A look into BTC hash rate's surge and its implications
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BTC's hash rate—the total computational power securing the network—reached an all-time high in early June despite rising mining difficulty. This milestone underscores the resilience and growing participation in block reward mining, even as the industry faces regulatory scrutiny, energy concerns, and market volatility. The surge in hash rate reflects technological
advancements and the strategic maneuvers of miners adapting to a competitive and dynamic environment.
This article explores the factors driving this record-breaking hash rate, its implications for the BTC network, and what it means for the future of block reward mining.
The hash rate, measured in exahashes per second (EH/s), represents the combined processing power of miners worldwide
competing to find a computationally high number to validate transactions and earn BTC rewards. According to data from
Blockchain.com, the BTC hash rate peaked at approximately 700 EH/s in early June 2025, surpassing previous records set earlier in the year. This surge comes despite a mining difficulty adjustment that reached its all-time high, making it harder for miners to find new blocks. Mining difficulty, which adjusts roughly every two weeks to maintain a consistent block time of about 10 minutes, has been climbing steadily due to increased network participation.
Several factors have contributed to this unprecedented hash rate. First, advancements in mining hardware have played a pivotal role. Companies like Bitmain and MicroBT have released next-generation ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) miners with improved efficiency, allowing miners to process more hashes per unit of energy. These machines, such as Bitmain's Antminer S21 Pro, boast efficiencies below 15 joules per terahash (J/TH), a significant improvement over older models. As a result, miners can maintain profitability even as electricity costs and network difficulty rise.
Second, the geographic redistribution of mining operations has bolstered the hash rate. After China's 2021 crackdown on crypto mining, which once accounted for over 60% of BTC's hash rate, miners relocated to regions with favorable regulations and abundant energy, such as the United States, Kazakhstan, and Canada. The U.S. alone now hosts nearly 40% of the global hash rate, driven by access to cheap energy in states like Texas and Wyoming. Additionally, countries like Pakistan have emerged as new players, with plans to allocate 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity to Bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, as announced at the BTC Vegas 2025 conference. These shifts have diversified the mining landscape, making the network more resilient to regional disruptions.
Third, the rising BTC price, hovering around $100,000 in June 2025, has incentivized miners to ramp up operations. Higher prices increase the value of block rewards (currently 3.125 BTC per block, following the April 2024 halving), offsetting energy and hardware costs. Posts on X highlight that miners are reinvesting profits into expanding their fleets, further driving the hash rate upward. This trend is evident in companies like BitFuFu (NASDAQ: FUFU), which reported a 91% increase in mining output, reflecting the sector's operational growth. The record hash rate has significant implications for the BTC network. A higher hash rate enhances security by making it more difficult for malicious actors to execute a 51% attack, where an entity controls the majority of the network's computational power. With 700 EH/s, the cost of such an attack is prohibitively high, requiring billions of dollars in hardware and energy. This bolsters confidence in BTC as a decentralized and tamper-resistant system, particularly as institutional adoption grows.
However, the hash rate surge also raises challenges. The increased computational power has driven up energy consumption, reigniting debates about BTC's environmental impact. Critics argue that mining's reliance on fossil fuels contributes to carbon emissions, though defenders point to the growing use of renewables. For instance, a 2024 report by the Bitcoin Mining Council estimated that 59% of global mining uses sustainable energy sources, such as hydroelectric and solar power. Miners in regions like Quebec and Iceland are increasingly tapping into green energy to mitigate criticism and reduce costs.
Another challenge is the profitability squeeze for smaller miners. As difficulty rises, those with older hardware or higher electricity costs struggle to compete. This has led to consolidation in the industry, with large-scale operations like Marathon Digital (NASDAQ: MARA) and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) dominating the market. Smaller bitcoin miners are exploring
alternatives, such as joining bitcoin mining pools or adopting cloud mining solutions like BAY Miner's new mobile app, which allows users to mine BTC without owning hardware.
