After a significant 10.5% increase in Bitcoin’s difficulty 11 days ago, the network is projected to see a downward adjustment between 4% and 5.3% on August 14.
Upcoming Difficulty Adjustment Could Provide Relief to Bitcoin Miners
Bitcoin miners might experience some respite soon, as the upcoming difficulty adjustment is set to follow this year’s largest increase. On July 31, at block height 854,784, Bitcoin’s difficulty surged by 10.5%, reaching an all-time high of 90.67 trillion. This increase occurred because block intervals were completed faster than the usual ten-minute average over the past 2,016 blocks.
However, during the current cycle, block times have slowed, averaging around 10 minutes and 32 seconds. This slowdown is leading to an anticipated decrease in difficulty on August 14, with estimates from two separate sources suggesting a reduction between 4% and 5.3%. It’s important to note that this estimate could shift as the remaining 480 blocks are mined. If the adjustment hits around 5.3%, it would counteract roughly half of the previous increase.
At present, the network’s hashprice—the projected revenue per petahash per second (PH/s) of computing power—is hovering around $42.43, which is notably low compared to pre-halving earnings. A reduction in difficulty would ease the burden on miners, making block discovery less challenging in this low-revenue climate. As of Sunday, August 11, 2024, the network’s total hashrate is recorded at 618.47 exahashes per second (EH/s).