The computing power of the Bitcoin network has started going up again as Chinese manufacturing companies resume business following the Coronavirus outbreak.
Bitcoin Computing Power Rising Slowly
For the first time since January this year, the computing power of Bitcoin has started rising, albeit slowly. This comes as the major Chinese miner manufacturers resume business after the outbreak of the coronavirus, which delayed the shipment of mining hardware.
Over the past week, the average hashing power on the Bitcoin network has attained a new high of 117.5 exahashes per second (EH/s). According to data obtained from PoolIn, which is one of the largest mining pools, the new hashing power is up by 5.4 percent since the 28th of January.
Hashing power is not the only thing that has improved on the Bitcoin network recently. According to data from BTC.com, it is estimated that Bitcoin’s mining difficulty, a measure of competitiveness in the field, is set to surge by 2.15% when it is adjusted over the next few days. The increase in mining difficulty is a result of the rise in the computing power of Bitcoin over the past few days.
The surge in computing power and mining difficulty of the Bitcoin network comes as the major Chinese miner manufacturers have gradually resumed shipment of their mining hardware over the past few days. The outbreak of the coronavirus has led most manufacturers to extend their Chinese New Year holiday since the end of January.
Shanghai-based MicroBT, one of the largest cryptocurrency mining hardware manufacturers, pointed out that it resumed the shipment of the mining equipment since the middle of last month. The company further added that more mining farm locations will be accessible for a month now.
Bitmain is one of the most popular mining companies in the world. The Beijing-based company revealed that it resumed local and overseas shipment of mining hardware since late last month. Their domestic repair service has also begun attending to pending issues since the 20th of February.
Slow Recovery of Computing Power
As stated, the computing power of Bitcoin has been rising in recent days. However, the surge has been slow. This is because the mining equipment manufacturers have not fully resumed the production and shipment of their hardware. At the moment, they are still operating below their capacity prior to the virus outbreak.
The chief operating officer of F2pool, Charles Chao Yu, commented that the production and logistic capacities of the manufacturers are yet to recover fully. He stated that there are still many farm locations that are currently not allowing any maintenance teams to enter.
The major manufacturers, Bitmain and MicroBT, are currently in a race to launch high-end equipment as the Bitcoin halving comes closer. The halving in May will be the third time Bitcoin’s mining reward will be slashed in its 11-year history. The mining reward will decline from 12.5 to 6.25 when the halving occurs in a few months.
Other mining hardware manufacturers, such as Canaan, are also rolling out equipment like its latest Avalon 1066 Pro model. These hardware have higher computing power and would make it easier for people to mine cryptocurrencies.
The halving could also affect the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as it has done in the past. The BTC price surged past the $10,000 mark earlier this year, but the bears seem to have now taken control, with the price now below $9,000 once again. The halving could boost the price of the cryptocurrency over the coming months.