Cody McGrath 
The hash rate of the Bitcoin network has reached a new high, increasing 400% since China banned Bitcoin mining last year.
Even as the price of the top cryptocurrency struggled to break $40K, the hash rate of the Bitcoin (BTC) network reached a new high.
On Thursday, the network’s hash rate reached a new high of 258 EH/s before settling around the 220 EH/s mark.
The recent increase in the BTC network hash rate indicates an increase in the number of miners on the blockchain. Since the Chinese crypto mining ban last year, when it fell below 70 EH/s, the Bitcoin network hash rate has increased by more than 400%.
By the end of last year, the Bitcoin network had recovered from a significant hash rate drop and was only growing in 2022.
The mining difficulty on the Bitcoin network has also increased to new historic highs, reaching 29.70 trillion. The mining difficulty is adjusted to maintain a constant block generation time of 10 minutes. A rise in mining difficulty indicates that more miners are competing for the next block to mine.
According to BTC.com data, Bitcoin mining difficulty increased by 5% on April 27 and has seen three positive and two negative re-adjustments in 2022. The next difficulty change is scheduled for May 10.
The Bitcoin network has withstood the test of time and numerous regulatory assaults. The increase in Bitcoin mining difficulty and network hash rate also comes at a time when there is a strong push for Bitcoin to transition from its current proof-of-work mining consensus to a proof-of-stake mining consensus.
Greenpeace, along with other climate organizations, and Chris Larsen, co-founder and executive chairman of Ripple (XRP), have launched a new campaign to shift Bitcoin to a more environmentally friendly consensus model. However, core Bitcoin supporters continue to support the current mining mechanism because it provides true decentralization.
While Bitcoin’s energy consumption has become a contentious issue, it has frequently been used to peddle false narratives such as “BTC will consume all available energy by 2022.” Clean mining has become a priority for several mining companies as Bitcoin has gained mainstream popularity.