Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits New High Just 2 Months Before Halving

For the first time in history, Bitcoin's mining difficulty algorithm has surpassed the 80 trillion hash mark, indicating miners are still actively competing to extract BTC as the halving event approaches.

Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits New High Just 2 Months Before Halving

Following the latest adjustment on the early morning of February 16, Bitcoin's mining difficulty surged by 8.24% to reach 81.7 trillion hashes, setting a new record.

Meanwhile, the average hashrate of the BTC network stands at 545.04 EH/s, slightly down from the peak of 581.15 EH/s earlier in February.

Recent Bitcoin mining difficulty adjustments statistics. Source: BTC.com

Bitcoin's mining difficulty algorithm is a mechanism that autonomously adjusts within the world's largest cryptocurrency network. Every 2,016 blocks (approximately every 2 weeks), the mining algorithm undergoes changes to maintain a target block generation time of approximately 10 minutes. If the hashrate increases, indicating more miners are active, the system increases the difficulty; conversely, it decreases if the hashrate declines.

Since mid-2023, Bitcoin's mining difficulty has continuously risen from 51 trillion hashes, consistently setting new all-time highs. This illustrates cryptocurrency miners' increasing focus on BTC in anticipation of the upcoming halving event.

Bitcoin mining difficulty fluctuations (in blue) and BTC price (in black) from December 2020 to present. Source: Blockchain.com

Halving is another automatic mechanism of Bitcoin designed to introduce deflationary pressure. Approximately every 210,000 blocks, the mining reward for creating new blocks halves. In the upcoming halving, the block reward will reduce from the current 6.25 BTC to only 3.125 BTC.

Some observers even predict that with the current surge rate, Bitcoin's mining difficulty could reach 100 trillion hashes before the halving.

Bitcoin's fourth halving event in history is scheduled around April 21, 2024 (Vietnam time), expected to initiate a new growth cycle for the cryptocurrency market.

Countdown to Bitcoin's halving event in April 2024. Source: Blockchair

However, research from Galaxy Digital suggests that the Bitcoin network could lose between 15-20% of its mining capacity post-halving, as miners upgrade from older generation machines to newer, more efficient ones, with mining rewards halved, profitability may no longer offset costs.

Bitcoin prices have rebounded strongly since November 2023, driven by momentum from Bitcoin spot ETFs, recently surging to $52,800 USD - the highest level since late December 2021, one month after the world's largest cryptocurrency hit an ATH of $69,000 USD.