According to the latest data collected from BTC.com, Bitcoin mining difficulty has increased by 13.55% since the last adjustment about two weeks ago.

The current difficulty setting now requires 35.6 trillion hashes to generate one Bitcoin (BTC), a massive 13.55% increase from previous estimates. According to the data, the increase is the highest increase in Bitcoin mining difficulty since May 2021.

Source: BTC.com

The network speed is now 257 million TH/s (terra hashes per second), a massive increase from the 140 million TH/s it was at this time last year, according to data from BTC.com.

Despite the pressure of falling prices that is being witnessed this year, the difficulty setting continues its steady increase while the competition between its miners has been increasing. High difficulty means more computing power is needed to mine the same number of blocks and makes the network secure. An increase in mining difficulty also means that miners must put in more computing power to mine a block. And miners compete with each other for limited block rewards. With more participants and more computing power, the so-called “hashing power” of the entire network increases significantly, which is good for the price of Bitcoin in the long run.

The mining difficulty on the Bitcoin network is automatically adjusted every two weeks after 2,016 blocks have been mined on the network. The next difficulty adjustment will take place on October 24.

The increased difficulty suggests more challenges ahead for Bitcoin miners who are already feeling the heat from weak Bitcoin prices and higher energy costs. The bear market has been tough on miners, who have seen profit margins shrink as Bitcoin prices plunged more than 50% this year, while capital dried up and energy prices rose.

Last month, one of the largest Bitcoin mining data centers, Compute North, filed for bankruptcy, citing the severe bear market, issues with its largest lender, and supply issues. On Friday of last week, Bitcoin miner Argo Blockchain raised $27 million after agreeing to issue 87 million shares to a single investor in offerings to ease liquidity pressures.

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