Bitcoin Network Faces Slight Mining Difficulty Adjustment in Early 2026
Bitcoin Network Mining Difficulty Sees Minor Decline
The Bitcoin (BTC) network's mining difficulty, an indicator of the computational effort required to add new blocks to its blockchain, decreased slightly to 146.4 trillion on Thursday. This marks the first difficulty adjustment of 2026.
According to CoinWarz, the subsequent Bitcoin difficulty adjustment is anticipated on January 22, 2026, at 04:08:12 AM UTC, with an expected increase from 146.47 T to 148.20 T. Current block times average 9.88 minutes, slightly under the 10-minute goal, suggesting a minor future difficulty increase.
Challenges for Miners Amidst Increasing Difficulty
In 2025, the Bitcoin mining difficulty peaked, with the year's final adjustment slightly raising the difficulty level, although it remained below the all-time high of 155.9 trillion observed in November. This increase in difficulty implies heightened competition for block mining, presenting further challenges to miners who faced economic, regulatory, and financial pressures in 2025.
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2025: A Challenging Year for Bitcoin Miners
The year 2025 was particularly difficult for Bitcoin miners, with profit margins shrinking due to the April 2024 halving, which reduced block subsidies by 50%, and unfavorable macroeconomic conditions. The crypto market downturn from November further intensified these challenges.
Miner hash price, a crucial profitability metric, fell below breakeven in November 2025. At $40 per petahash-second per day, miners must decide whether to continue operations. This figure dropped to below $35, reaching a multi-year low. Tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump also exacerbated the situation, raising concerns about supply chain shortages.
A severe crypto market downturn, triggered by an October flash crash, reduced BTC prices by over 30% in November, with Bitcoin dipping just above $80,000. Despite a subsequent recovery, prices remain far from the peak of over $125,000 achieved in October.
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