Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty dropped to 146.7 trillion on Friday, as the network hash rate, the average amount of computing power devoted to ensuring the security of a decentralized protocol, hit an all-time high of more than 1.2 trillion hashes per second.
According to CoinWarz, the difficulty of BTC mining has decreased by about 2.7% from the all-time high of over 150.8 trillion achieved during the previous correction period.
Bitcoin mining difficulty will decrease. sauce: cryptoquant
However, the network hashrate hit an all-time high on Tuesday and remains above 1.2 trillion, despite falling slightly from Tuesday’s all-time high, according to CryptoQuant data. CoinWarz also predicts:
“The next difficulty adjustment is scheduled to occur on October 29, 2025 at 8:14:49 AM UTC, and will increase the Bitcoin mining difficulty from 146.72 Tesla to 156.92 Tesla, with 1,474 blocks.”
Rising hashrate means miners need to spend more computing resources than ever before to add blocks to the Bitcoin ledger, putting even more pressure on beleaguered miners grappling with trade policy, block reward reductions, and competition.
The Bitcoin network hash rate has reached an all-time high of over 1.2 trillion hashes per second. sauce: cryptoquant
Related: Bitdeer doubles down on Bitcoin self-mining as rig demand cools
Miners pivot to other sources of revenue, but potential problems loom in the supply chain
Mining companies continue to explore alternative sources of revenue, such as diversifying into AI data centers and other forms of high-performance computing, to make up for the shortfall from mining digital currencies.
Core Scientific, Hut 8, and IREN all reallocated resources to AI data centers in 2024 to increase profits and reduce dependence on revenue derived from crypto mining.
However, the transformation to AI data centers has created tension between miners and AI infrastructure providers as both energy-intensive industries compete for access to cheap energy sources to run their operations.
Despite adding new revenue streams, the mining industry still faces increasing regulatory challenges and supply chain problems, the latter stemming from US President Donald Trump’s significant trade tariffs.
Tariffs increase the cost of acquiring mining hardware in jurisdictions that impose tariffs on those products, putting miners in those regions at a competitive disadvantage relative to miners who can acquire rigs without additional tariff costs.
Additionally, if trade tensions between the United States and China continue to escalate, export restrictions on computer processors, chips, and other electronic equipment could make it more difficult to obtain hardware.
magazine: 7 reasons why Bitcoin mining is a terrible business idea
