Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Reaches Record High of 80 Trillion Amid Anticipation for Halving

The Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Surpasses 80 Trillion and Continues to Rise

The difficulty of mining Bitcoin BTC, which indicates the level of difficulty in solving the mathematical problem associated with a block, reached a milestone on Friday, Feb. 16, surpassing 80 trillion.

With a hash rate of 562.81 exahashes per second (EH/s), the network’s total computational power, and a record-breaking mining difficulty of 81.73 trillion, as reported by BTC.com, the Bitcoin mining difficulty has been steadily increasing since January 2023 and is projected to reach 100 trillion in the coming months.

In the proof-of-work system of Bitcoin, the mining difficulty reflects the difficulty of adding a new block to the blockchain. A higher difficulty means miners need more computational power and energy to find the correct hash. In the past year, the difficulty level of Bitcoin has more than doubled.

At its scheduled readjustment on Feb. 15, the mining difficulty of Bitcoin was expected to increase by approximately 6%. According to data from BTC.com, if this occurs, the difficulty will reach new all-time highs, surpassing 80 trillion for the first time.

The Latest on Crypto: Bitcoin Sticks to $52,000 as US Macro Data Surpasses Expectations

At the Wall Street open on February 16, Bitcoin remained steady at $52,000 while the latest macro data from the United States exceeded expectations. According to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView, BTC price action remained stagnant during the final TradFi trading session of the week.

The Upcoming Bitcoin Halving: What You Need to Know

In late April, Bitcoin’s mining rewards will be halved in what is known as the “Bitcoin Halving.” This reduction, which is built into the token’s structure every four years, is aimed at fighting inflation. The last halving occurred in May 2020.

During the upcoming halving, Bitcoin’s rewards will decrease from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This change may lead to a decrease in the hash rate as less efficient miners struggle to cover their costs and exit the market. This, in turn, could cause a decrease in Bitcoin’s mining difficulty as the network works to maintain a steady block production every 10 minutes.

The Impact of the Bitcoin Halving on Mining

According to analysts at Galaxy, up to 20% of Bitcoin’s current hash rate could go offline after the halving, resulting in a halving of block rewards and leaving only the most efficient mining rigs in operation.