Bitcoin mining just got a little harder. The latest adjustment to the Bitcoin network increased the difficulty for miners by 3%. This means it will take more computing power for miners to solve the puzzles needed to add new blocks to the blockchain.
Why Does Difficulty Change?
The Bitcoin blockchain is designed to produce new coins at a steady rate. If miners suddenly increase their computing power, they can create blocks faster, which would flood the market with new coins and potentially hurt the price.
To prevent this, the Bitcoin network automatically adjusts the difficulty every two weeks. If miners are getting too fast, the difficulty increases to slow them down. If miners are struggling, the difficulty decreases to make it easier for them.
Hashrate is on the Rise
The total computing power of the Bitcoin network is called the hashrate. Recently, the hashrate has been increasing, indicating that miners are adding more computing power to their operations. This is likely due to miners gradually restarting their operations after a period of reduced activity.
What Does This Mean for Bitcoin?
The increase in difficulty is a positive sign for Bitcoin. It shows that the network is healthy and that miners are confident in the future of Bitcoin. While the recent price drop has been concerning, the rising hashrate suggests that miners are still committed to the network.
