Bitcoin network difficulty dips 5%, the largest drop in months

Quick Take

  • As the bitcoin network’s hash rate has fallen 8.9% since July 6, mining difficulty also went down by 5.01%.
  • This was the biggest drop since July of last year when China’s crackdown on Bitcoin mining caused the network’s hash rate to plunge.
     

Bitcoin's mining difficulty fell by 5.01% due to a July 21 adjustment — the most it has dropped since July 2021.

The data was published by BTC.com, which tracks network mining difficulty and posts an update roughly every two weeks when the adjustments take place. 

The network's hash rate has fallen by about 8.9% from July 6, the date of the last update, according to data compiled by The Block Research.

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Mining difficulty refers to the complexity of the mathematical process behind mining, during which miners are repeatedly trying to find a hash below a set level. Miners that "discover" this hash win the reward for the next transaction block. 

Mining difficulty adjusts every 2,016 blocks (roughly every two weeks) in sync with the network's hash rate.


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Catarina is a reporter for The Block based in New York City. Before joining the team, she covered local news at Patch.com and at the New York Daily News. She started her career in Lisbon, Portugal, where she worked for publications such as Público and Sábado. She graduated from NYU with a MA in Journalism. Feel free to email any comments or tips to [email protected] or to reach out on Twitter (@catarinalsm).