According to Max Keiser, RT host and Heisenberg Capital Co-founder, Bitcoin’s hash rate will soon hit 100 quintillion soon. In a tweet on September 8, Keiser said that this increase in its rate would become a problem as data centers dedicated to maintaining fiat systems will start feeling a strain from Bitcoin’s hash rate.

Keiser: Price Will Follow the Hash Rate

Bitcoin’s hash rate, as of September 8, has topped off at 94 quintillions. According to Lightning Torch relay organizer, Hodlonaut, Bitcoin’s hash rate was around six quintillion in September 2017. He added that the cryptocurrency’s rate now increases by the same amount every couple of weeks. At the present rate, Bitcoin could hit a record high of 100 quintillion hashes per second later this week.

In an earlier tweet in August, Keiser commented that Bitcoin’s price would follow its hash rate, adding that the hash rate chart is continuing its 9-year bull run. During the 2018 cryptocurrency price crash, Bitcoin’s hash rate fell sharply. However, the hash rate rebounded in January 2019, following which Bitcoin rose from $3,500 to the recent high of $13,800.

Hash rate refers to the amount of computational power dedicated to processing Bitcoin transactions. A higher rate leads to an increase in mining difficulty and competition for miners to obtain BTC. More participation from miners is believed to make the cryptocurrency network more secure.

Global Mining Revenue Has Increased Three-Fold in 2019

According to a report by Digiconomist, global mining revenue today is at around $7.5 billion, which at the start of the year was at $2.5 billion. The report also highlights that the carbon footprint of cryptocurrency mining globally is comparable to that of the entire country of Denmark.

The report further notes that 47.6 percent of cryptocurrency mining takes place in China, followed by Georgia at 25.8 percent and the US with 11.6 percent. It also questions the low carbon footprint of mining in China’s Sichuan province, which is mainly powered by electricity from hydro-electric power plants. In Sichuan, the average power generated during the wet season is three times that of the dry season. These fluctuations in electricity generation are balanced out by other types of electricity which is usually coal-based. According to a report by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) which studied the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining, “coal is fueling Bitcoin.”

The report further forecasts that miners will soon be spending 60 percent of their revenue on electricity. This could eventually lead to unprofitability for miners, forcing them to disconnect their machines from the network.

Do you believe Bitcoin hash rate has the potential to rise even further in the near future? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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