Hash Rate

The combined ‘hashing’ power that secures the Bitcoin blockchain. Because Bitcoin is based on a “Proof of Work” consensus mechanism based on hash functions, Bitcoin is secured by hashing, which is measured by its hash rate. The security model consists of repeated hash functions, and the hash rate is composed of the combined calculations of every miner on the network to solve those hash functions. Generally, the higher a network hash rate, the greater level of security is for a given blockchain. When referring to security, this means there is a mathematical guarantee that no single miner controls a majority of the Bitcoin hash rate. If any single actor did, they could execute a 51% attack, which is similar to a “hostile takeover” of a blockchain. If one person possesses a higher hash rate than the rest of the network combined, an attacker has the ability to rewrite the protocol rules and manipulate data on the network, such as double-spend their own prior transactions.