Share this article

Bitcoin Network Hashrate Rose Slightly in First Two Weeks of May: JPMorgan

Mining gross margins expanded sequentially this month, which is encouraging, the bank said.

JPMorgan building (Shutterstock)
Bitcoin network kashrate rose slightly in the first two weeks of may: JPMorgan. (Shutterstock)

What to know:

  • The Bitcoin network hashrate rose 2% in the first two weeks of May, the report said.
  • JPMorgan said mining economics improved as the bitcoin price rose and gross margins expanded.
  • The hashprice, a metric of daily mining profitability, rose 13% from April, the bank said.

The Bitcoin network hashrate rose 2% in the first two weeks of May to an average of 885 exahashes per second (EH/s), Wall Street bank JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report Friday.

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.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters

Miner profitability improved in May, as the price of bitcoin

rose, and gross margins expanded, the bank said.

The hashprice, a measure of daily mining profitability, rose 13% from April, which the bank said was "encouraging."

"We estimate miners earned ~$50,100 in daily block reward revenue per EH/s over the first two weeks of the month, up 13% from last month and 3% y/y," analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce wrote.

U.S.-listed miners maintained their share of the network hashrate, and currently account for about 30.5% of the network, a 1.1% increase from April, the bank said.

The total market cap of the 13 U.S.-listed bitcoin mining stocks that the bank tracks rose 24%, or $4.6 billion, this month.

Bitdeer (BTDR) outperformed with a 43% gain, while Greenidge (GREE) underperformed the sector with a 5% decline, the report said.

Read more: Bitcoin Miners With HPC Exposure Underperformed BTC for Third Straight Month: JPMorgan

Will Canny

Will Canny is an experienced market reporter with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry. He's now covering the crypto beat as a finance reporter at CoinDesk. He owns more than $1,000 of SOL.

Picture of CoinDesk author Will Canny