Bitcoin’s network hashpower is on track to reach the unprecedented milestone of 1 Zettahash per second (ZH/s) as early as July this year, according to a new report by digital asset investment firm Coinshares. This projection significantly accelerates previous estimates, highlighting the robust growth and resilience of the bitcoin mining network.

The report reveals that Bitcoin’s hashpower ended 2024 at 778 Exahash per second (EH/s), slightly exceededing Coinshares’ earlier projection of 765 EH/s. The report attributes 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 hashpower, 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.

Reaching the milestone of 1 Zettahash per second (ZH/s) is significant because it indicates a more secure and resilient network. Achieving the milestone further dashes the already limited prospects of the Bitcoin network suffering a 51% attack. In addition, an increased hashrate also suggests that bitcoin miners are investing significantly in mining hardware, which itself is a show of confidence in the future of bitcoin and its profitability.

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.

Meanwhile, the Coinshares report wades into the gold and bitcoin debate recently reignited by the former’s rally that has seen it go up by more than 30% in the year to date. However, unlike other reports which focus on the two assets’ store of value credentials, the Coinshares report instead zeroes in on a fundamental similarity: their supply is 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, according to the report.

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 ASICs, electricity, and the internet to solve complex math 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.

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