Bitcoin 

BTC

$18,924

 is about to hit a new all-time high in one essential area — and major mining pools have likely already clinched the title.

Data from monitoring resource MiningPoolStats shows that, as of Dec. 20, the Bitcoin network hash rate is practically at its highest ever.

Hash rate vanquishes specter of China

Despite the price comedown from $69,000, hash rate is steaming higher, and the chunk of computing power from known pools is now at a historic peak.

Hash rate refers to the computing power dedicated to mining, and while impossible to measure exactly, estimates agree that Bitcoin is more enticing for miners — and therefore more secure — than ever before.

The known pool hash rate sat at 182.4 exahashes per second (EH/s) this week, with the total hash rate at 188.9 EH/s.

According to MiningPoolStats, only once before has the latter been higher, reaching 209.3 EH/s in early May, just before the China miner rout. Known pools, on the other hand, have never been so busy.

As such, the hash rate is not only fully recovered from the Chinese crackdown, but is now stronger than at any time in Bitcoin's history.

BTC supply ices over this winter

As Cointelegraph reported, there appears to be little appetite to sell BTC at current price levels as miners and hodlers alike ferret away spare supply.

Related: Bitcoin holds off on Santa rally as fund forecasts a new year 'short squeeze'

Figures from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode confirmed the trend on Dec. 23, showing that the amount of the BTC supply going from a "liquid" to an "illiquid" state is now 100,000 BTC per month.

The accumulation phase began thanks to the upheaval wrought by China, Glassnode shows. Further numbers highlight a positive impact on price action resulting from illiquid supply movements.