bitcoin mining difficulty has seen another increase in 2023, taking the metric to a new all-time high. bitcoin‘s “difficulty” is a vital aspect of the network that controls the rate at which new blocks are added to the blockchain at any given time.
bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits 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 skyrocket by 5.07%, reaching a new all-time high of 67.96 T.
Mining difficulty is an essential characteristic that measures how much energy is required to verify transaction blocks on the bitcoin blockchain. An increase in the mining difficulty value suggests greater demand on 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. Mining difficulty increased by 5.07% to 67.96 T, continuing to reach 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’s worth noting that the metric has been trending upward in recent weeks. In fact, the recent mining difficulty value represents the sixth consecutive increase in the last six adjustments.
Interestingly, the new mining difficulty value exceeded the bitcoin-difficulty-see-6th-straight-surge-heres-why/” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>first projections for blockchain. Initially, bitcoin mining difficulty was only expected to increase by approximately 3.8% to 67.14T in the latest adjustment.
The network hash rate, which measures the total computing power to mine btc, has also increased. According to btc Blockchain Explorer, the current average hash rate for the bitcoin network is 504.8 EH/s, an increase of 3.76% from a previous hash rate of 486.5 EH/s.
Some of the factors contributing to the increasing difficulty of bitcoin mining are the recent btc price performance, the recent increase in network activity, and the increase 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
At the time of writing, bitcoin is valued at $37,510, reflecting a 0.6% price increase over the past day. While the leading cryptocurrency appears to be moving away from the $38,000 price, it has managed to maintain most of its gains in the weekly period.
According to data from CoinGecko, the price of bitcoin has increased by more than 2.7% in the last seven days. Meanwhile, the market leader posted a 10% increase over the past month, highlighting its strong performance in November.
bitcoin remains the largest cryptocurrency in the sector, with a market capitalization of more than $733 billion.
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bitcoin price drifts away from $38,000 on the daily timeframe | Source: BTCUSDT chart on TradingView
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