NIST is planning a competition to develop one or more cryptographic 'hash' algorithms to augment and revise the current Secure Hash Standard (Federal Information Processing Standard 180-2).

A hash rate is the measure of the computational power in a proof-of-work cryptocurrency miner, pool, or network. High hash rates equal better odds of winning.

Bitcoin's hash rate has been reaching all time highs this year. But what is it? What does it mean? And why is it a measurement of health of the network?