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Bitcoin faces potential miner capitulation as hash rate continues to drop Bitcoin faces potential miner capitulation as hash rate continues to drop

Bitcoin faces potential miner capitulation as hash rate continues to drop

Data via Glassnode

Upcoming Bitcoin difficulty adjustment expected to decrease by up to 2%.

Quick Take

CryptoSlate’s analysis sheds light on the anticipated hash rate adjustment, with historical trends indicating a potential 20% decrease post-halving. Past cycles reflect significant hash rate corrections: 39% in 2012, 11% in 2016, and 26% in 2020. As of 2024, we’ve observed a 6% decline so far, taking the hash rate from 649 eh/s to 619 eh/s.

Hash Rate Adjustment Percent Change: (Source: Glassnode)
Hash Rate Adjustment Percent Change: (Source: Glassnode)

The price of Bitcoin has tumbled from its highs of around $73,500 to below $57,000, and as a result of this, further hash rate drops are expected. Luxor’s “hashprice” metric, which quantifies the expected value of 1 TH/s of hashing power per day, currently sits at a five-year low of $0.045 per terahash/second per day.

BTC Hashprice Index: (Source: hashrateindex)
BTC Hashprice Index: (Source: hashrateindex)

If this trend persists, the digital asset community may witness a miner capitulation event, where Bitcoin mining becomes too expensive relative to the cost of mining. This scenario is typically identified by Glassnode’s hash ribbon metric, which has historically signaled bottoms in Bitcoin cycles.

Hash Ribbon: (Source: Glassnode)
Hash Ribbon: (Source: Glassnode)

The upcoming difficulty adjustment, scheduled for May 8, is forecasted to decrease by 1.5% to 2%.