Bitcoin’s Difficulty Soars to 73.2 Trillion
On January 5, 2024, Bitcoin reached a new milestone as the difficulty of discovering a Bitcoin block reward increased to 73.2 trillion. This represents a 1.65% rise, setting an all-time high for the network. The adjustment occurred at block height 824,544, following a 6.98% increase just two weeks prior.
Understanding Bitcoin’s Difficulty
The difficulty of Bitcoin is a measure of the challenge involved in finding a block reward and adding it to the blockchain. It changes every two weeks to maintain a consistent block time of around 10 minutes. The current difficulty target, 73.2 trillion, indicates the upper limit of a valid block’s hash value. A lower target represents a higher level of difficulty in discovering a valid block.
Increasing Hashrate and Block Times
Bitcoin has experienced a significant increase in hashrate, reaching 545 exahash per second (EH/s). This surge has led to faster block times, resulting in a rise in difficulty after every 2,016 blocks mined. The hashrate is expected to continue growing alongside difficulty hikes, driven by the deployment of advanced ASIC mining devices.
Hash Price and Next Difficulty Adjustment
The hash price for Bitcoin has seen a decline from $102.88 per PH/s to $87.60 since the end of 2023. Despite this, miners and hashrate are unaffected by the difficulty increases. The next difficulty adjustment is scheduled to occur around January 19, 2024.
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