Cryptocurrency mining is still on the rise despite huge price drops

Matthew Sparkes is a writer.

Despite a global drop in prices, cryptocurrencies still consume increasing amounts of computer power.

Although mining costs may be predictable, income varies because of the fluctuations in the value of thecryptocurrencies. On 8 November last year, the price of the virtual currency was over $500,000, while on 15 May this year it was less than half that. Over the same period, the price of ether has dropped.

The miners seem to be unaffected by the falls. They get cryptocurrencies by doing intensive computing. The total hashrate of the network is at all-time highs. The latest data from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance shows that it reached a rate of over 200 exahashes per second in February. The drop in prices has proven to be resilient to the miners.