The Upcoming Increase in Bitcoin’s Difficulty and Hashrate
If there are no major changes, Bitcoin’s difficulty is set to increase on December 23, 2023. Current projections suggest a growth of 1.64% to 4.5%. The hashrate, which temporarily dipped last week, is now stable at 487 EH/s according to data from Luxor’s hashrateindex.com. Block generation times are fluctuating between 8 minutes and 6.6 seconds to 9 minutes and 35 seconds.
Hash Price Rise Despite Decrease in Bitcoin’s Price
Despite a decrease in Bitcoin’s price, the network’s hash price has reached a peak of $112 per PH/s per day. This increase is due to a rise in onchain transfer fees. The average transaction cost exceeded $27 on Dec. 6 and soared to around $25 per transaction on Dec. 14. There is currently a backlog of 230,000 to 265,000 unconfirmed transactions from December 14-16, 2023, according to data from mempool.space.
Antpool Emerges as Dominant Mining Pool
Antpool has emerged as the leading mining pool, surpassing Foundry USA. As of Dec. 16, 2023, 46 identified entities are mining Bitcoin, with Antpool dominating 27.31% of the total hashrate, contributing 138.80 EH/s to the blockchain. Foundry USA remains strong with 124.59 EH/s, accounting for 24.52% of the overall hashrate. Other notable competitors include Viabtc, Mara Pool, and Binance Pool.
Preparing for the Impending Halving
With the increasing hashrate and the predicted rise in difficulty, Bitcoin miners are preparing for the upcoming halving. It is expected to occur within the next 104 to 129 days, or from the end of March to sometime in April 2024. The current block reward of 6.25 coins will halve to 3.125 coins per block after the event.
Hot Take: Bitcoin’s Hashrate Rebounds as Difficulty Increases
After the recent dip in hashrate, Bitcoin’s hashrate has rebounded and is currently on an upward trajectory. The upcoming difficulty retarget is expected to bring about an increase, surpassing the previous decline. With the rising hash price and the dominance of mining pools like Antpool and Foundry USA, the Bitcoin network continues to thrive despite fluctuations in price. As the cryptocurrency approaches its impending halving, miners are gearing up for the significant change in block rewards. Overall, Bitcoin’s strength is evident through its increasing hashrate and the ability to adapt to changing market conditions.
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