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Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Decreases by 10%: Second Largest Drop in 2026
The Bitcoin mining difficulty has experienced a significant decrease of 10.09% at block 953,568, marking the second-largest decline in 2026. This adjustment follows a notable price drop in June, where Bitcoin's value fell below $60,000, severely impacting miners' margins and leading to a temporary reduction in hash rate as some miners shifted their focus to AI technologies.
"A price drop of about 15% in June pressured miners' margins. The epoch lasted 15.6 days instead of the targeted 14 days as computing power went offline," explained Galaxy Research.
The mining difficulty dropped from 138.9 trillion to 124.9 trillion, a response to the reduced computational power as miners turned off their machines. This adjustment is part of a broader trend, as it was the third significant decrease in mining difficulty this year, following reductions of 11.16% and 7.76% in February and March, respectively.
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In the current month, Bitcoin has seen a notable price decline, dipping below $60,000 but recovering to over $64,000 amid expectations of a deal between the USA and Iran. The selling pressure has caused the hash price, a daily measure of miners' earnings, to fall below $30 per petahash per second, which is critical for miners as it affects their operational viability.
Impact of Mining Difficulty Reduction
The decrease in mining difficulty provides some relief to miners who remain operational, as it requires less computational power to mine each block. This means that active operators can now earn more Bitcoin per unit of hash rate deployed. However, the lower hash price is pushing many mining locations closer to or even below their gross breakeven point, which includes corporate expenses, debt servicing, and expansion costs.
- Efficient mining fleets may still achieve positive margins despite lower hash prices.
- Older machines and operators with higher electricity costs are more likely to shut down operations as revenues decline.
Additionally, some publicly traded miners are taking their mining facilities offline or slowing their growth to repurpose sites for contractually agreed AI and high-performance computing (HPC) usage. This strategy can lead to a reduction in Bitcoin hash rate, even if the actual power capacity is still being utilized.
Texas and Market Volatility
Texas has also contributed to market volatility, particularly with the onset of the Four-Coincident-Peak (4CP) season in June. Large electricity consumers in the ERCOT area are avoiding peak times, which can significantly influence transmission costs for the following year. For Bitcoin miners, the 4CP mechanism creates a strong incentive to reduce operations during potential peak hours, temporarily removing substantial mining power from the network.
The recent recovery in network hash rate indicates that some of the decline observed in early June was likely a temporary reduction rather than a permanent shutdown. The decreased difficulty level is expected to benefit miners who have remained online, allowing them to earn more Bitcoin in the upcoming two-week epoch.
In summary, the Bitcoin mining landscape is currently facing significant challenges due to price volatility and operational adjustments. The recent decrease in mining difficulty offers some respite, but the overall market conditions remain precarious for many miners.
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