Bitcoin (BTC) Mining Difficulty Hits 81T In Pre-Halving Boost

In readiness for the upcoming halving event this year, the Bitcoin mining difficulty has received a significant boost as it soared to unprecedented levels.

Bitcoin Mining Difficulty and Hash Rate Eyeing ATH

Data from BTC.com shows that Bitcoin mining difficulty which usually records the degree of difficulty involved in discovering new Bitcoin blocks through mining, has exceeded 80 trillion. Specifically, the Bitcoin mining difficulty is currently at 81.73 trillion with its hash rate now reaching 562.89 EH/s. 

For perspective, having a higher Bitcoin mining difficulty for BTC’s Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism means that miners would be required to exert more computational power and energy to discover the correct hash for each block. It is important to increase the difficulty in order to maintain the target block time.

Noteworthy, this milestone was discovered on February 16 and it comes with the much-anticipated Bitcoin halving event only about two months away. During the halving event, mining rewards for Bitcoin will be slashed and expectedly, the reward is projected to be dropped from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. 

This cut may cause the hash rate to drop seeing that the less efficient miners are very likely to fall short on costs and eventually go offline. Galaxy Digital analysts are already certain that up to 20% of Bitcoin’s current hash rate could go offline after the Bitcoin halving, leaving only the most efficient mining rigs standing.

A decrease in hash rate will also trigger a drop in the Bitcoin mining difficulty. 

Mining Difficulty Projected to Jump 6%

The progressive move in Bitcoin mining difficulty has been ongoing since the beginning of last year and trend observers are very positive that it could go as high as 100 trillion before the end of 2024.

Within the last year, mining difficulty has hit more than twice what it was the previous year. According to its automated readjustment of February 15, the Bitcoin difficulty is expected to increase by an estimated 6%. If this pulls through, BTC mining difficulty is bound to hit a new all-time high well above 80 trillion for the first time. 

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is showing positive momentum as halving approaches. The coin has climbed to outstanding heights in the last few days and is currently trading at $50,758.92. Several analysts strongly believe that BTC can climb up to a higher price before the halving event.