The Bitcoin mining difficulty has reached a new all-time high, hitting 75.50T at block height 828,576 on February 2, less than a month after the previous record increase on January 6.
This remarkable 7.33% increase in mining difficulty is the highest this year, marking the most challenging period in Bitcoin mining history. This milestone highlights the growing challenges and computational demands that Bitcoin miners face as the next halving event approaches.
The recent adjustment in mining difficulty is part of the network’s regular mechanism to maintain a consistent 10-minute block discovery time. This latest increase reflects a significant change compared to the previous adjustment on January 20, 2024, which saw a 3.90% decrease in difficulty.
The Bitcoin network adjusts its difficulty approximately every two weeks to adapt to changes in the network’s computational power, ensuring stable and secure block production.
The rising difficulty comes as the Bitcoin community approaches its fourth halving event, expected in fewer than 11,500 blocks. The halving will reduce the mining reward for each new block from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC, making mining operations even more challenging.
Despite the increasing difficulty, the Bitcoin network’s overall hash rate remains strong, with an average of 536 exahashes per second (EH/s) on the 7-day simple moving average—close to the all-time high of 566 EH/s reached on January 29, 2024.
Mining power within the Bitcoin network is concentrated in a few major pools, with Foundry USA and Antpool collectively controlling over 60% of the total hash rate. Foundry USA is currently leading the pack, contributing 31.94% to the network’s computational power, followed by Antpool.
The next mining difficulty adjustment is scheduled for February 15, 2024. The mining community will closely monitor this adjustment as it adapts to the increasing difficulty and prepares for the upcoming halving event, both of which will have significant impacts on the economics of Bitcoin mining.
The record-high mining difficulty underscores the competitive nature of Bitcoin mining and the network’s continuous growth and resilience. As miners adjust their operations to the new difficulty level, broader implications for the cryptocurrency market and network security will remain a focal point for all stakeholders.