Bitcoin’s Mining Difficulty Rises for the First Time in 57 Days, BTC Hashrate Slipped 1.7% Lower in Q2

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The mining difficulty tied to the Bitcoin network increased for the first time in 57 days, rising 1.74% higher than the last two weeks. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s hashrate has been below average as the network’s computational power is down 1.7% lower in the second quarter than in Q1 2022. After reaching 292 exahash per second (EH/s) on June 8, Bitcoin’s hashrate today is coasting along below the 200 EH/s mark at 182 EH/s.

Bitcoin difficulty rises, making it more difficult to discover block rewards for the next 2 weeks

After three consecutive Difficulty Adjustment Algorithms (DAA) reductions over the past six weeks, the DAA has moved upwards for the first time since June 8. On August 4th, the difficulty increased by 1.74%, bringing the metric up, at block height 747,936. 27.69 trillion to the present 28.20 trillion.

The DAA, or difficulty epoch, changes every 2,016 blocks or roughly every two weeks. The DAA increases when the 2,016 blocks are discovered too fast and the metric decreases when the discovery time is too slow. Satoshi Nakamoto’s design makes it so roughly every ten minutes, a new BTC block is found as the DAA system is modeled by a Poisson distribution scheme.

Bitcoin blocks are now harder to find than in the past two weeks, following a 1.74% increase on Thursday. Prior to the rise, DAA moved downwards three times in a row after June 8. Currently, the network’s 28.20 trillion difficulty metric is down 9.76% from its all-time high of 31.25 million in mid-May.

With lower BTC prices and the latest difficulty increase, the changes could affect miners negatively during the next two weeks. At press time, the network’s computational power is under the 200 EH/s zone, as it’s coasting along at 182 EH/s today.

According to data compiled by fintech expert Edith Muthoni of Stockapps.com, the overall bitcoin hashrate decreased by 1.7% in the second quarter of 2022 compared to the first quarter. “In the second half of Q2, the overall hash rate of bitcoin became more erratic and variable,” Muthoni said in his research. “This behavior indicates that miners are struggling to adapt to changing market conditions.”

At 182 EH/s, Bitcoin’s hashrate is 37% lower than the 292 EH/s all-time high posted on June 8. Second quarter data indicates that Foundry USA was the top mining pool, capturing 22.27% of Q2’s overall hashrate. Foundry discovered 2,843 BTC blocks out of the 12,766 blocks found in Q2.

Antpool followed Foundry with 14.77% of the global hash rate as the pool discovered 1,885 blocks during the three-month period. The third largest mining pool in the second quarter of 2022 was F2pool, which accounted for 14.31% of the global hash rate, as it mined 1,827 of the 12,766 blocks discovered in the second quarter.

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