Bitcoin Hashrate Soars to Record Highs Amidst Declining Network Activity

Bitcoin's hashrate has surged to an all-time high, reaching 838 exahashes per second (EH/s) on a 14-day moving average and spiking to 974 EH/s on a 24-hour timeframe, according to Glassnode data. This increase contrasts with declining network activity, highlighted by Foundry USA Pool mining the emptiest "non-empty" block in over two years, containing just seven transactions. This divergence raises concerns about the sustainability of mining incentives as transaction fees average around 4 BTC per day, or roughly $377,634. Nicolas Gregory, creator of the Mercury Layer, warns that the lack of real commerce usage could jeopardize Bitcoin's future.