Bitcoin Hashrate Nears Record Despite Miners' Shift to AI
Glassnode sees the network hashrate just 6.5% below its all-time high, while miners are also shifting capacity to AI and HPC customers.
Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin’s hashrate is now just 6.5% below its all-time high, even as major miners shift capacity to AI customers and high-performance computing.
- The 14-day average hashrate recovered to about 1.06 zettahash per second after earlier declines and multiple tests of the floor around 870 exahash per second.
- Mining difficulty rose 5.92% on October 16 to 140.58 trillion and could climb again at the end of October, while Bitcoin trades around $79,774.
Bitcoin has almost gotten its hashrate back to record levels, even as several large publicly traded miners shift capacity to AI customers. According to Glassnode, the network hashrate is now just 6.5% below its all-time high. That stands out because network activity three months ago was still showing the longest decline in history.
Hashrate Recovers Quickly
On-chain analyst Will Clemente pointed out that the hashrate is almost back at record highs, even as part of the industry is moving toward AI and high-performance computing. The 14-day average hashrate peaked near 1.135 zettahash per second in late 2025 and then fell about 22% between October 2025 and February 2026.
The decline stopped around 870 exahash per second. That was followed by a sharp recovery in February, with tests of that level again in June and August. Each time, that floor held. The latest rise is the strongest since February and pushed the hashrate to about 1.06 zettahash per second.
That recovery fits the picture of private and international operators filling the space left by larger miners. Some older equipment also appears to be moving to smaller players with cheaper power instead of leaving the market entirely.
Difficulty Keeps Rising
The mining difficulty also confirms that picture. On October 16, difficulty was raised by 5.92% to 140.58 trillion, according to mempool data. Another increase of about 5% to 6% is expected for October 29. Two back-to-back increases of that size are rare in 2026, since many adjustments this year have actually been downward.
Difficulty previously fell from a record 155.97 trillion in October 2025 to about 126 trillion in February. After a brief rebound in the spring, it dropped again to 124.93 trillion in June. If the current forecast plays out, difficulty will land around 148 trillion to 150 trillion, the highest level since late 2025.
At the same time, Bitcoin's price is lagging. BTC trades around $79,774 (€71,500), down 0.8% in 24 hours and about 37% below the peak of $126,210 (€113,200). By contrast, the hashrate is only 6.5% below its record. That suggests miners are not just chasing short-term margins, but are also still investing for the long term.
What This Means for Bitcoin
For European crypto readers, this matters because Bitcoin's security is directly tied to how much computing power is on the network. A hashrate close to record levels makes the network more expensive to attack and shows that mining infrastructure keeps adapting, even as big players sign AI contracts.
The shift toward AI and HPC is also about more than Bitcoin. Large miners are increasingly looking for more predictable revenue, while data center customers usually sign longer contracts. That makes the sector less dependent on the ups and downs of mining revenue, but it also means the distribution of computing power across regions and players can change faster.
The competition between AI and miners also plays a role here: Buterin said AI firms in expensive locations can bid on power and infrastructure faster than Bitcoin miners. That makes the shift now visible in the sector even more important.
