It's time for Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) investors to ignore its price and focus on other metrics. Two in particular: hash rate and mining difficulty. 

Hash rate is a statistic that measures the computational power required to mine Bitcoin. You could think of it like horsepower in a car. When Bitcoin's hash rate increases, it means that the network is becoming more powerful. 

The other metric is mining difficulty, which quantifies the chance of successfully mining Bitcoin. The two are strongly correlated, so as one increases or decreases the other eventually follows. 

This is because Bitcoin's mining difficulty is automatically adjusted every two weeks to ensure that the creation of a new block always takes around 10 minutes. If there is an influx of miners or if miners begin using more powerful computers, mining difficulty is increased so that blocks aren't created too quickly. If there is an exodus of miners from the network for some reason, the difficulty is lowered so that the limited number of miners can continue to maintain a block time of 10 minutes. All of this is calculated automatically by Bitcoin's code and requires no oversight. It's truly quite spectacular.

Increases in mining difficulty and hash rate are viewed as a sign that the Bitcoin network is becoming more decentralized and secure. These characteristics are viewed as crucial underpinnings that make Bitcoin different from other cryptocurrencies.

What crypto winter?

Even though Bitcoin's price is still down more than 65% from its all-time high, the hash rate and mining difficulty have largely ignored the crypto winter; both currently sit just shy of an all-time high. 

Since May 2021, when China outlawed Bitcoin mining, the two metrics have risen almost continuously. Just a year and a half later, in Nov. 2022, the network had recovered from the mass exodus of Chinese miners and regained previous levels. Even better, Bitcoin's hash rate hit a new all-time high just this January and, like clockwork, its mining difficulty also notched a new all-time high just days later. 

This increase in mining difficulty and hash rate is likely due to a handful of factors, but the most compelling explanation is related to the massive bull run Bitcoin went on in 2021. As miners raked in the profits, they were able to scale up their operations due to the increase in cash flow. In addition, technology itself has come a long way. Newer, more capable computers are now coming online to mine Bitcoin. With more miners and stronger computers, hash rate and mining difficulty increase.

Due to this continued growth in Bitcoin's security and decentralization, an investment today is as alluring as ever. Never before has Bitcoin's price tumbled the way it did in 2022 and its network grown at the same time. Historically, a rise in hash rate and mining difficulty is viewed as a bullish trend. While we are still in the midst of a crypto winter, there is reason to be optimistic for Bitcoin's future. In preparation for that future, I'm a buyer at today's discounted prices.