Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Peaks at Over 80 Trillion Amid Looming Halving Event
Summary:
On February 16, the challenge of Bitcoin mining, evidenced by its difficulty level, surpassed 80 trillion. The overall computational capacity of the network, measured by its hash rate, peaked at 562.81 exahashes per second (EH/s). The mining difficulty is predicted to reach 100 trillion in the upcoming months. With an upcoming Bitcoin Halving in late April, Bitcoin's vital mining rewards will decrease by half, potentially forcing less profitable miners to exit, thereby lowering the hash rate and mining difficulty.
On Friday, February 16, the difficulty of mining Bitcoin, or solving the mathematical problem related to a block, surpassed 80 trillion. The network’s total computational capacity, as shown by its hash rate, hit a peak at 562.81 exahashes per second (EH/s), and mining difficulty reached an all-time high of 81.73 trillion, as reported by BTC.com. Over the past few months, Bitcoin's mining difficulty has consistently increased and the upward trend is projected to touch 100 trillion by the near future.
Within Bitcoin's proof-of-work system, mining difficulty speaks to the complexity involved in introducing a new block to the blockchain. Greater difficulty implies more computational power and energy required to identify the proper hash. In just the previous year, Bitcoin’s level of difficulty has more than doubled.
As of February 16, Bitcoin mining difficulty stood at an impressive height according to figures sourced from BTC.com. At the time of its automatic reset on February 15, an estimated 6% increase in Bitcoin mining arithmetic challenge was due. If these measures come to fruition, it will hit a new all-time high, surpassing 80 trillion for the inaugural time.
On Wall Street's opening on February 16, Bitcoin's value remained steady at $52,000, concurrent with the U.S. macro data surpassing expectations. The BTC price reacted slowly, showing little change as the traditional financial trading week was ending, based on data collated from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView.
Late in April, Bitcoin’s mining incentives will halve in a mechanism known as 'Bitcoin Halving'. This anti-inflationary measure, reducing mining rewards by half approximately every four years, is built into the structure of Bitcoin. The last such event happened in May 2020.
The upcoming halving will reduce Bitcoin’s rewards from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. This significant slash may lead to a lower hash rate, as less profitable miners unable to cover their costs may exit. The potential drop in hash rate could prompt a decrease in Bitcoin mining difficulty, as the network strives for the production of a steady block every 10 minutes.
According to assessments by Galaxy’s mining experts, post the Bitcoin halving, about 20% of Bitcoin’s current hash rate could go offline. This development will cut block rewards by half and leave only the most energy-efficient mining operations in play.
Published At
2/17/2024 11:34:03 AM
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