The cryptocurrency network is set to hit another milestone this week as its bitcoin mining difficulty, a key indicator of the competition among miners, is expected to surpass the 100 trillion mark.
The difficulty of Bitcoin’s mining is currently set to 95.67 trillion according to data from CoinWarz, after a recent adjustment on October 22. Following a 6 percent increase projected later today, the difficulty is expected to rise to 101.42 trillion.
Trends in Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Over the Years
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty is adjusted every two weeks to keep the pace of new block production consistent, something which Bitcoin’s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, implemented. It is an adaptive feature which controls supply of BTC by automatically recalculation as a result of change in the mining environment.
When market conditions force miners off, difficulty drops making it easier (for those that remain) to become profitable again. The increase in this number is because it uses more miner participation and network security, but it also raises the issue of how long this sustainance can go on.
Yonsei_dent from CryptoQuant says there is a financial pressure on the industry as difficulty and hash rate reaches an all time high but few transactions fees making it extremely difficult for miners to continue to be profitable.
In fact, this represents the latest in a steady climb of difficulty seen over the last few years. Since crypto first started, Bitcoin’s difficulty has been increasing, and since 2021, it’s really been shooting up from 21.6 trillion to its current peak of 29.9 trillion with a large portion of the increase attributed to more and more miners being added to the network.
As a direct nod to Bitcoin’s beginning days, a recent solo miner completed a remarkable task: to actually mine a block alone, and literally receive the full block reward. With BTC difficulty reaching unprecedented heights, both miners and market participants are watching to see how the mining industry adapts in this most intense environment ever.
