Bitcoin mining difficulty, which gauges the level of complexity in solving the intricate cryptographic puzzles integral to the mining process, surpassed 80 trillion on Friday, February 16th.
As per BTC.com, the network’s hash rate, indicating the cumulative computational power utilised by miners, achieved 562.81 exahashes per second (EH/s), with the mining difficulty reaching a peak of 81.73 trillion.
The escalation in Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty has been consistent since January 2023, with forecasts anticipating a climb to 100 trillion in the imminent months.
In Bitcoin’s proof-of-work consensus mechanism, heightened difficulty necessitates miners to employ greater computational power and energy to uncover the correct hash.
Over the past year, Bitcoin’s difficulty level has more than doubled.
During its automatic readjustment on February 15th, Bitcoin mining difficulty was slated to surge by an estimated 6%.
If this transpires, data from monitoring resource BTC.com suggests it will propel the difficulty to unprecedented heights above 80 trillion for the first time.
On February 16th, Bitcoin maintained a value of $52,000 at the commencement of Wall Street trading, buoyed by the revelation of surpassing expectations in the latest United States macro data.
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Figures from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView depicted a stagnant BTC price performance as the week’s final TradFi trading session unfolded.
In April, Bitcoin’s mining rewards are set to halve in what is termed the Bitcoin Halving.
As a hedge against inflation, Bitcoin’s developers integrated this reduction into the token’s structure approximately every four years, with the previous halving transpiring in May 2020.
The forthcoming halving will diminish Bitcoin’s rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
This adjustment may lead to a reduced hash rate, with less efficient miners grappling to cover expenses and potentially shutting down their mining rigs.
Consequently, a diminished hash rate is likely to precipitate a decline in Bitcoin mining difficulty as the network endeavours to sustain a consistent block production rate every 10 minutes.
Analysts from Galaxy Digital speculate that as much as 20% of Bitcoin’s existing hash rate could deactivate post the Bitcoin halving, leaving only the most efficient mining rigs operational.
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