[Bitcoin Now] 'Luna Adversity' Causes Price Plunge... Mining Difficulty Also Drops

Mining Computational Power Hashrate
21% Decrease Compared to Pre-Luna Incident
Miners Also Selling Holdings

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] As cryptocurrency prices showed weakness due to the Luna crash incident, the Bitcoin hashrate has been steadily declining. The hashrate refers to the computational power used for cryptocurrency mining.

According to cryptocurrency mining information site CoinWarz, as of 11:42 PM (local time) on the 2nd, the Bitcoin hashrate recorded 186.28 exahashes (EH/s). Compared to 194.59 exahashes at 10 PM the previous day, it fell by 4.27%. Furthermore, it plunged 21.83% compared to early last month before the Luna incident, when it was 238.30 exahashes. Around 6 PM on the 2nd, it even dropped to 175.56 exahashes, the lowest this month.

The downward trend in the hashrate appears to be due to the decline in Bitcoin prices, which lowered mining profitability relative to costs, reducing competition. Bitcoin is designed so that the fewer miners participate, the lower the difficulty becomes. As the hashrate decreases, mining becomes relatively easier, increasing the likelihood of further Bitcoin price drops.

According to cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 10:59 AM on the same day, Bitcoin’s price rose 2.48% from the previous day to $30,522 (approximately 37.9 million KRW). This rise followed the U.S. Nasdaq index, which showed a synchronized movement and increased by 2.69% on the 2nd (local time). On the 5th of last month, Bitcoin reached the $39,000 range, but after the Luna incident, it dropped by $3,000 (approximately 3.73 million KRW) within just three hours. Subsequently, on the 12th of last month, it plunged to as low as $26,760 (approximately 33.25 million KRW). The massive crash in the cryptocurrency market occurred after the prices of TerraUSD (UST) and Luna Classic, stablecoins structured to be pegged to $1, fell. Not only the market-leading Bitcoin but also altcoin prices dropped sharply. As a result, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization shrank from $1.717 trillion (approximately 2,131.48 trillion KRW) in early last month to $1.239 trillion (approximately 1,539.33 trillion KRW) on this day.

Additionally, news emerged that miners are selling off their holdings due to the Bitcoin price decline. Cryptocurrency specialized media CoinDesk cited a research note from Bitcoin mining service company Compass Mining, explaining that the amount of Bitcoin miners are transferring to cryptocurrency exchanges reached its highest point since January this year. Compass Mining stated, "Miners are suffering due to the recent price crash," and forecasted, "Combined with the decline in mining difficulty, miners will face a profitability wall."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.