concern that, with the upcoming adjustments, the struggling Bitcoin mining industry will need all the support it can get.
These observations come after a recent drop in hashprice, a metric representing miner revenue per terahash, which hit an all-time low of $44.31/PH/day. This decline was partly due to the German government’s transfer of thousands of BTCs, exacerbating market conditions. Hashrate Index noted that the current environment is even more challenging than in May 2021, when a Chinese crackdown on crypto mining and trading reduced hashprice from 379 PH/day to 203 PH/day.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin’s price has surged past $60,000, bolstered by an influx of over $300 million into multiple spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This marks the seventh consecutive day of positive inflows for these funds.
