According to BlockBeats, Bitcoin mining difficulty has reached a new historical high. The data from BTC.com shows that the mining difficulty was adjusted by 1.99% to 88.1 T at block height 840,672 on April 25, 2024. The current average network hashrate stands at 642.78 EH/s.
The adjustment in mining difficulty is a significant event in the Bitcoin network. It is a measure of how difficult it is to find a new block compared to the easiest it can ever be. The difficulty is adjusted every 2016 blocks, or approximately every two weeks, to maintain the block discovery rate at one every 10 minutes. When more miners join the network, the difficulty increases. Conversely, if miners start to leave, the difficulty decreases.
The recent increase in mining difficulty to a record high indicates that more computational power is being invested in securing the Bitcoin network. This could be a sign of increased confidence in the future of Bitcoin, as miners are willing to invest more resources in mining activities. However, it also means that mining Bitcoin has become more challenging, potentially discouraging smaller players from participating.
The average network hashrate of 642.78 EH/s is a measure of the processing power of the entire Bitcoin network. When the network reaches this rate, it is capable of making 642.78 quintillion attempts per second to solve the mathematical problem that allows a miner to add a new block to the blockchain. This high hashrate indicates a high level of security for the Bitcoin network, as it would require an enormous amount of computational power to launch a successful attack.
In conclusion, the recent adjustment in Bitcoin mining difficulty and the high network hashrate reflect the robustness and security of the Bitcoin network. However, the increased difficulty could pose challenges for smaller miners.