Looking ahead, the record hash rate signals a robust and competitive mining ecosystem, but its sustainability depends on several factors. Continued innovation in hardware efficiency, access to affordable and renewable energy, and supportive regulatory frameworks will be critical. Additionally, the upcoming Bitcoin halving in 2028, which will further reduce block rewards, will test miners' adaptability. For now, the hash rate milestone underscores Bitcoin's enduring appeal and the relentless drive of miners to secure the network.
In conclusion, BTC's record-breaking hash rate in June 2025 reflects a confluence of technological, economic, and
geographic factors. While it strengthens the network's security and highlights the industry's growth, it also brings challenges related to energy use and market dynamics. As the block reward mining landscape evolves, the balance between profitability, sustainability, and decentralization will shape its future trajectory.
Watch: Bitcoin mining in 2025: Is it still worth it?
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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... In a report published on June 24, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an institution made up of central banks from around the world, claimed that fiat-pegged stablecoins 'fall short of requirements to be the mainstay of the monetary system' as they fail the three key tests of singleness, elasticity, and integrity. However, it argued that tokenization does meet this test. In a 'special chapter' of the BIS's Annual Economic Report 2025, titled 'The next-generation monetary and financial system,' the BIS concluded that, building on the proposal for a unified ledger, the 'trilogy' of tokenized central bank reserves, commercial bank money and government bonds is 'the next logical step to deliver profound change for the financial system.' The report argued that tokenization can enhance efficiency and open new possibilities in cross-border payments, securities markets, and beyond while maintaining the key principles of sound money. 'Tokenisation represents a transformative innovation to both improve the old and enable the new. It paves the way for new arrangements in cross-border payments, securities markets and beyond,' wrote the BIS. 'Tokenised platforms with central bank reserves, commercial bank money and government bonds at the centre can lay the groundwork for the next-generation monetary and financial system.' However, while the report was effusive in its praise for the possibilities of tokenization, it was less enthusiastic about stablecoins, suggesting that they fall short of requirements to be the mainstay of the monetary system when set against the three key tests of singleness, elasticity, and integrity. This test is how the BIS judges the suitability of a payment system. The ' singleness of money ' refers to whether money can be issued by different banks and accepted by all without hesitation, otherwise known as 'acceptance for payment at par'; elasticity refers to whether money provides the flexibility to meet the need for large-value payments in the economy, 'so that obligations are discharged in a timely way without gridlock taking over'; and integrity refers to a system's ability to safeguard against financial crime and other illicit activity. According to the BIS, stablecoins do not meet any of these three criteria and are, therefore, not suitable to become the cornerstone of the next financial revolution. How stablecoins fall short According to BIS, stablecoins failed the first test, the singleness on money, partly because their value can depend on the relative 'creditworthiness' of their issuers and partly because stablecoins traded in secondary markets at an 'exchange rate' can deviate from par—meaning a situation can occur where different stablecoin that are supposed to be equivalent do not trade at equal value and can no longer be accepted at face value. 'Stablecoin holdings are tagged with the name of the issuer, much like private banknotes circulating in the 19th century Free Banking era in the United States. As such, stablecoins often trade at varying exchange rates, undermining singleness,' wrote the BIS. When it comes to elasticity, stablecoins failed the test because assets, such as Tether's USDT—the world's largest stablecoin by market cap—can be backed by a 'nominally equivalent amount of assets,' which means any 'additional issuance requires full upfront payment by holders' imposing a 'cash-in-advance constraint.' In other words, the stablecoin issuer's balance sheet cannot be expanded at will; any additional supply of stablecoins requires full upfront payment by its holders, which differs from banks, which can 'elastically expand and contract their balance sheets within regulatory limits.' Finally, stablecoins have been well publicized and have 'significant shortcomings when it comes to promoting the integrity of the monetary system' and are prone to Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance weaknesses. The BIS particularly highlighted the ability of digital asset mixers to obfuscate the origin of money and hamper traceability, as well as blockchain's propensity for anonymity, or pseudoanonymity, which hampers KYC efforts. Despite these critiques, the report wasn't wholly dismissive of the potential of stablecoins, noting that they offer certain advantages, such as programmability, pseudonymity, and 'easy access for new users.' In addition, their 'technological attributes mean they can potentially offer lower costs and faster transaction speed,' particularly for cross-border payments. 