The Bitcoin (BTC) network hashrate reached a record high of 544 exahashes per second (EH/s).

According to Blockchain.com, the hash rate reached a record high on Dec. 25. The network’s hash rate has doubled this year, rising 130% since January.

Notably, during the same period that BTC’s hash rate increased, the asset’s price almost followed suit, rising more than 150% since Jan. 1, 2023.

At the same time, the hash price, a measure of profitability, has fallen over the past week as the Ordinals’ craze for BRC-20 has cooled. According to HashrateIndex, the hash price is currently $0.09 per terahash per second per day. Profitability fell 34% from its 2023 high of $0.136 TH/s/day on Dec. 17.

In addition, on Dec. 23, Bitcoin mining difficulty updated its historical record past weekend. The indicator increased by 6.98% to 72.01 T, according to BTC.com. The previous maximum was recorded on Nov. 26, when the difficulty reached 67.96 T. On Jan. 5, 2024 the difficulty of mining the first cryptocurrency is predicted to increase by another 1.6% to 73.16 T.

The difficulty of mining is growing as the price of Bitcoin rises. The BTC rate at the time of writing is hovering around $42,700, according to CoinGecko. Over the past month, the asset has risen in price by 13% and reached new highs since April 2022. Several analysts also think Bitcoin will see a major parabolic uptrend after the next halving in April 2024.