A hash rate is an important aspect of blockchain operations and mining that is often discussed in the crypto community. Get to know what this term means by reading the explanation below.
What Is A Hash Rate?
The term “hash rate” reflects the total combined computational power used by a Proof-of-Work (PoW) crypto network to process transactions. It can also be utilized as a measure of the speed at which a mining machine performs hashing computations.
What You Need To Know About The Hash Rate
To fully understand the hash rate definition, you need to know what a hash is.
Miners use digital devices to perform computations on complex mathematical puzzles based on transaction data, generating numerous solution guesses per second. These guesses are hashes – alphanumeric codes that are randomized to identify a unique piece of data. The first block of transaction data to achieve the correct solution is considered valid.
A valid hash must be authenticated by other miners in the PoW network. This is done by means of estimating whether the appropriate amount of computational power was used to produce it. Once a block is validated, it’s added to the chain and the miner receives newly minted cryptocurrency.
Note that the hash rate is directly proportional to the profitability of a mining pool or a miner. Besides, the more computers compete to validate transactions, the higher the hash rate and the more secure a PoW blockchain is.
Some examples of cryptocurrencies that currently use the Proof of Work algorithm to confirm transaction blocks are:
- Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Cash
- Dogecoin
- Litecoin
- Monero
The way the hash rate is represented differs from one network to another, and even from miner to miner. Some common hash rate notations you are likely to encounter are:
| Notation | Hashes per second |
| KH/s (kilo) | 1,000 |
| MH/s (mega) | 1,000,000 |
| GH/s (giga) | 1,000,000,000 |
| TH/s (tera) | 1,000,000,000,000 |
| PH/s (peta) | 1,000,000,000,000,000 |
| EH/s (exa) | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 |
For instance, Bitcoin measures hash rate in exahashes per second, while Litecoin and Dogecoin use TH/s.
