BTC reaches unprecedented 'deep value' territory as price metric shatters historical records in 2026
February's decline below $60,000 saw Bitcoin establish unprecedented records for "deep value" when measured against the network's hash rate.
According to a prominent market analyst, Bitcoin (BTC) has entered "off the chart" territory when evaluating value-for-money metrics, as the divergence between price and hash rate reaches unprecedented levels.
Key points:
- The relationship between Bitcoin price movements and hash rate is showing a divergence unprecedented in historical data.
- Measurements from the Bitcoin Yardstick indicator reveal that price has entered its "deep value" territory.
- Despite BTC price experiencing a 40% drawdown, hash rate maintains levels near its all-time peaks.
Bitcoin Yardstick registers unprecedented "deep value" levels
In a recent update shared with his X audience regarding the Bitcoin Yardstick indicator, Charles Edwards, who founded Capriole Investments, a hedge fund focused on Bitcoin and digital assets, verified that the metric had entered previously uncharted territory.
The methodology behind the Bitcoin Yardstick involves dividing the total market capitalization by the network hash rate, with normalization applied across a two-year timeframe. This calculation yields an assessment of Bitcoin's "value" at any particular combination of price point and hash rate measurement.
When Edwards first unveiled the metric back in 2022, he described it as "Similar in concept to a 'PE Ratio,' except instead of stock earnings, the Bitcoin Yardstick is taking the ratio of energy work done to secure the Bitcoin network in relation to price."
"Lower readings = cheaper Bitcoin = better value."
During February of the current year, Bitcoin produced the lowest readings ever recorded on the Yardstick metric, surpassing even the depressed levels witnessed during the 2022 bear market downturn.
Following the cryptocurrency's descent to 15-month lows in the vicinity of $59,000 during the early part of that month, the Yardstick reading dropped to 0.35 — a level that falls below one standard deviation from its mean, which Edwards has identified as the threshold that must be crossed for Bitcoin to qualify as "cheap."
At present, the Yardstick registers a reading of 0.40, maintaining its position firmly within "cheap" range when evaluated against the network's hash rate.
"Bitcoin yardstick is literally off the chart in deep value," Edwards told X followers this week.
Hash rate maintains resilience through 40% price decline
Mining operations for Bitcoin have faced significant challenges throughout this year amid declining prices, yet the hash rate continues to hover around the one zettahash per second (ZH/s) threshold, according to statistics compiled by BitInfoCharts.
This dynamic has produced a situation where the hash rate decline has been considerably less severe compared to the price decline, with current prices sitting more than 40% beneath the all-time peak levels established in October 2025.
In early March, Edwards observed a "measured collapse" in the volume of BTC being sold by mining operations as prices began recovering from their lowest points, characterizing this development as something that has historically always proven "bullish."
In prior coverage, Cointelegraph had documented the diminishing influence that miners exert over price dynamics in the current era characterized by institutional investment participation.