Bitcoin mining difficulty took a second jump following the dip in
mid-July as the mining ecosystem continues to turn back online.
The mining difficulty of Bitcoin (BTC) took a dive after China announced a crackdown on mining operations, which at its peak, contributed to three-quarters of the global hashrate. The latest data from BTC.com shows an ongoing spike in Bitcoin’s mining difficulty starting from June 17, 2021.
As
miners from China slowly settle down in crypto-friendly geographies,
the Bitcoin ecosystem witnessed a 13.77% increase in mining difficulty
in two consecutive jumps, exceeding 15 terahash (T) for the first time
since the 2nd week of June. The next adjustment is expected to commence
on August 27, estimated to surge the difficulty to 15.63 terahash.
Before
China’s crackdown on local miners, Bitcoin’s mining difficulty peaked
at 25 terahash. The sudden decline in the number of Chinese miners had
lessened the competition in confirming blocks. This allowed the existing
miners on the network to make higher profits. Data from Statista shows
that China’s contribution towards Bitcoin mining has reduced to nearly
46% while the United States picked up the slack, hosting almost 17% of
the global mining hashrate.
In a CNBC coverage
on this matter, Quantum Economics crypto analyst Jason Deane
highlighted that the network’s latest difficulty adjustment mechanism
has made it 7.3% less profitable to mine Bitcoin.
Concluding the discussion, Mike Colyer, CEO of a New York-based digital currency group said:
“There is an enormous amount of machines coming out of China that need to find new homes.”
Colyer
also believes that the new generation of mining rigs is more efficient
and would “double the hash power for the same amount of electricity.”
Related: Bitcoin hash rate rebounds as major miners are coming back online
China’s move against Bitcoin mining was credited to energy concerns due to the electricity consumption of mining operations. Following the crackdown, Canada, Kazakhstan, Russia and the United States came forward as the best options for migrating Bitcoin miners. As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin’s rising hash rate would eventually translate into higher computational costs.
source link : https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-mining-difficulty-jumps-second-time-as-miners-settle-offshore
