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Bitcoin has a current market capitalization of roughly $1.9 trillion and surpassed silver’s $1.6 trillion market cap in 2024.
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More than $19 trillion in transactions settled over the Bitcoin network in 2024 — more than double the $8.7 trillion settled over the network in 2023 — reversing two years of declining transaction volume since 2021.
According to data from vice president of research at Riot Platforms Pierre Rochard, Bitcoin transaction volume peaked during the 2021 bull market at approximately $47 trillion and sharply declined in 2022 and 2023. Rochard wrote:
“The Bitcoin network finalized more than $19 trillion worth of BTC transactions in 2024, decisively proving that Bitcoin is both a store of value and a medium of exchange.”
Bitcoin (BTC) had a momentous 2024, which included the introduction of a BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, the April 2024 halving event, and a new all-time high of roughly $108,000.
Bitcoin network transaction volume 2019-2024. Source: Pierre Rochard
Related: From genesis to global: The evolution of Bitcoin since block 0
Bitcoin hashrate breaks records in early 2025
The hashrate of the Bitcoin network — the total computing power securing the Bitcoin protocol — hit a new all-time high of 1,000 exahashes per second (EH/s) on Jan. 3, 2024.
However, the hashrate quickly fell back to around 775 EH/s at the time of this writing, data from CryptoQuant shows.
US-based Bitcoin mining pools accounted for over 40% of the global hashrate in 2024, as hashrate dominance — the country controlling the most computing power on the Bitcoin network — continues to be debated.
The Bitcoin hashrate hit a new all-time high in early 2025 and has been steadily increasing over time. Source: CryptoQuant
According to TheMinerMag, two US-based mining pools, Foundry USA and MARA Pool, accounted for over 38.5% of all blocks mined in 2024.
Despite the increase in hashing power, China-based mining pools still control a majority of the hashrate on the Bitcoin network.
An accurate gauge of hashrate dominance is difficult to establish due to the pseudonymous and geographically distributed nature of Bitcoin mining.
Mining pool operators and companies may be headquartered within a country but often rely on hashrate contributed by individual miners living all around the world.
Moreover, virtual private networks (VPNs) allow users to mask their IP addresses — further obfuscating the true geolocation of miners.
Magazine: Bitcoin payments are being undermined by centralized stablecoins
This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
