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Bitcoin Difficulty Estimated to Fall After 5 Back-to-Back Increases – Mining Bitcoin News
Bitcoin’s impending difficulty change appears to be headed for a possible decline, marking the first time in over 73 days, ever since February 12, 2023. The network has witnessed a remarkable difficulty increase of approximately 22.62% since block height 778,176. Accordingly, with the current block times in place, the mining participants in the network may finally see a drop.
Bitcoin difficulty expected to drop 1-4% lower; BTC Price Rises 6% Higher
Current data suggests that the drop in Bitcoin’s difficulty could potentially take place around May 4, 2023. The hash rate of the network currently stands at 332 exahashes per second (EH/s) after experiencing a drop to 290 EH/s on Tuesday. According to statistics obtained from three data points (1, 2, 3), the block intervals, i.e. the time between each block detected, indicate that blocks are found above the ten-minute average.
Currently, estimates for the next difficulty drop hover around -1% to -4%. But with over a week, or more than a thousand blocks, remaining before the next difficulty adjustment, the exact numbers are still uncertain. Nevertheless, a reduction after the five consecutive increases and the 22%+ increase in difficulty in the last two months will undoubtedly give miners some much needed breathing space. Moreover, the price of bitcoin has also been in an upward trajectory, giving miners a higher daily income until the next retarget.
On April 26, Bitcoin’s value surged 6% higher, rising above the $29K range. This remarkable increase has come as a breath of fresh air for the miners who had weathered five back-to-back hikes.
In the last three days, Foundry USA has contributed a significant hashpower of 110.30 EH/s, which is 32.68% of the total hashrate. Subsequently, Antpool has produced 79.62 EH/s or 23.59% of the total hashrate, securing its position as the second largest mining pool. Foundry and Antpool’s hashrates are followed by F2pool, Viabtc and Binance Pool respectively.
What do you think about the difficulty decreasing during the next retarget? Share your insights in the comments section below.
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