The Bitcoin network hashrate rose 2% in the first two weeks of May to an average of 885 exahashes per second (EH/s), Wall Street bank JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report Friday.
The hashrate refers to the total combined computational power used to mine and process transactions on a proof-of-work blockchain, and is a proxy for competition in the industry and mining difficulty.
Miner profitability improved in May, as the price of bitcoin BTC rose, and gross margins expanded, the bank said.
The hashprice, a measure of daily mining profitability, rose 13% from April, which the bank said was “encouraging.”
“We estimate miners earned ~$50,100 in daily block reward revenue per EH/s over the first two weeks of the month, up 13% from last month and 3% y/y,” analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce wrote.
U.S.-listed miners maintained their share of the network hashrate, and currently account for about 30.5% of the network, a 1.1% increase from April, the bank said.
The total market cap of the 13 U.S.-listed bitcoin mining stocks that the bank tracks rose 24%, or $4.6 billion, this month.
Bitdeer (BTDR) outperformed with a 43% gain, while Greenidge (GREE) underperformed the sector with a 5% decline, the report said.
Read more: Bitcoin Miners With HPC Exposure Underperformed BTC for Third Straight Month: JPMorgan