A key measure of the health of the bitcoin network has tumbled 50% from its peak in May following China's crypto crackdown

• The hash rate of bitcoin has dropped 50% from its peak its May, according to data from The Block.
• The hash rate is at the lowest level since May 2020, and has notched the largest drop in history.
• On May 14, the hash rate fell from 180 EH/s to its current value of 90 EH/s.

The hash rate of bitcoin has dropped 50% from its peak its May, falling to its lowest level in a year, according to data from The Block.

On May 14, the hash rate fell from 180 EH/s to its current value of 90 EH/s, according to The Block.

This decline - the largest in bitcoin's history - bucked the long-term upward trend that has been historically seen.

The hash rate is a key measure of how much computing power is supporting the network. It is also important to the bitcoin security protocol that prevents any double-spending of bitcoin.

The dip can largely be attributed to China's intensifying crackdown on bitcoin mining. The Asian superpower is currently the world's largest bitcoin miner, accounting for over 65% of activity, according to data from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance.

In the past, there has also been a high correlation between the hash rate and bitcoin's price, which could signal further pain to come for the world's largest cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin in recent days has been trading rangebound at just around half its April peak price of nearly $65,000. It was down by 3.76%, to $34,606 as of 9:06 a.m. ET.