What is hash rate? Learn more about an important metric for Bitcoin

What is hash rate?

What is hash?

hash Hash means, especially in computer science, hash function, which means an algorithm for hashing data on a certain hash value. That is, converting this data into another form of data. Hashing data can be used for many different purposes, such as: for cryptography, compression, checksum generation and data indexing.

Hashing plays an important role in encrypting data in order to use cryptography for security purposes. Each output hash corresponds to the individual input data that is only accessible and irreversible.

Data of any size that is specified before hashing (hash) is referred to as input, after the hash the data is cut, merged, mixed in the form of a hash function that corresponds to the output of a length. Usually the output data is smaller than the input data. The purpose is to reduce the data size to save storage space and secondly to encrypt the data for security reasons.

Example of a bitcoin hash representing transaction data from A sending money to B:

43bdeb1c23f60abe9cb5f7275506393d245bdbb9fe75dfea5c3f977a1ee81418

Hash Algorithm Functions Are Popular Today?

CRC32

• CRC32: 8 characters, using the cyclical redundancy check algorithm. The advantage is a quick calculation and short length.

MD5

• MD5: 32 characters, using the Message Digest algorithm. Currently used widely because of its high accuracy and not too much processing.

SHA-1

• SHA-1: 40 characters, uses the Secure Hash Algorithm algorithm as part of the US government’s Capstone project. The first version, called SHA-0, was published in 1993 as the Secure Hash Standard, FIPS PUB 180, by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
• This feature was withdrawn by the US National Security Agency / NSA shortly after it was released and replaced with a revised version that was released in 1995. in FIPS PUB 180-1 and commonly referred to as SHA-1. SHA-1 generates a summary of the digit size of 160 bits (20 bytes). Collisions with the full SHA-1 algorithm can be generated using the breaking attack method. For this reason, this hash function has so far not been considered secure enough.

SHA-2

• SHA-2 is a set of cryptographic hash functions created by the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States and first published in 2001. They are created with the Merkle-Damgård structure, the function. Meyer structure from a dedicated block cipher.
• SHA-2 contains significant changes compared to its predecessor SHA-1. The SHA-2 family comprises six hash functions with messages (hash values) of 224, 256, 384 or 512 bits: SHA-224, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512, SHA-512/224, SHA -512 / 256.
• SHA-256 and SHA-512 are new hash functions that are calculated using eight 32-bit and 64-bit words, respectively. They use different amounts of displacement and constants of addition, but their structures are practically identical and only differ in the number of turns.
• SHA-224 and SHA-384 are shortened versions of SHA-256 and SHA-512, respectively, which were calculated with different initial values. SHA-512/224 and SHA-512/256 are shortened versions of SHA-512, but the initial values ​​were generated using the method described in the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS). ) PUB 180-4. .

What is hash rate?

Hash rate That said, the hash rate is a parameter that represents the computing power that triggers the computer’s algorithm to encrypt data according to a hash function used in networks with a proof-of-work consensus mechanism such as Bitcoin’s SHA-256 , Ethash is used by Ethereum, Equihash is used by Zcash etc. The hash rate represents the hash performance (computation) in the network, the security and the general attack resistance of the network.

Bitcoin hash rate

In the Bitcoin network, the Bitcoin hash rate is the computing speed of the miner to solve the SHA-256 algorithm. Hash rate is the hash power (Hash power), Hash per second (Hash per second) is a measure of a miner’s performance (the speed at which miners decrypt bitcoins). It is a unit that represents the number of double SHA-256 calculations performed in one second. The hash rate is used in any cryptocurrency that uses proof of work.

Hash per second It is also used in calculations of the total hash rate of the Bitcoin network. The overall network hash rate is calculated based on the time between blocks, which is useful when measured over long periods of time.

Hash rate determinations

The hash rate / hash power is estimated from the number of mined BTC blocks and the current difficulty of block mining. More specifically, given the average time T between mined blocks and the difficulty D, the estimated hash rate per second, H is given by the formula:

H = 2 32 DT

Bitcoin hash rate units

Hash rate unit:

• H / s (hash / sec.)
• kH / s (KiloHash / sec.)
• MH / s (megahash / sec.)
• GH / s (gigahash / sec.)
• TH / s (Terrahash / sec) and even PH / s (Petahash / sec)

Here are some commonly used units of hashrate:

Hashrate designations:

• 1 kH / s corresponds to 1,000 (one thousand) hashes per second.
• 1 MH / s is 1,000,000 (one million) hashes per second.
• 1 GH / s is 1,000,000,000 (one billion) hashes per second.
• 1 TH / s is 1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) hashes per second.
• 1 PH / s is 1,000,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) hashes per second.
• 1 EH / s is 1,000,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) hashes per second.

Corresponding conversions:

• 1 MH / s = 1,000 kH / s
• 1 GH / s = 1,000 MH / s = 1,000,000 kH / s
• 1 TH / s = 1,000 GH / s = 1,000,000 MH / s = 1,000,000,000 kH / s

The relationship between hashrate and bitcoin price

The hash rate measures the speed and performance of miners (miners). We also know as Hash power or Hash per second For the entire Bitcoin network, it represents the level of security and competition between miners across the network. The difficulty or competitiveness of the miner increases as more and more miners join the Bitcoin network, then the miners expect the price of BTC to rise. And vice versa.

The drop in hash rate also proves that miners have declined. And that resulted in a drop in the BTC price. Just like this example:

However, the hash rate of the Bitcoin network continued to rise during the dismal market of 2018, while the value of BTC fell by over 78%.

Generally, the BTC price fluctuates according to the hash rate and adjusts for a short time. But in the long run, Bitcoin is a highly profitable market, so many miners will join the network, causing Bitcoin’s value to increase over time.

Where can I track the Bitcoin hash rate?

• Block.com is a website that aggregates many Bitcoin indexes including hash rate statistics for at least 24 hours.

• Cryptocompare helps miners evaluate and calculate the amount of BTC mined according to the hash rate parameters entered
  • Hashing power: Mining speed
  • Power consumption: power consumption
  • Cost per KWh: Cost of kilowatts per hour
  • Pool fee (%): pool fee

Or at Whatomine: https://whattomine.com/coins/1-btc-sha-256 Mine parameters are determined per second to compare many types of data from excavators, mining algorithms, etc.

Conclude

Hash rate is an indispensable indicator in evaluating the Bitcoin trend to help miners have a good time participating in the Bitcoin mining network or any other network that operates the Proof of Work consensus mechanism. For merchants, too, the hash rate reflects expectations about the price of Bitcoin and the currency of this network. Readers, please follow coin68’s channel to update the latest information. All information in the article is information researched by CoinCu itself and CoinCu is not responsible for direct and indirect risks. Good luck!