Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Reaches Unprecedented Highs Amidst Challenging Market Conditions
On Wednesday, June 14, 2023, at block height 794,304, the Bitcoin network recorded its third consecutive mining difficulty increase since May 18. The mining difficulty climbed by 2.18%, bringing the overall difficulty to another unprecedented high at 52.35 trillion.
Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits All-Time High Amidst Price Dip
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty experienced yet another surge on Wednesday morning at 7:27 a.m. (ET), rising by 2.18% and making it even more challenging for bitcoin miners to uncover blocks. Before this modification, the preceding 2,016 blocks had an average hashrate of roughly 374.5 exahash per second (EH/s).
Currently, the hashrate is cruising at 329 EH/s; however, on June 11, 2023, the network notched another 24-hour all-time high of 516.61 EH/s at block height 793,868. The most recent spike in difficulty has also propelled it to a record-breaking high of 52.35 trillion. Over the last six weeks, miners have grappled with three consecutive increases and an overall increase of 8.8% since May 18, 2023.
Nevertheless, BTC prices have dipped during the last two weeks, which coupled with the heightened difficulty, makes it even more formidable for mining participants. Despite these recent hurdles, block intervals remain below ten minutes in length and saw a record-breaking hashrate just three days ago.
As of this writing, Foundry USA leads as the top mining pool with a hashrate of 131.40 EH/s for the past three days, or about 34.20% of the total hashrate. Antpool follows in second place with a hashrate of approximately 90.34 EH/s or roughly 23.52% of the global share. Foundry and Antpool are succeeded by F2pool, Binance Pool, and Viabtc.
The next difficulty retarget is scheduled after the discovery of 2,016 blocks, likely occurring around June 28, 2023. Thus far, the last two difficulty increases have not dampened miners’ determination, and the newest uptick will further put their resilience to the test.
What are your thoughts on the relentless rise in Bitcoin mining difficulty? Do you think miners will be able to overcome these challenges and maintain profitability? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
