On Friday, Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty decreased to 146.7 trillion, while the network hashrate—representing the average total computing power used to secure the decentralized protocol—reached a new record of over 1.2 trillion hashes per second.
According to CoinWarz, BTC mining difficulty has dropped approximately 2.7% from its previous all-time high of over 150.8 trillion during the last adjustment period.
Despite this decrease in difficulty, the network hashrate reached a peak on Tuesday and remains above 1.2 trillion, even with a modest decline from that peak, as data from CryptoQuant indicates. According to CoinWarz:
“The next difficulty adjustment is projected for Oct 29, 2025, at 08:14:49 AM UTC, increasing the Bitcoin mining difficulty from 146.72 T to 156.92 T, occurring over the next 1,474 blocks.”
The rising hashrate suggests that miners will need to utilize increasingly significant computational resources to add blocks to the Bitcoin ledger, intensifying the challenges for miners who are already facing trade policies, diminishing block rewards, and heightened competition.
Related: Bitdeer intensifies focus on Bitcoin self-mining as rig demand diminishes
Miners explore alternative revenue options, yet supply chain challenges persist
Mining firms are actively seeking alternative revenue sources to mitigate losses from mining digital currencies, including branching out into AI data centers and other high-performance computing ventures.
Companies such as Core Scientific, Hut 8, and IREN have redirected resources towards AI data centers in 2024 to enhance profits and lessen their dependence on crypto mining revenue.
However, this shift towards AI data centers has led to friction between miners and AI infrastructure providers, as both energy-intensive sectors compete for access to affordable energy supplies for their operations.
Even with the introduction of new revenue channels, the mining sector continues to grapple with regulatory hurdles and emerging supply chain issues, largely triggered by former US President Donald Trump’s extensive trade tariffs.
Such tariffs inflate the cost of obtaining mining hardware in regions impacted by these levies, putting miners in those areas at a disadvantage compared to those who can procure rigs without incurring additional tariff expenses.
Moreover, escalating trade tensions between the US and China could exacerbate challenges in acquiring hardware due to export restrictions on processors, chips, and other electronic components.
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