Within 189 days or 27,000 blocks, the Bitcoin block reward is expected to be halved. During this period, about 13 adjustments to the complexity of the Bitcoin network are expected. Network difficulty indicates the difficulty of finding a hash below a certain target and essentially represents the computing power required to mine a block. This self-regulation built into the Bitcoin code ensures stable block generation times, predictable emission, and network security.
🌓Bitcoin's reward reduction approach leads to changes in difficulty
Bitcoin difficulty increased by 6.47% this week, surpassing the 61 trillion mark. at block 812,448. This marked the cryptocurrency's 403rd difficulty adjustment, some of which included adjustments without changes. In simple terms, Bitcoin difficulty measures the degree of challenge in finding a new block relative to its lowest potential level.
This value, designated by a specific number, is adjusted by the Bitcoin protocol every 2,016 blocks, approximately every two weeks, based on the time it took miners to discover those 2,016 blocks. Difficulty adjustment ensures that new blocks are constantly being discovered by miners, regardless of the number of miners in the network.
It is noticeable that during the initial phase at block 2016 the difficulty did not change due to the lack of mining activity. The rationale for increasing or decreasing complexity depends on the time required to process 2,016 blocks. Ideally, blocks should appear every ten minutes, which is approximately two weeks for 2,016 blocks.
📈 Evolution of Bitcoin difficulty and brief analysis
If these blocks are found faster than the ten minute standard and the rate of block discovery increases, the difficulty increases. Otherwise, if the speed is late, the difficulty is reduced. After 19 different adjustments every 2,016 blocks, on block 40,320 Bitcoin difficulty increased by 100% for the first time on February 14, 2010.
🚀 Historical changes in difficulty and hashrate
Bitcoin difficulty adaptation is an ongoing process that responds to fluctuations among miners on the network. Currently, miners have increased their hashrate by an impressive 0.68 exahash per second (EH/s) daily. It is noticeable that despite 15 difficulty increases in 2023, the hashrate continued to grow, adding an additional 194 EH/s in less than a year.
🤔 What is your opinion about the struggle of miners with more than 400 difficulty adjustments over the years? Share your thoughts and opinions on this topic in the comments section below.
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