Bitcoin miners saw another mining difficulty adjustment on Wednesday night, with an increase of 13.24%, according to data from BTC.com.
Fast facts
- The mining difficulty level is now at 17.62 trillion at block height 697,536, reflecting a 13.24% increase from the last adjustment, the data showed.
- The latest adjustment follows two increases after four consecutive declines since May. The total Bitcoin hashrate has been steadily recovering since July 3, as suggested by data from Blockchain.com. The total hashrate had been nose-diving from mid-May, plunging from 180.67 million terahashes per second — an all-time high — to 84.79 million on July 3, the lowest since September 2019, according to the data.
- Bitcoin mining difficulty is a measure of how hard a miner would have to work to “dig out” Bitcoins. The difficulty level undergoes an adjustment every 2,016 blocks, which usually takes about two weeks, and would be affected by the changes in mining hashrate. The more difficult to mine Bitcoin, the less profitable for miners.
- When the hashrate increases, the mining difficulty typically follows. That said, the expected mining difficulty increase could be largely due to a recovering hashrate.
- The hashrate moves are considered largely due to the acceleration of mining operations out of China. As China continues cracking down on crypto mining, many miners have fled China for other places that appear to be more regulation-friendly and offer inexpensive power. Some of the top destinations for displaced Chinese miners have included North America, Kazakhstan and Northern Europe.