Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits New ATH After Four Consecutive Increases
In the latest adjustment, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty surged by 3.45%, setting a new all-time high.
Bitcoin Mining Difficulty (Yellow) and BTC Price (Black). Source: Glassnode
The mining difficulty for Bitcoin increased by 3.45% in the adjustment on September 14, surpassing the previous peak set in May 2022, thus marking a new record. This is the fourth consecutive adjustment since mid-July where the mining difficulty has risen.
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty is an automatic mechanism that adjusts in response to fluctuations in hash rate (mining power) across the network. With hash rates reaching new highs recently, the mining difficulty has been raised to ensure that the average block time on the Bitcoin network remains around 10 minutes per block.
Bitcoin Network Hash Rate (Yellow) and BTC Price (Black). Source: Glassnode
Given the recent significant increase in hash rate, some have speculated that block times might shorten, potentially leading to an earlier-than-expected Bitcoin halving. However, due to the difficulty adjustment mechanism, the next halving is still projected to occur around May 2024.
In the past 24 hours, Bitcoin's price has dropped sharply below $20,000 following disappointing U.S. inflation data for August.
