This Miner Insights piece was originally published in crypto mining publication MinerUpdate.

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Bitcoin hash rate estimates reach all-time highs as several major Bitcoin ASIC manufacturers announce new generations of mining rigs. As Bitcoin ASIC manufacturers return to work, miners have likely acquired more S17-generation hardware and repaired mining rigs which were facing technical difficulties.

Quick take;

The seven-day moving average estimate of Bitcoin hash rate has recorded a record high

Several Bitcoin ASIC manufacturers have announced a new generation of mining rigs

With difficulty estimated to increase at the next adjustment, it is likely that miners have acquired more ASIC hardware and fixed mining rigs that were facing technical difficulties

Seven-day moving average of Bitcoin hash rate

Latest Bitcoin hash rate estimates from Bitinfocharts suggest that there is more computing power deployed in Bitcoin mining than at any point previously. At the time of writing, the seven-day Bitcoin hash rate moving average is recording an all-time high value of 118 EH/s.

BITMAIN, MICROBT, & CANAAN RELEASE NEW MINING RIGS



Over the past months, several major Bitcoin ASIC designers have announced their latest generation of mining rigs. Bitmain, MicroBT, and Canaan have all announced vastly more powerful and more energy-efficient mining rigs than their predecessors.

Bitmain announced their new series of mining rigs with two variants of the Antminer S19 to be released and also two variants of the Antminer S19 Pro. The prices of the mining rigs are yet to be announced.

The first batch of Whatsminer M30S opened for purchasing on the 17th of February with shipping expected to take place on the 20th of March. The first batch sold out within 48 hours. The second batch of Whatsminer M30S remains open for sales.

The second batch is expected to ship on the 20th of April meaning that second batch Whatsminer purchasers will almost certainly be deploying their mining rigs at much higher difficulty levels.

Canaan announced their A11 AvalonMiner series in October 2019. The mining rig has been opened for purchases since with the first batch noted to have shipped last month in February.

Canaan has also announced a new mining rig in its A10 AvalonMiner series. The AvalonMiner 1066 Pro touts a hash rate of 55 TH/s with an energy efficiency of 60 J/TH.

THE BITCOIN HASH RATE WALL

Bitcoin hash rate growth was impeded recently as the Coronavirus outbreak resulted in major Bitcoin ASIC manufacturers remaining closed. Under usual conditions, the increasing BTC price and widened profit margins would have resulted in the deployment of new ASIC mining rigs.

However, with manufacturers forced to remain shut, the increased demand for mining rigs remained unfulfilled. However, recent reports claim that ASIC manufacturers are gradually resuming operations.

At the time of writing, BTC.com estimates difficulty will increase by 2.2% at the next adjustment in roughly five days. Difficulty remained relatively unchanged for the past two adjustments reflecting the recent difficulties faced by ASIC manufacturers in supplying mining rigs.

The increases in estimated hash rate and anticipated difficulty adjustment are likely attributable to the ASIC manufacturers resuming operations. Mining rigs which were turned offline due to technical difficulties may now have been turned back online as maintenance factories return to work.

Bitmain’s Chinese repairing service has returned to work since February 20th. Furthermore, Bitcoin miners may have acquired more S17-generation hardware which would also play into the hash rate rise.