Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits New Record High With 5% Rise

The Bitcoin mining difficulty has witnessed another increase in 2023, bringing the metric to a new all-time high. The Bitcoin “difficulty” is a vital aspect of the network that controls the rate at which new blocks are added to the blockchain at a given time.

Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Surges To A New High Of 67.96T

According to data from BTC Blockchain Explorer, the Bitcoin network experienced a significant adjustment at block height 818,496. This caused the blockchain’s difficulty to soar by 5.07%, reaching a new all-time high of 67.96 T.

The mining difficulty is an essential feature that measures how much power is required to verify transaction blocks on the Bitcoin blockchain. An increase in mining difficulty value suggests higher demand for the Bitcoin network, while a lower difficulty value implies that there are fewer miners on the network.

Bitcoin mining difficulty ushered in a mining difficulty adjustment at block height 818496. The mining difficulty was raised by 5.07% to 67.96 T, continuing to hit a record high. The current average hashrate of the entire network is 504.80 EH/s. https://t.co/vgAkEgyDOf

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) November 26, 2023

It is worth noting that the metric has been on an upward trend in the past few weeks. In fact, the recent mining difficulty value represents the sixth consecutive increase in the last six adjustments.

Interestingly, the new mining difficulty value surpassed the early projections for the blockchain. Initially, the Bitcoin mining difficulty was only expected to increase by about 3.8% to 67.14 T in the latest adjustment.

The network hash rate, which measures the total computing power for mining BTC, has also increased. According to BTC Blockchain Explorer, the current average hash rate for the Bitcoin network is 504.8 EH/s, a 3.76% increase from a previous hash rate of 486.5 EH/s.

Some of the factors contributing to the increasing Bitcoin mining difficulty are BTC’s recent price performance, the recent surge in network activity, and the spike in transaction fees. And as the metric continues to rise, it appears that miners will continue to face the challenge of maintaining profitability. 

BTC Price Overview

As of this writing, Bitcoin is valued at $37,510, reflecting a 0.6% price increase in the past day. While the premier cryptocurrency seems to be drifting away from the $38,000 price mark, it has managed to maintain most of its profit on the weekly timeframe.

According to data from CoinGecko, the Bitcoin price has swelled by more than 2.7% in the past seven days. Meanwhile, the market leader has registered a 10% increase in the past month, emphasizing its strong performance in November.

Bitcoin remains the largest cryptocurrency in the sector, with a market capitalization of over $733 billion.

Bitcoin price drifts away from $38,000 on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView

Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView