What is Hashrate?
The estimated total computing power searching for Bitcoin blocks, usually quoted in exahashes per second (EH/s).
Hashrate cannot be measured directly — there is no register of miners. It is inferred from how quickly blocks are found relative to the current difficulty. Over long windows that inference is sound; over hours it is extremely noisy.
Higher hashrate means more work behind the chain and therefore a more expensive attack. That is what it measures: security cost.
Hashrate is not a demand indicator and not a price signal. Short-term "hashrate crash" stories are usually statistical noise in block timing.
Related terms
Difficulty
The parameter setting how hard it is to find a valid block, adjusted every 2,016 blocks to keep the average…
MiningMining
The process of assembling candidate blocks and searching for a valid proof of work, rewarded with the block…
How it worksProof of work
The mechanism that secures Bitcoin: miners must find a hash below a difficulty target, which is expensive to…
This definition is part of the Bitcoin Logical glossary. For the fuller explanation, start with Learn, or see the live numbers on The Bitcoin Signal.