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Bitcoin mining difficulty continues to decline. How does this affect the market
One of the key parameters in the network of the first cryptocurrency has decreased for the second consecutive time.
On the morning of November 27, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty fell by 1.95%. According to Cloverpool, the indicator dropped to 149.3 T (trillion). This means that miners now need to compute about 149 trillion hash functions on average to add a single block to the Bitcoin network and receive the reward of 3.125 BTC (around $285,000 at the current rate).
Today’s drop in Bitcoin mining difficulty is the second in a row. Since July, the indicator had been almost continuously rising and reached a record level of 155 T at the end of October.
Due to increasing difficulty, outdated mining equipment can become unprofitable, forcing miners to turn it off. This is indicated by the decline in the global hashrate — the combined computational power of all devices mining Bitcoin.
The hashrate peaked at 1.31 Zh/s (zettahashes per second) on October 24. As of 12:00 MSK on November 27, the average hashrate over the past three days amounts to 1.07 Zh/s. The decrease in mining activity is taken into account during the difficulty adjustment, lowering it.
“A normal reaction”
Bitcoin is entering another cycle of difficulty adjustment, says Anton Gontarev, commercial director of the data center operator Intelion. According to him, this is a predictable dynamic: over the past two weeks, the average block time in the Bitcoin network exceeded the target 10 minutes, while the hashrate dropped following price fluctuations and the shutdown of some miners.
Difficulty reduction is the system’s normal reaction to a decrease in network power, the expert explains. He notes that amid volatility and declining mining profitability, some operators shut down unprofitable equipment, and the network automatically adjusted its parameters. In such conditions, the market naturally cleans itself: those with low production costs and modern infrastructure remain.
“A window of opportunity”
Intelion believes that this is more of a technical adjustment than a fundamental reversal. Such periods typically last one or two difficulty recalculations until the average block time stabilizes. If the hashrate stops decreasing, the difficulty trend will normalize; if the pressure on inefficient miners continues, another moderate negative adjustment is possible, Gontarev added.
According to him, for industrial miners with cheap energy and reliable infrastructure, this situation creates a window of opportunity: reduced competition increases the profitability of modern mining facilities even in a volatile market. At the same time, long-term expectations for Bitcoin remain positive, and the mining infrastructure model continues to show resilience, the expert says.
Platforms tracking future difficulty adjustments currently estimate that the indicator will fall another 0.4% in two weeks. However, if the hashrate rises, this projection may change significantly.
See also: "Tether Shuts Down Mining Operations in Uruguay Due to High Electricity Costs"
