Bitcoin’s hashrate falls amid COVID-19 outbreak

• Bitcoin’s hashrate has fallen by around 40% in March owing to the global pandemic – Coronavirus disease.
• For the first time since January 2020, the hashrate has fallen under 100 EHash/s.

According to Skew (@skewdotcom), Bitcoin’s hashrate has fallen by around 40% in March, following the Coronavirus outbreak. Skew tweeted:

Worth monitoring Bitcoin’s hash rate as we approach halving and spot has retraced 40% this month. Back < 100 Ehash/s. [email protected]

For the first time since January, the hashrate has dropped under 100 EHash/s. However, it must be kept in mind that China still owns the majority of Bitcoin’s mining power. In fact, five China-based pools own more than 50% of the Bitcoin global hashrate distribution. As such, it makes sense that these miners have not been able to work properly during mandatory government lockdowns.

Mining profitability is another metric that has taken a blow because of the recent BTC price drop. As per BitInfoCharts data, the amount of USD per day earned by miners has dropped since the beginning of March. Bitcoin’s mining profitability is now at levels that have not occurred in years. If the present prices continue, most miners will be forced to shut down services.

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