It is possible to express the productivity of a miner in both satoshis and US dollars. The Bitcoin mining hash price in USD remains well above the value it reached with its low of the year.
Each mining hash has been generating a constantly declining amount of Bitcoin. That has recently led it to hit an all-time low of 501 satoshis per terahash per day (SAT/TH/D). That record occurred on December 26th, but now Bitcoin miners average a hash price of 542 SAT/TH/D.
The hash price reflects the productivity of a miner, depending on its hash rate per day. It is possible to calculate that value in US dollars (USD) or Bitcoin satoshis (SAT). For that reason, its usual representation is as USD or SAT, per tera hash, per day.
Concerning the hash price in US dollars, that is a value highly influenced by the ups and downs of the cryptocurrency market. The hash price in BTC or satoshis depends mostly on internal aspects of the network like its hash rate, mining difficulty, and halvings.
The steady decline in the hash price expressed in satoshis in Bitcoin mining has logical reasons. Every four years, a Bitcoin halving occurs and reduces the reward per mined block by half. Besides, the mining power rises due to the growing number of people mining and the development of more powerful hardware. The direct effect of the increase in the hash rate on Bitcoin is an increasing difficulty of mining on the network.
The above reasons play a crucial role in the fall of the hash price in Bitcoin, as miners obtain fewer satoshis regarding their mining power. Therefore, it would be logical to think that the hash price expressed in satoshis would be even lower over time.
The rise that the price of Bitcoin experienced during the last quarter of 2021 helped mining continue being profitable. However, accumulating satoshis could be more favorable than obtaining USD, considering how inflation has affected the fiat currency.
The Cost of a Bitcoin Mining Hash Expressed in USD
The Bitcoin mining hash price expressed in USD is currently at 0.26 USD/TH/D. That figure seems low compared to the 0.40 USD/TH/D it showed in October and November. However, it remains above the 0.18 USD/TH/D that it reached in June with its low of the year.
The variations in the hash price in USD closely relate to the cryptocurrency market, but they do not always go together. For example, when the annual low occurred in late June, the market price of Bitcoin was around USD 33,000. Although BTC fell below USD 30,000 in July, the hash price in USD took off and remained above 0.30 USD/TH/D.
The adjustment to Bitcoin mining difficulty occurring in July was the value leading to the rally. While the hash rate recovered after the Chinese ban on mining, that correction allowed miners to obtain higher rewards in BTC and higher performance of their work in USD. It is relevant to remember that Bitcoin mining difficulty dropped by 28% in July.
Bitcoin is currently trading at around USD 47,123 and has accumulated a profit of 1.5% in the last 24 hours. Its daily trading volume is above USD 22.59 billion, and its market capitalization is about USD 889.61 billion, according to CoinGecko.
By Alexander Salazar
