How is the Mining Stress Index different from hashprice?

Hashprice is a revenue number: dollars earned per unit of hashrate per day. The Mining Stress Index is a blend of operating conditions — recent difficulty change momentum, network revenue against a typical electricity cost baseline, and hashrate momentum — expressed as one 0–100 reading. Hashprice tells you what you earn; stress describes the environment you are earning it in.

Why did the Mining Stress Index jump suddenly?

Usually a difficulty adjustment. Difficulty moves as a step, not a curve, so when a retarget lands the difficulty-momentum component moves at once and the index moves with it. A large price move shifting network revenue against the cost baseline is the other common driver.

Can I get alerts when the index crosses a band?

Not yet. The pipeline currently publishes current values only and no alert thresholds are defined. Alerts and a stored history chart are both on the roadmap.

Mining Stress Index — Methodology

What is the Mining Stress Index?

The Mining Stress Index is BasinTwo's own composite indicator: a single number from 0 to 100 (index points) that summarises how hard the current environment is for miners on a given network — Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Dogecoin. A low reading means conditions are relatively comfortable; a high reading means several things are squeezing miners at once.

It is computed by BasinTwo's signal pipeline from chain data observed on our own full nodes, and one current value per coin is published to the dashboard. This page is the full methodology disclosure for that number.

How it's calculated

mining_stress = scale_0_to_100( blend( difficulty_momentum, revenue_vs_cost_baseline, hashrate_momentum ) )
· component weights are still being calibrated — the index is descriptive, not predictive

The index blends exactly three inputs:

1. Recent difficulty change momentum. How sharply difficulty has been moving over recent adjustments. A run of upward retargets cuts every miner's share of the network in steps, which is the most direct mechanical squeeze on revenue per unit of hashrate.

2. Network revenue vs a typical electricity cost baseline. What the network is currently paying miners (block subsidy plus fees, at current price) compared against a typical electricity cost baseline. The thinner that margin, the higher this component reads.

3. Hashrate momentum. Whether mining power is flowing onto or off the network. Fast-growing hashrate means more competition for the same block reward; falling hashrate signals that miners are already capitulating.

To be plain about the current state of this indicator: the exact weights on these three inputs are still being calibrated, and until that calibration is finished and published, the index should be read as descriptive — a summary of present conditions — not predictive of price, difficulty, or profitability going forward.

Reading the bands

0–40 · Easy

Margins are comparatively comfortable — a typical miner sees steady payouts, and even less-efficient machines can usually stay switched on.

40–70 · Elevated

Conditions are tightening — a typical miner sees thinner margins on older hardware and starts watching the next difficulty adjustment closely.

70+ · Hard

Several pressures at once — the least-efficient hardware typically struggles to cover its power bill and operators begin curtailing or powering machines down.

Why it matters for miners

Difficulty, revenue, and hashrate each tell part of the story, but they move on different clocks — difficulty in steps at each retarget, price continuously, hashrate as a noisy trend. The stress index folds them into one glanceable number so you can tell at a glance whether a rough week is your setup or the whole network.

For actual decisions — buying hardware, setting a shutdown price — use the real numbers underneath: hashprice, difficulty and the next-adjustment estimate. The stress index is context, not a trading or investment signal.

Honest limitations

No history chart yet. The pipeline currently publishes current values only, so we cannot honestly chart the index over time — and we won't fabricate a series. A stored history (and with it a chart on this page) is on the roadmap.

No alert thresholds yet. There is no alerting when the index crosses a band boundary. Alerts are on the roadmap alongside history.

Weights are not final. Because calibration is ongoing, readings may be re-scaled as the methodology settles. The three inputs themselves will not change.

FAQ

How is the Mining Stress Index different from hashprice?: Hashprice is a revenue number: dollars earned per unit of hashrate per day. The Mining Stress Index is a blend of operating conditions — recent difficulty change momentum, network revenue against a typical electricity cost baseline, and hashrate momentum — expressed as one 0–100 reading. Hashprice tells you what you earn; stress describes the environment you are earning it in.
Why did the Mining Stress Index jump suddenly?: Usually a difficulty adjustment. Difficulty moves as a step, not a curve, so when a retarget lands the difficulty-momentum component moves at once and the index moves with it. A large price move shifting network revenue against the cost baseline is the other common driver.
Can I get alerts when the index crosses a band?: Not yet. The pipeline currently publishes current values only and no alert thresholds are defined. Alerts and a stored history chart are both on the roadmap.