This Will Enhance Network Security and Demonstrate Miner Confidence
According to a new report by investment firm Coinshares, Bitcoin’s network computing power is set to surpass the unprecedented threshold of 1 zettahash per second (ZH/s) as early as July 2025. Reaching this milestone significantly exceeds previous forecasts and indicates an enhanced level of network security, while also demonstrating miners’ high degree of confidence in the future of the first cryptocurrency. Coinshares experts also predict further growth to 1.28 ZH/s by the end of 2025 and potentially up to 2.0 ZH/s by early 2027.
Bitcoin Hashrate Exceeds Projections
According to the Coinshares report, Bitcoin’s network hashrate ended 2024 at 778 exahashes per second (EH/s), slightly exceeding the company’s earlier projection of 765 EH/s. Analysts attribute this performance primarily to the strong bitcoin price action throughout the year, which incentivized miners to deploy their hardware more rapidly.
Looking ahead, the Coinshares team predicts a continued surge in computing power, reaching 1.28 ZH/s by the end of 2025 and potentially hitting 2.0 ZH/s by early 2027. This exponential growth underscores the increasing investment and competition within the bitcoin mining sector.
“Miners are actively investing in the latest equipment, which indicates a high level of confidence in Bitcoin’s future and its long-term profitability,” the report notes. This dynamic sharply contrasts with the pessimistic forecasts that emerged after the last halving, when some experts predicted a “mining death spiral.”
Reaching the milestone of 1 zettahash per second is highly significant because it indicates a more secure and resilient network. This metric further reduces the already limited prospects of the Bitcoin network suffering a 51% attack. Additionally, an increased hashrate suggests that bitcoin miners are investing significantly in mining hardware, which itself demonstrates confidence in bitcoin’s future and profitability.
Mining Profitability: Mixed Forecasts
Despite the bullish outlook for hashrate growth, the Coinshares report also provides insights into hash prices—a key metric for miner profitability. While hash prices have seen a modest rebound this year, Coinshares’ proprietary forecasting model points to a gradual structural decline. The report suggests that hash prices are likely to remain range-bound between $35 and $50 per petahash per day (PH/day) through the 2028 bitcoin halving cycle.
Notably, the average hash price is projected to fall below $40 by the first quarter of 2026. This anticipated decline reflects ongoing efficiency gains in mining hardware and increasing competitive pressure within the mining sector, as more participants deploy advanced and powerful machines.
“We’re observing a paradoxical situation where miners continue to increase capacity despite the projected decline in their profitability,” comments Christopher Bendiksen, head of Coinshares’ research division. “This can be explained by several factors, including strategic positioning before the halving, expectations of significant bitcoin price appreciation, and access to cheap energy sources in certain regions.”
This dynamic also indicates the changing economics of mining, where long-term strategic decisions are beginning to prevail over short-term profitability metrics. Mining companies increasingly operate as high-tech energy enterprises, optimizing their operations with consideration for multiple factors, including energy prices, equipment efficiency, and cryptocurrency price forecasts.
Bitcoin Mining vs. Gold Mining: Fundamental Similarities and Differences
Meanwhile, the Coinshares report addresses the gold and bitcoin debate recently reignited by the precious metal’s rally, which has seen its price increase by more than 30% year-to-date. However, unlike other reports which focus on these assets’ store of value characteristics, the Coinshares report instead zeroes in on a fundamental similarity: both assets are introduced through mining.
“Although both gold and bitcoin mining are characterized by cyclical economics, significant capital investment, and a notable reliance on energy markets, the way these assets are ‘unearthed’—one physically, the other digitally—creates profound divergences that shape their industries,” the report states.
Therefore, while gold mining involves identifying deposits, securing permits, and deploying heavy machinery for ore extraction, bitcoin mining operates digitally—a continuous computational race using specialized ASIC miners, electricity, and the internet to solve complex mathematical problems. Winners settle transactions and earn new coins plus fees (Proofs of Work).
Mining’s inherent cost underpins both assets’ scarcity: bitcoin’s via immutable code and competition; gold’s via physical, geological limitations.
“Bitcoin mining, by contrast, is much more dynamic and unpredictable. Company revenues depend not only on the relatively volatile market price of bitcoin but on their share of the global hashrate (read: global competition). If others expand their operations more aggressively, your relative output can decline even if your mining operations do not change. It’s an ongoing variance to consider for operators,” the Coinshares report states.
This fundamental difference in mining dynamics explains why the bitcoin market often exhibits higher volatility compared to the gold market, despite similar store of value functions. The constant competition for computing power creates an additional layer of complexity that is absent in traditional extractive industries.
Nevertheless, reaching the level of 1 zettahash indicates that despite this unpredictability, the bitcoin mining industry continues to evolve and attract significant investment. This strengthens bitcoin’s status as an established asset class and confirms its ability to compete with traditional stores of value, including gold, in the long term.