Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Drops by 10%

The mining difficulty of Bitcoin fell by 10.09% on Sunday, marking the 11th-largest downward adjustment in the network’s history and providing some relief for miners facing challenging market conditions. According to Galaxy Research, mining difficulty dropped from 138.96 trillion to 124.93 trillion at block 953,568. The adjustment represents the second-largest decrease of 2026 and places difficulty levels roughly 20% below the all-time high reached in November.

The decline comes as Bitcoin (BTC) has lost approximately 15% of its value during June, putting additional pressure on mining profitability. Galaxy noted that the latest mining epoch lasted 15.6 days, longer than the typical 14-day cycle, as portions of the network’s hashrate went offline. Mining difficulty automatically adjusts to maintain consistent block production regardless of fluctuations in network computing power. A lower difficulty level means miners face less competition when validating blocks, making it easier to earn rewards.

Falling hashrate reduces competition among miners

The Bitcoin network’s total hashrate currently stands at 886 exahashes per second (EH/s), according to Blockchain.com data. Network computing power has declined by 12% during June and is now approximately 23% below its October peak. As a result, miners who remain operational are benefiting from improved economics. Crypto trader Merlijn Enkelaar estimated that active miners are now earning roughly 9% more revenue per machine due to the reduced competition.

The latest adjustment follows another notable difficulty decline in February, when difficulty dropped more than 11% amid severe weather-related mining disruptions and a 25% fall in Bitcoin’s price. The largest difficulty reduction on record occurred in July 2021 after China’s mining ban triggered a mass exodus of miners from the country.

Looking ahead, the next difficulty adjustment is expected on June 27, with data from Coinwarz currently forecasting a modest 1.69% increase to approximately 127 trillion.

Hashprice climbs back above key profitability level

The decrease in mining difficulty has also boosted hashprice, a metric that measures the expected daily revenue generated by a specific amount of hashrate. According to Hashrate Index, hashprice has risen by 13% following the adjustment and currently sits at around $33 per petahash per second per day.

This level is considered important because it pushes a larger share of miners toward profitability. According to The Energy Mag, more efficient mining operations can continue generating profits even at lower hashprice levels, while operators using older hardware with higher electricity costs may be forced to shut down equipment if conditions worsen.

The recent improvement offers temporary relief for miners, though profitability will continue to depend on Bitcoin’s price performance, network competition and energy costs in the months ahead.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-mining-difficulty-drops-10-in-11th-largest-downward-adjustment

https://theenergymag.com/news/2026-06-13/bitcoin-mining-difficulty-steep-decline

https://data.hashrateindex.com/network-data/bitcoin-hashprice-index

https://x.com/MerlijnTrader/status/2066113428494975190

https://x.com/glxyresearch/status/2065957161612542120

https://www.coinwarz.com/mining/bitcoin/difficulty-chart

https://www.blockchain.com/explorer/charts/hash-rate