Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Spikes by 7.33%
On Friday, February 2, 2024, the Bitcoin network experienced a significant milestone as its mining complexity metric surged by 7.33% at block height 828,576. This marks the largest increase in difficulty for the year so far. The current difficulty level is 75.50 trillion, making it the most challenging period for bitcoin mining to date.
Bitcoin’s Increasing Mining Difficulty
Bitcoin mining has become more challenging recently, with the difficulty metric rising by an impressive 7.33%, the largest increase in 2024. This comes after a 3.90% decrease observed on January 20. So far in 2024, there have been two increases and one reduction in mining difficulty. The network is also approaching its fourth halving event, which will lead to a halving of BTC mining rewards in less than 11,500 blocks.
Reaching an All-Time Peak
The 7.33% rise in difficulty has brought the metric to an all-time high of 75.50 trillion. This represents the threshold that a block’s hash must meet to be considered valid. With the difficulty at this level, the target for an acceptable block’s hash becomes exceptionally small, intensifying the challenge of finding a valid block.
Hashrate and Block Discovery Metrics
The collective hashrate is currently at 536 exahash per second (EH/s), just below the all-time peak of 566 EH/s reached on January 29, 2024. Two mining pools dominate Bitcoin’s hashrate, accounting for over 60% in total. Foundry USA leads with 31.94% and 173.53 EH/s, followed closely by Antpool with 29.30% and 159.17 EH/s. The next mining difficulty retarget is scheduled for February 15, 2024.
Hot Take: Scaling Difficulty and the Future of Bitcoin
The recent 7.33% spike in Bitcoin’s mining difficulty reflects the increasing challenge and competitiveness of the mining process. As the network grows and more miners join, the difficulty will continue to rise, requiring more computational power. This trend highlights the robustness and resilience of the Bitcoin network, as well as the need for efficient mining operations and the development of advanced mining technologies. Despite the challenges, Bitcoin’s increasing difficulty demonstrates the ongoing interest and investment in cryptocurrency mining, and the potential for continued growth in the future.
Benito Cormi, the brilliant crypto analyst who has made waves in the world of cryptocurrency. With his razor-sharp analytical skills and deep understanding of the digital asset landscape, Benito has become a trusted figure in the industry and remains at the forefront, tirelessly researching and analyzing market trends to help individuals and businesses make informed decisions in this dynamic landscape.