Bitcoin

when

Bitcoin mining difficulty dropped by more than 5% on July 5 to a quarterly low of 79.50 terahashes per second (TH/s). This marked the largest reduction since March when it briefly dipped below 80 TH/s.&nbsp;
Difficulty spiked between March and May, reaching an all-time high of 88.10 TH/s before slowly settling to where it currently stands at the time of publication.
<h2 data-ct-non-breakable="true" id="mining-difficulty">Mining difficulty</h2>
Bitcoin mining difficulty is measured in hashrate, which is the number of guesses a mining machine should be expected to make before it solves the cryptographic puzzle necessary to unlock one of the remaining Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>). 
Hashrates are updated every 2,016 blocks, which takes approximately two weeks. With few exceptions, during Bitcoin’s lifetime, hashrate has typically grown month-to-month. 
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-07/008dc86f-279a-4101-8b0c-cdd0f3b6d8a6.jpg" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: CoinWarz
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Back in 2014, for example, the hashrate measured about 1.1 gigahashes per second. This was low enough that most desktop PCs could mine Bitcoin (the higher the hashrate, the more powerful and energy efficient a mining rig needs to be to be profitable).
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/post-halving-profitability-challenges-to-the-mining-industry">Post-halving profitability challenges to the mining industry</a>
Toward the end of 2017, as adoption began picking up, the hashrate reached the terahash mark for the first time. And as of July 6, 2024, it remains at 79.5 TH/s until the next difficulty update. 
Under the current difficulty measure of 79.5 TH/s, mining pool F2Pool estimates that an ASIC rig with a watts per terahash efficiency rate of 26 or better (lower) would be profitable as long as Bitcoin’s price doesn’t dip below the $54,000 threshold. 
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-07/3469b42f-c60c-49a9-a0df-0bb323a3ef6b.jpg" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/f2pool_official/status/1809155768874328456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1809155768874328456%7Ctwgr%5E5b4d827c6a91b2b1facec9115335c7bb321862ba%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fforklog.com%2Fnews%2Fv-f2pool-nazvali-pribylnye-bitkoin-majnery-posle-padeniya-tseny" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">F2Pool</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
<blockquote data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 “With a $BTC price of $54k, ASICs with Unit Power of 26 W/T or less can make a profit. We estimate this at $0.07 per kWh.”
</blockquote>
If Bitcoin’s price dips lower, more efficient rigs will be needed to keep miners profitable. If it remains the same, conditions should be acceptable for the largest miners, especially those in places where energy subsidies exist for mining facilities.

Bitcoin mining difficulty hits lowest level since March as price tops $57K

Table of Contents

Cointelegraph

Other articles published on Jul 6, 2024

Russia Named “High Income Country” By World Bank, Did Bitcoin Play a Role?

Is Litecoin (LTC) Headed for a Slump? Miners Sell Off, Hitting Lowest Reserves Since 2011

Bitcoin Schadenfreude: Crypto Fans Revel in Germany’s Euro Loss

Bitcoin Holders Could Gain from Potential US Dollar Collapse, Says Chief Strategist

Dogecoin Founder Opposes 'Dark' Crypto Holders 'Diagnosis' From Study: Details

Crypto Earthquake: BlockDAG’s 1300% Explosion After Keynote 2, AVAX Crashes 15%, While STX Leaps

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!