What is hash rate? How computing power secures Bitcoin
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
Hash rate is the total computing power that miners put into a proof-of-work blockchain such as Bitcoin. It is measured in hashes per second, and it shows how much work the network is doing to secure itself.
What a hash is
A hash is a short, fixed-length fingerprint of a piece of data, created by a maths function. Change even one character of the data and the hash changes completely. Miners try trillions of guesses to find a hash that meets the network's target.
How hash rate and difficulty work together
- Miners make guesses, each producing a hash.
- The network counts how quickly blocks are being found.
- If blocks come too fast, the network raises the difficulty.
- If blocks come too slowly, it lowers the difficulty, keeping block times steady.
Why it matters
A higher hash rate makes a blockchain harder to attack, because an attacker would need to control a very large share of the total computing power. Hash rate is often quoted as a sign of a network's security, but it does not predict price.
Where SendPay fits
SendPay does not offer mining. A SendPay platform lets your customers buy, sell and hold crypto next to their cash, with assets held with regulated partners and a trading fee you set.
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This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. PayPal, Patreon and Substack are named as reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.