Hash Rate

Hash rate is the total computational throughput being thrown at Bitcoin's proof-of-work puzzle, measured in hashes per second. In mid-2026 (June to August), the global Bitcoin hash rate averaged about 910 EH/s - 910 exahashes per second, or about 9 x 10^20 hashes every second.

The units climb fast:

• 1 KH/s = 1 thousand hashes/sec
• 1 MH/s = 1 million (2010-era desktop CPUs mined at roughly 1 to 20 MH/s, and 2011-era graphics cards at a few hundred)
• 1 GH/s = 1 billion (an early ASIC)
• 1 TH/s = 1 trillion (a single modern ASIC chip, more or less)
• 1 PH/s = 1 quadrillion (a small mining farm)
• 1 EH/s = 1 quintillion (a major industrial operation)

Bitcoin's hash rate grew by roughly 14 orders of magnitude between 2009, when the whole network averaged a few million hashes per second, and mid-2026. That growth is exactly what difficulty retargeting absorbs to keep block times near 10 minutes.

Hash rate matters because it's Bitcoin's security budget. To rewrite history, an attacker has to outpace the rest of the network. At roughly 900 EH/s, that means buying, powering, and operating more mining hardware than every other miner on Earth combined, for as long as the attack lasts. That's what proof-of-work buys.

The most common chart you'll see is "hash rate over time," typically going up and to the right with occasional dips during major events (China ban 2021, bear-market capitulations).