Last week was one of many milestones for Bitcoin. Shortly after SBI Crypto mined the 19 millionth Bitcoin, the mining difficulty of the flagship digital asset hit a new all-time high of 28.587 trillion.
The jump in mining difficulty occurred on March 31 at block 729,792. This is the first time the mining difficulty will increase since February.
Mining difficulty describes how difficult it can be for miners to find a block reward. The essence of mining difficulty is to ensure that the network remains consistent. The period between each block reward is usually around 10 minutes and the Difficulty Adjustment Algorithm (DAA) adjusts every two weeks.
Usually, the mining difficulty increases as the hash rate increases. The hash rate, which is the computing power of the network, increases as mining participants join the network.
With a higher hash rate, the DAA adjusts the mining difficulty to match the rate and make it harder for miners to find a block.
The latest increase in mining difficulty pushed it up by 4.31%, the first time in 4 weeks. Although the hash rate level has dropped from its previous ATH of 248.11 exahash/second reached on February 13. The 90-day average hash rate as of April 2 is 195 PE/s.
Given that the next DAA will take place between now and April 13, many expect it to be a reduction in mining difficulty to match the low hash rate.
We can expect more miners to join the network
With less than 2 million Bitcoin left to be mined, many expect more miners to join the network, especially as everyone makes a last ditch effort to earn Bitcoin rewards. The remaining number of Bitcoin is expected to be mined until around 2140.
Foundry was the top miner over the past three days, with 18.93% of computing power. F2Pool and Poolin follow with 15.53% and 13.3% of the network’s computing power.
Before the increase in mining difficulty, miners enjoyed increased profitability due to a higher block production rate. According to available data, miner revenue was around $1.21 billion for the previous month.
