Bitcoin mining difficulty exceeds 80 trillion for the first time.

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Mining difficulty, a measure of how difficult it is to solve the mathematical problems associated with a block, topped 80 trillion on Friday.

According to blockchain explorer BTC.com, the network’s hash rate, which measures the total computational power used by miners, increased to 562.81 EH/s, while mining difficulty reached 81.73 trillion, an all-time high. Bitcoin mining difficulty, which has increased steadily since January 2023, is set to reach $100 trillion in the coming months.

Bitcoin mining difficulty as of February 16th. Image: BTC.com

Through Bitcoin’s proof-of-work consensus mechanism, mining difficulty measures the complexity of adding a new block to the blockchain. The higher the difficulty, the more computational power and energy miners need to find a suitable hash for a new block. For the Bitcoin network, difficulty levels have more than doubled over the past 12 months.

The Bitcoin price hit $51,783.74 on February 16 at 10:45 a.m. ET. The last time Bitcoin prices were that high was in November 2021, according to The Block’s price page.

bitcoin halving

Bitcoin mining rewards are scheduled to be halved due to the ‘Bitcoin halving’ at the end of April. Bitcoin programmers applied shrinkage to the token structure approximately every four years to combat inflation. The last time Bitcoin mining rewards were halved was in May 2020.

When the next halving comes, Bitcoin’s reward will decrease from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Halving can reduce the hash rate as inefficient miners have a hard time stopping and quitting their mining rewards. A lower hash rate is expected to reduce Bitcoin mining difficulty as the network attempts to maintain consistent block production every 10 minutes.

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