Bitcoin mining economics saw a notable uptick in the first half of November, driven by a sharp rise in hashprice, according to JPMorgan’s latest research.
The hashprice, which measures the profitability of mining operations, climbed 29% since the end of October. This improvement was attributed to bitcoin’s strong rally outpacing network hashrate growth and an increase in transaction fees as a portion of total miner rewards, analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce explained in the report.
As a result, the total market value of the bitcoin mining companies tracked by JPMorgan jumped 33%—equivalent to an $8 billion increase—between Oct. 31 and Nov. 15. The surge was fueled by broader optimism in the crypto market following Donald Trump’s election victory and bitcoin’s impressive price gains of up to 30%.
The network hashrate, which represents the computational power used in bitcoin mining, rose modestly by 2% month-to-date to an average of 718 exahashes per second (EH/s). This steady growth reflects increasing competition among miners and greater mining difficulty.
JPMorgan noted that U.S.-listed mining companies now control about 28% of the global hashrate, maintaining their record-high share of the network. This highlights the growing influence of American miners in the bitcoin ecosystem.
The report underscores a rebound in mining profitability, reversing the downward trend seen in previous months, and hints at a brighter outlook for the sector as bitcoin continues its upward trajectory.