Bitcoin's 7-day average hashrate is back above 1 ZH/s, but each hosted machine earned less per unit of hashrate by late October than it did in late September. As of Oct 30, 2026, Hashrate Index says the 7-day average crossed 1,000 EH/s on Oct 11 and has held above it since. Over a similar stretch, the Hashrate Index hashprice reading fell from $40.42 on Sept 25 to about $33 by Oct 30.
Both things are true at once. A bigger network is a headline. A bigger network also splits the same block rewards across more machines.
A note on sourcing: the main source here is Hashrate Index, a Luxor product, and Fathom Labs sells and hosts miners. We have an interest in this topic, so we have shown the arithmetic and linked every figure.
The milestone, as measured on Oct 30
Different trackers put hashrate at roughly 1,025 to 1,090 EH/s depending on the series and the window. Hashrate Index's 7-day average peaked at 1,088 EH/s on Oct 26. Bitcoin.com News cited about 1,025 EH/s around the Oct 16 difficulty adjustment, and TokenPost reported about 1,065 EH/s on Oct 31, with a weekly average near 1,053 EH/s.
For context, Hashrate Index's 30-day average was about 941 EH/s in its Oct 5 update. That is a slower measure than the 7-day average, so the two are not directly comparable.
This is a re-crossing, not a record. Hashrate Index puts the October 2025 peak at about 1,156 EH/s on a 7-day basis. We covered the hashrate crossing 1 zettahash earlier if you want that background.
As for why it rose, Hashrate Index points to seasonality. Summer had ERCOT 4CP curtailment, and the network sat at 853 EH/s in June. Its September lookback links curtailed Texas fleets returning after the last 4CP peak on Sept 12 to the recovery. It also notes that October difficulty adjustments have averaged +4.25% historically, against +0.75% for June to September and +1.90% in other months (2022 to 2026). We are not aware of a source that pins the rise on any single cause beyond that.
Why more network hashrate means less per machine
Your share of bitcoin mined is your hashrate divided by the network's. Difficulty is the protocol's way of keeping blocks arriving at a steady pace as hashrate changes. When more hashrate shows up, difficulty rises, and the same block rewards get split into thinner slices.
Two adjustments in October did exactly that, per figures from mempool.space as reported by TokenPost and Hashrate Index:
- Oct 16, block 971,712: +5.92% to 140.58T, the third-largest hike of 2026 according to Bitcoin.com News.
- Oct 29, block 973,728: +5.54% to 148.36T.
Compounded, that is 1.0592 x 1.0554, or about +11.8% (our arithmetic). From the Sept 12 low of 127.45T, the cumulative rise is about 16.4%, per Hashrate Index. Current difficulty is still about 5% below the 155.97T record set on Oct 29, 2025.
Difficulty dilution example: +11.8% difficulty is about 10.6% less bitcoin per TH/s
Bitcoin earned per TH/s is proportional to 1 divided by difficulty, at a given BTC price. So take a machine that produced 100 units of bitcoin per day before the two adjustments:
1 / 1.118 = 0.894
100 units -> about 89.4 unitsThat is about 10.6% fewer bitcoin per TH/s, with the BTC price held flat. The machine did nothing differently. Its share of the network got smaller.
Did hashprice fall in October 2026?
Hashprice is expected daily revenue per PH/s, and it also depends on fees and block rewards, not just difficulty. Hashrate Index's index read $40.42 on Sept 25, $36.04 on Oct 25, about $34 after the Oct 29 adjustment, and about $33 on Oct 30 (the last figure from the Satoshi Gazette, via KuCoin). That is a fall of roughly 16% to 18% from late September.
BTC price moved too: about $80,150 on Oct 29 per Hashrate Index, which it puts 36% below its peak, and about $78,000 on Oct 30 per KuCoin. Both network growth and price moved over the period. The sources do not split the hashprice drop between them, and neither do we.
For where that hashrate sits geographically, see our post on the US share of hashrate. This one stays on the per-machine side.
What lower hashprice does to the power-cost line
When hashprice is low, power cost is the line that decides things. Here is a labeled example, not a forecast. It uses hashprice of about $33 per PH/s per day (a Luxor-associated figure as of Oct 30), and it is gross revenue, before pool fees, machine cost and everything else.
A machine at 14 J/TH draws 14 kW per PH/s (1,000 TH/s x 14 J/TH), which is 336 kWh a day. At 17.5 J/TH it draws 420 kWh a day.
Revenue: $33.00 per PH/s per day
14 J/TH (336 kWh/day)
at $0.07/kWh: $23.52 power -> about $9.48 left
at $0.08/kWh: $26.88 power -> about $6.12 left
17.5 J/TH (420 kWh/day)
at $0.07/kWh: $29.40 power -> about $3.60 left
at $0.08/kWh: $33.60 power -> about -$0.60 (power alone exceeds revenue)Efficiency and the power rate both matter, and a one-cent difference is not small at these margins. This is not a statement about any specific machine model, and the example says nothing about profit after other costs.
Fathom hosts machines purchased from us at $0.07/kWh all-in with no minimum. Bring-your-own hosting is $0.08/kWh with a 10-unit minimum. There are no performance fees and we take no share of mined output. Our hosting page has the terms, and the hosting costs page covers how the rate is built. Run your own numbers in the profitability calculator with current difficulty and price before you decide anything.
FAQ
Is the 1 ZH/s milestone good news for a hosted miner?
Not on its own. It is a sign of a larger network, and a larger network pays each machine less at a given BTC price. Whether it is good news for you depends on your power rate, your machine's efficiency and where BTC price goes. As of Oct 30, 2026, hashprice was lower than a month earlier.
How much did difficulty change in October?
Two adjustments, per figures from mempool.space as reported by TokenPost and Hashrate Index: +5.92% on Oct 16 to 140.58T and +5.54% on Oct 29 to 148.36T. Together that is about +11.8%, which is about 10.6% less bitcoin per TH/s before any price change.
Did hashprice fall only because of difficulty?
No. BTC price also fell over the period, and hashprice depends on fees and block rewards too. The sources do not apportion the drop between price and network growth, so we do not either.
Where do I check what my own machine would earn?
Use the profitability calculator with current difficulty, BTC price and your all-in power rate. If you are comparing a Whatsminer or an Antminer, or you want to talk through hosting for machines you already own, contact us.