Bitcoin hash rate drops below 1 zettahash for the first time since September 2025

Source: Yellow Original Title: Bitcoin Hash Rate Falls Below 1 Zettahash for the First Time Since September 2025

Original Link: https://yellow.com/es/news/la-tasa-de-hash-de-bitcoin-cae-por-debajo-de-1-zettahash-por-primera-vez-desde-septiembre-de-2025 Bitcoin network hash rate dropped below 1 zettahash per second on Saturday for the first time since mid-September 2025, with current measurements showing 988 exahash per second based on seven-day moving averages.

This decline ended a four-month streak of computational power sustained above the symbolic threshold of 1 ZH/s, representing approximately a 15% erosion from the October 19 peak of 1.162 EH/s, according to Hashrate Index data.

Mining difficulty simultaneously decreased to 146.47 trillion after a 1.2% downward adjustment on January 8, marking the first network recalibration in 2026 after reaching an all-time high of 155.97 trillion at the end of October.

Change in Mining Conditions

The hashprice, which measures revenue per petahash of computational power, rebounded 19.3% from the November 21 low of $34.55 to current levels near $41.22, although profitability remains 32% lower year-over-year as miners navigate the post-halving economy.

The network has experienced four difficulty reductions since October’s record, with a total decrease of 9.5 trillion providing modest relief for operators facing squeezed margins after the April 2024 block subsidy cut from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC.

Transaction fees contributed only 0.72% of total block rewards in the past 24 hours, offering minimal contribution to income while the network maintains security primarily through newly issued Bitcoin.

Adjustment Outlook

Block production currently averages 10 minutes and 34 seconds versus the protocol’s 10-minute target, placing the next scheduled difficulty adjustment on January 22 toward an estimated 5.45% decrease based on current block discovery rates.

Analysts noted that December’s average monthly hash rate of 1.045 EH/s represented a 3% month-over-month decline, indicating cooling competition among miners as some operators reduce activity amid profitability pressures and rising energy costs.

The decline in hash rate coincides with broader challenges in the mining sector, as AI data centers increasingly compete for the same electrical infrastructure that historically powered Bitcoin miners to access cost-competitive energy, tightening margins across the industry.