What is Hashrate?
Hashrate refers to the speed at which a computer or mining device performs hashing operations—solving complex puzzles to validate transactions on a blockchain. It’s measured in hashes per second (H/s).
A higher hashrate means a machine or network can process more attempts per second to find a valid block. Since mining involves trying countless combinations to match a target hash, more power means better chances of earning rewards and securing the network.
How Hashrate Works
Hashrate measures how fast a system can compute results from a cryptographic hash function, like SHA-256. Hashing takes an input of any size and transforms it into a fixed-length code. The faster a system can perform this operation, the higher its hashrate.
For example, a powerful miner might generate billions of hashes per second trying to solve the next block. Consumer tools can generate hashes too—if an online tool creates a hash in 0.25 seconds and you click four times in one second, the hash rate would be 4 H/s. Of course, blockchain mining is far faster and automated.
Different machines—GPUs, ASIC miners, or data centers—produce varying hash rates depending on their hardware and the algorithm used. For example:
AMD 7900 XTX (GPU) — ~52 MH/s (KAWPOW)
RTX 4090 (GPU) — ~115 MH/s (Ethash)
Ipollo V1 Mini SE Plus (Mini miner) — ~400 MH/s (Ethash)
Jasminer X16_Pro — ~2.1 GH/s (Ethash)
Antminer S21 XP+ Hyd — ~500 TH/s (SHA-256)
Each device contributes to the overall network hashrate, which is the sum of all participants’ computing power.
Measuring Hashrate
Hashrate is measured using the metric system, scaling up as computational power increases. Here’s how the units break down:
Kilohash (kH/s): 1,000 hashes per second — relatively slow
Megahash (MH/s): 1 million hashes per second — common with GPUs
Gigahash (GH/s): 1 billion hashes per second — older or solo mining setups
Terahash (TH/s): 1 trillion hashes per second — standard for ASICs
Petahash (PH/s): 1 quadrillion hashes per second — mid-size mining operations
Exahash (EH/s): 1 quintillion hashes per second — large-scale networks like Bitcoin
Zettahash (ZH/s): 1 sextillion hashes per second — Bitcoin neared this milestone in early 2025
Yottahash (YH/s): 1 septillion hashes per second — the next frontier if growth continues
Why Hashrate is Important?
The hashrate is crucial for several reasons:
Network Security: A higher hashrate enhances the security of a blockchain network. When more computational power is dedicated to maintaining the network, it becomes harder for malicious actors to execute attacks, such as the notorious 51% attack.
Mining Rewards: The higher the hashrate, the greater the opportunity to mine new blocks and earn block rewards. This is particularly important for individual miners who aspire to be competitive within mining pools or stand-alone operations.
Which Factors can Affect Hashrate?
Numerous factors can influence a network's hashrate:
Mining Hardware: The types of hardware utilized, ranging from GPUs to specialized ASICs, significantly affect the hashrate. More advanced hardware can yield a higher hashrate.
Electricity Costs: Mining requires substantial electrical power. Miners may adjust operations based on electricity costs, thereby impacting overall hashrate on a network.
Mining Difficulty: Networks adjust the complexity of solving mining equations — known as mining difficulty — to stabilize block production times. An increase in difficulty typically necessitates a higher hashrate to achieve consistent results.