'It remains to be seen what role innovations like stablecoins will play in the future monetary system,' wrote the BIS. 'But stablecoins do not stack up well against the three desirable characteristics of sound monetary arrangements and thus cannot be the mainstay of the future monetary system.' There was, however, another asset type and financial system that did stack up well. Tokenization for the win As pessimistic as the report was in its appraisal of stablecoins as the next big thing in international payment systems, it was equally optimistic in its take on tokenization—the digital representation of assets on programmable platforms. 'Tokenisation stands to be the next logical step in the evolution of money and payments,' said the BIS, adding that it 'integrates messaging, reconciliation and settlement into a single seamless operation, and can transform cross-border payments and securities markets, ushering in a new era for the financial system.' Specifically, the report pointed to recent proposals for a unified ledger that provides a blueprint for the tokenized financial system. Key elements of the blueprint are tokenized central bank reserves, tokenized commercial bank money, and other tokenized claims on financial and real assets—all 'brought together in a new type of financial market infrastructure.' The report argued that the unified ledger can transform intermediary interactions, particularly when it comes to cross-border payments and, by combining programmability and transaction bundling, it can integrate and automate sequences of financial transactions. 'This eliminates delays and reduces manual interventions and reconciliations arising from the traditional separation of messaging, clearing and settlement,' noted the report. According to the BIS, tokenization also enables the joint execution of three previously separate steps: the debiting of the payer's account, the crediting of the receiver's account, and settlement on the central bank balance sheet. This allows for the 'synchronous exchange' of assets so that each transfer occurs only upon the transfer of the others. In terms of singleness—one of the areas stablecoins fell down—the report suggested that singleness on private tokenized money and cash would be supported in the same way it is now for commercial bank deposits, as long as all private tokenized money issuers complied with the same regulatory standards and had access to the same safeguards. It added that singleness between the private tokenized money issued by non-banks and cash could also be maintained under the proper arrangements. Tokenization can also utilize smart contracts—computer programs that run on a blockchain and automatically trigger when certain pre-agreed conditions are met, without the need for human intervention—which enables central banks to instantly create and adjust their tools, such as deploy new facilities and adjust interest rates or collateral requirements. In this way, 'tokenisation could offer flexibility and speed in monetary policy operations' as well as 'improve operational efficiency and promote automation in back office tasks.' Finally, as tokenized platforms could—in principle—operate continuously, smart contracts could support extended or even 24/7 market operations. 'Tokenisation of deposits and central bank money means that both the primary means of payment as well as the settlement function of central bank money can be integrated seamlessly on the same programmable platform,' said Hyun Song Shin, Economic Adviser and Head of the Monetary and Economic Department at the BIS, in a June 24 press release. 'It has the potential to transform securities markets and its application to correspondent banking is especially promising.' This sentiment was echoed by Agustín Carstens, General Manager of BIS, who commented: 'The next-generation monetary and financial system combines the time-tested principles of trust in money underpinned by central banks with the functionality unlocked by tokenisation. This system is poised to deliver substantial improvements to current practices and to enable entirely new economic arrangements.' Amongst all the praise, the BIS did acknowledge that the transition to a fully tokenized financial system would not be without its challenges. Interoperability between existing account-based systems and emerging tokenized infrastructures must be ensured; changes to existing systems will be needed, including adjustments to booking and reconciliation processes or messaging standards; fragmentation across both legacy and new networks could pose a challenge; and the emergence of tokenized repo transactions adds to demands on sound collateral management. However, overall, the BIS concluded that tokenization represents a 'transformative innovation to both improve the old and enable the new' and one that could well be the basis for the next-generation monetary and financial system. Watch | Rediscovering Blockchain: Here's how you build trust at scale title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
