The Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty level experienced its largest drop in a long time.
As Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies face selling pressure from Mt. Gox and miners, data from BTC.com shows that Bitcoin mining difficulty has continued its decline, falling by 5% in the latest adjustment after 1.5 months of decline. With this recent drop, Bitcoin mining difficulty has decreased to 79.5 trillion.
The last adjustment on May 9 saw a 48% increase in mining difficulty. Over the past five adjustments, mining difficulty has only increased once. Although there are still about 13 days until the next adjustment, current estimates suggest a 0.04% increase in Bitcoin mining difficulty.
Meanwhile, data indicates that the Bitcoin hash rate is at a very high level of 568.75 EH/s. Despite this, it takes more than 10 minutes for miners to create a new block on the blockchain. Since the beginning of the year, Bitcoin mining difficulty has increased by approximately 5%, while Bitcoin’s price has risen by about 35% in the same period.
The decline in Bitcoin mining difficulty could increase miners’ profitability and reduce selling pressure, potentially leading to a price recovery. However, significant drops in difficulty might also panic investors, causing short-term price declines.
According to CoinGecko data, Bitcoin has experienced a 7% decline in the last 24 hours and was trading at $54,218 at the time of writing.