Monday marks the 13th year since Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, mined the genesis block, or block 0, of the Bitcoin network and, for the first time, mined a reward of 50 Bitcoin
BTC
$18,880
back on Jan. 3, 2009. Fast-forward to 2022, the Bitcoin network shows no signs of slowing down, reaching a new all-time high hash rate of 207.53 exahashes per second (EH/s).
The Bitcoin hash rate, which correlates to the strength of the network based on the number of active miners, saw a temporary downfall after China banned citizens and businesses from pursuing crypto mining and trading activities. As a direct result of China’s blanket ban on crypto causing a sudden shortage of miners, the Bitcoin hash rate fell to 58.46 EH/s.
Bitcoin hash rate in June 2021. Source: YChartsAs evidenced by the above graph, Bitcoin’s hash rate saw an eventual comeback as Chinese miners began migrating to friendly jurisdictions. On Saturday, the Bitcoin network recorded a new all-time high of 207.53 EH/s, reclaiming the network’s security by increasing the mining difficulty.
Bitcoin hash rate in January 2022. Source: YChartsAdvertisement
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At the time of writing, the Bitcoin network hash rate stands at 190.64 EH/s, down 8.14% from its all-time high.
Related: Bitcoin holdings of public companies hasurged in 2021
BTC holdings of private corporations significantly increased last year, as revealed by on-chain analyst Willy Woo.
A Cointelegraph report on the matter highlights that purchases made by Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy exceeded $6 billion in crypto assets. In December alone, the firm purchased a further 1,914 BTC, worth $94 million.