Bitcoin network reaches 1 Exahash/s
1 Exa = 1x10^18
Screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/FVrnXJW.jpg
Source: https://blockchain.info/charts/hash-rate?timespan=2year&showDataPoints=false&daysAverageString=1&show_header=true&scale=0&address=
2 threads
And still just ~5 transactions per second.
Since the two things are not really connected (as far as I understand)...
Correct. The amount of hashing power is correlated with how difficult it is to manipulate the network, but not with the rate at which coins are mined or transactions are processed.
I expect this to drop off after the reward halving. It's a constant zero sum game, but I don't expect the halving to propel the price so much that the hashing power is maintainable.
That's a lot of power consumption.
Compared to what?