The Bitcoin network hashrate rose 4% in the first two weeks of the month to an average of 937 exahashes per second (EH/s), Wall Street bank JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report Monday.
The hashrate refers to the total combined computational power used to mine and process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain, and is a proxy for competition in the industry and mining difficulty.
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The combined hashrate of the 13 U.S.-listed miners the bank tracks rose 94% year-on-year, almost double the 48% increase in the network hashrate. The U.S. miners now account for 33.6% of the global figure, the highest level on record.
“We estimate miners earned ~$56,300 in daily block reward revenue per EH/s over the first two weeks of the month, down 2% from last month,” analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce wrote.
The hashprice, a measure of daily mining profitability, also fell 2% from the end of July, the report said.
The total market cap of the bitcoin mining companies that the bank covers added 6% to $33.7 billion this month. Operators with high-performance computing (HPC) exposure outperformed after TeraWulf (WULF) announced a colocation deal with Fluidstack, and an investment from internet giant Google (GOOG).
TeraWulf exploded higher in the first two weeks of August, with a 74% gain. Riot Platforms (RIOT) underperformed with a 16% decline, the report added.
Read more: Bitcoin Mining Profitability Rose 2% in July Amid BTC Price Rally, Jefferies Says