What Is Hashrate? Bitcoin Hashrate Explained Simply
Hashrate is the speed at which a computer — or an entire network — performs the calculations used in proof-of-work mining. For Bitcoin, it is the most important measure of mining power and one of the best indicators of how secure the network is.
What a "hash" is
Bitcoin uses a function called SHA-256 that turns any input into a fixed-length output called a hash. Miners repeatedly hash a candidate block header, changing a small number each time, looking for an output below a target value set by the network. Finding one is pure trial and error. The miner who finds a valid hash first gets to add the block and claim the reward.
Hashrate is how many of these attempts per second a machine or network can make.
Run your own numbers with the free calculator: Bitcoin Mining Calculator
Open calculator →Units
| Unit | Hashes per second | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| TH/s | 1 trillion | Single ASIC miner (100–300+ TH/s) |
| PH/s | 1,000 TH/s | A small mining farm |
| EH/s | 1,000,000 TH/s | Large pools, the whole network |
| ZH/s | 1,000 EH/s | The Bitcoin network in recent years |
Bitcoin's total network hashrate passed 1 ZH/s (1,000 EH/s) in 2025 — roughly a sextillion guesses every second.
How network hashrate is measured
Nobody reports their hashrate centrally. Instead, it is estimated from how quickly blocks are being found relative to the current difficulty. If blocks arrive faster than every 10 minutes at a given difficulty, more hashrate must be working. Because block discovery is random, short-term estimates are noisy; most sites show averages over several days.
Why hashrate matters
For network security
To rewrite recent Bitcoin history, an attacker would need more hashrate than the rest of the network combined. As total hashrate grows, that attack becomes more expensive.
For miners
Your share of rewards is your hashrate divided by the network hashrate. If the network grows 20% while your hardware stays the same, your expected rewards fall by about 17%. That is why miners watch network hashrate closely and upgrade to more efficient machines.
Why hashrate keeps rising
- Better hardware. Each ASIC generation delivers more terahash per watt.
- Higher Bitcoin prices make more machines profitable and attract investment.
- Cheap energy in new regions brings more capacity online.
Hashrate can fall temporarily — after a price crash, a halving, or when large miners shut down during extreme weather or power price spikes — but the long-term trend has been strongly upward.
Hashrate vs difficulty
Difficulty is the network's response to hashrate. Every 2,016 blocks, Bitcoin adjusts difficulty so blocks keep arriving about every 10 minutes. More hashrate leads to higher difficulty. Read mining difficulty explained.
Hashprice
Miners often track hashprice: the expected revenue per unit of hashrate per day, such as dollars per petahash per day. It combines Bitcoin's price, fees and network hashrate into one number and is a quick way to compare profitability over time.
See it in a calculation
The Bitcoin mining calculator loads the live network hashrate and shows how your machine's hashrate translates into daily BTC, revenue and profit.
CryptoMathly provides educational estimates only and is not financial, investment or tax advice. Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose money. Always verify figures with a qualified professional.