Bitcoin miners received a welcomed break on Wednesday as the network’s difficulty dropped by 4.6% at block height 862,848. This adjustment makes the process of finding a block subsidy 4.6% easier for the next two weeks, compared to the previous 2,016 blocks which had the highest difficulty level ever recorded.
Before the adjustment, bitcoin’s difficulty remained steady at 92.67 trillion between block heights 860,832 and 862,848. During this period, the hashprice, which represents the estimated daily earnings per petahash per second (PH/s) of SHA256 hashpower, was valued at $41.12 per PH/s. Currently, the spot hashprice has risen to $45.79 per PH/s, showing an 11.35% increase as bitcoin (BTC) hovers around the $64,000 mark.
Following the recent adjustment, bitcoin’s difficulty now stands at 88.40 trillion. In the world of bitcoin mining, miners are constantly guessing numbers in an attempt to find one lower than the target set by the network. The difficulty level of 88.40 trillion reflects the challenge miners face in this guessing game.
At this difficulty level, miners need to make an average of 88.40 trillion guesses before discovering the correct number and successfully mining a block. When the difficulty decreases, as it did recently, the task of finding blocks becomes slightly easier for miners.
The network’s hashrate is currently operating at 638.82 exahash per second (EH/s). While the hashrate reached a record 693 EH/s on September 8, it dropped to 621 EH/s by September 16 before rebounding to its current level. With the recent difficulty adjustment making mining blocks easier, the hashrate is expected to continue rising. Additionally, the increase in bitcoin’s price, up 4.6% against the U.S. dollar this week, provides further incentive for miners.
The drop in difficulty by 4.6% has implications for the mining community. It will be interesting to see how miners adapt to this change and whether it leads to an increase in mining activity. Share your thoughts and opinions on this topic in the comments section below.