The difficulty of Bitcoin mining has dropped by 5%: what is behind the correction?
During the latest automatic recalculation, the mining difficulty of the first cryptocurrency decreased by 5%, reaching 127.17 T. This is a significant drop that cannot go unnoticed by market participants. As a reminder, in mid-June, the indicator had already fallen by 10.09%, followed by a rebound of 7.15%. The current correction is another signal of instability in the sector.
Difficulty and Hashrate Dynamics
Since the beginning of the year, Bitcoin's difficulty has decreased by approximately 17%: on January 1, it stood at 148.26 T. For comparison, the all-time high of 155.27 T, recorded in October 2025, is already 22% above the current level. The average hashrate at the time of analysis has recovered to levels above 1 ZH/s, and the block interval has shortened to nine minutes. However, forecasts do not suggest a significant adjustment of the metric in the near future.
The smoothed seven-day moving average hashrate, according to analytical platforms, is 864.4 EH/s. Meanwhile, at its peak in October, the network's computing power reached 1.15 ZH/s, after which a steady downward trend began. This indicates that miners are gradually withdrawing capacity from the network, likely due to declining profitability.
Mining Profitability Under Pressure
Against the backdrop of falling difficulty, hashprice — a metric reflecting profitability per unit of computing power — has risen from ~$30 per PH/s per day to ~$32. However, this is still far from the $40 mark, which is considered the approximate breakeven threshold for most miners. The profitability metric has rebounded from local lows at the beginning of the month around $27 per PH/s per day, but the recovery remains fragile.
The pressure on Bitcoin mining profitability is forcing miners to seek alternatives. An accelerated shift toward the artificial intelligence sector is already being observed, confirming structural changes in the industry. In my professional opinion, the current difficulty correction is merely a temporary respite. Until hashprice returns to levels above $40, we will continue to see a further decline in miner activity, which could lead to new difficulty adjustments.