Bitcoin’s network hashrate has reached a seven-month high, climbing above 1 zettahash per second (ZH/s), despite major miners shifting their focus to artificial intelligence. This suggests that other operators are filling the gap left by those exiting the mining space, intensifying competition among remaining miners.
The hashrate recovery comes even as publicly traded miners have reduced their Bitcoin mining capacity by 23% while increasing their AI and high-performance computing revenue by 52% in the last quarter. BlocksBridge Consulting estimates that the displaced mining hardware is worth roughly $1.5 billion.
Some of the lost capacity may be returning through smaller miners purchasing used equipment from larger operators. Sazmining, for example, advertises secondhand Antminer S21 XP machines available for deployment in Paraguay and Texas. However, it remains unclear how much of this hardware has actually returned to the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty has already increased by 5.92% on October 16, with another 5.16% rise projected at the next adjustment. If this holds, difficulty will have climbed by roughly 11.4% across two consecutive adjustments, offering little relief to remaining miners.
Industry observers view the rising hashrate as an indirect bullish signal for Bitcoin, suggesting stronger security and better fundamentals as a store of value. CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju recently highlighted this perspective on X, noting that higher hashrate reflects continued institutional investment in publicly traded mining companies.