In brief

  • The Ethereum hash rate has hit an all time high of 250 terahashes per second.
  • The record comes alongside a growth in the DeFi industry.
  • The hash rate has been steadily increasing throughout 2020.

The Ethereum hash rate has set a new record of 250 terahashes per second, according to data from Glassnode. The rate has also jumped by 80% since the beginning of the year. 

The hash rates measure the processing power of a blockchain. The Ethereum hash rate measures the sum of total miners currently active on the network, and, as decentralized finance (DeFi) continues to grow, the Ethereum network’s hash rate is breaking record highs. 

“Ethereum miners have pushed the hash rate to a new record in high in the wake of the DeFi hype and surging fees,” Glassnode tweeted. 

According to the data, the Ethereum hash rate’s previous high was approximately 246 terahashes per second, hitting this figure on August 9, 2018. But now, the has rate has broken the 250 mark.

It has been a good year for the Ethereum hash rate. Starting the year at about 144 terahashes per second, the 200 terahashes per second mark was broken in August of this year, before steadily rising to these unprecedented heights. 

Much of this success is credited to the rising success of the DeFi industry. “The Ethereum network is going from strength to strength, with the recent increase of DeFi related activity, network usage is at all-time highs,” said Charles Storry, co-founder of PhutureDAO.

This is also good news for the security of the network. A 51% attack on a blockchain is when a group of miners take over the network and can censor transactions. But to do this, they have to control more than half the hash rate. The higher the hash rate—the safer the network is.