Record: over 830 trillion hashes per second for Bitcoin mining
High Bitcoin prices are refreshing mining farms. They are using more hardware for mining than ever before.
(Image: kitti Suwanekkasit/Shutterstock.com)
Bitcoin miners continue to expand their computing farms: The computing capacity in the network is continuously increasing, apart from small dents. Most recently, it reached a record of 833 trillion hashes per second or 833 exahashes/s. Bitcoin miners exceeded the 800 mark for the first time at the beginning of January 2025, after which computing power temporarily declined.
Thanks to the persistently high price above 90,000 euros, the purchase of new Bitcoin miners pays off quickly. In order for mining the cryptocurrency to be profitable, specialized circuits (ASICs) are needed that can do nothing apart from calculate SHA256 hashes. Graphics cards or processors cannot do this profitably.
Transaction blocks are verified with a so-called Proof of Work (PoW): Millions of mining devices search for a hash whose result matches the data in the transaction block. As soon as a hash is found, other miners can validate it. Since the last halving, miners receive 3.125 Bitcoin as a reward for each hash found. This currently corresponds to around 300,000 euros.
Hardware pays for itself quickly
The Chinese company Bitmain is the global market leader in Bitcoin miners. The fastest model, Antminer S21 XP Hydro, calculates 473 terahashes per second, with an electrical power consumption of just under 5700 watts. Inside are water-cooled ASICs, which are manufactured by chip contract manufacturer TSMC using 5-nanometer technology. Bitmain charges between 10,000 and 14,500 US dollars for its fastest miners.
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Companies operate countless miners in huge halls, mainly in countries with low electricity prices. With an S21 XP Hydro, you can currently earn a good 1,500 US dollars per month if you assume an electricity price of 10 cents and join a mining pool. Miners join forces to increase the chance of finding a hash and split the profits.
If the current mining output with the latest ASICs were to be calculated bluntly, the electrical power consumption would be around 10 gigawatts. However, because many older miners are also used, the real power consumption is estimated to be more than twice as high. Annual consumption is estimated to be over 175 terawatt hours. The USA accounts for a large proportion of this.
(mma)
