Bitcoin Hash Rate Record Highs Shows Miners Are Long-Term Bullish

Bitcoin continues to set new records for its network hash rate this month, a sign that miners have shaken off weak price performance.

Data from monitoring resource Blockchain confirmed hash rate hit 114 quintillion hashes per second on Oct. 23.Bitcoin network hash rate.

Hash rate refers to the overall computing power involved in validating transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain.

More power suggests greater network security, as well as interest in the profitability potential of Bitcoin mining.

In other words, miners are anticipating higher Bitcoin prices in the future.

Miner profitability being tested with the latest price dropAs Cointelegraph reported, the network hash rate appeared to experience volatility last month, with Blockchain's reading falling 40% in one day before analysts explained the statistics did not imply miners were deserting Bitcoin.

The mounting hash rate in the face of a falling Bitcoin price underscores their dedication to investing in the industry - and its future profitability.

According to investor Dovey Wan, Bitmain's Antminer S9 mining rig model - one of the most popular miners int he world - is already in the red at current prices, even before miscellaneous costs such as electricity are taken into account.

It remains to be seen if the latest drop in Bitcoin price will have a negative impact on the hash rate.

From May 2020, miners will compete for half as many new Bitcoins per new block as now - 6.25 BTC instead of 12.5 BTC. With the equivalent of up to $63 million unavailable each week, commentators widely expect the block halving event to dramatically boost the Bitcoin price.