Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Decreased, Reflecting Price Drawdown
On December 10, 2023, Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty decreased by 0.96%, with an average hashrate of 462.60 EH/s. This reduction in mining difficulty coincided with a drop in the Bitcoin price, which fell to $40,500 on December 11th.
First Reduction in Mining Difficulty Since September 2023
This recent decrease in mining difficulty is the first since mid-September 2023, as reported by BTC.com. The change in this indicator directly impacts the anticipated date of the halving event, which is expected to occur in April 2024.
Upcoming Changes in Mining Difficulty
The previous change in the mining difficulty occurred on November 26, 2023, with an increase of 5.07% compared to the previous value and a hash rate of 480.85 EH/s. The next change in mining difficulty is expected to happen on December 23, 2023, with a projected reduction of 0.12%, according to BTC.com.
Reasons for Increased Hashrate
Since mid-September, the average hashrate on the Bitcoin network has been steadily increasing. An expert named PlanB speculates that this growth is due to ETF issuers like BlackRock purchasing BTC directly from miners instead of exchanges. This approach avoids impacting the price significantly but leads to an increase in hashrate.
Hot Take: Impact of Large Companies on Price and Hashrate
An analyst suggests that when large companies buy Bitcoins directly from miners, it affects the price and often leads to a corresponding increase in hashrate.