On July 5, Bitcoin mining difficulty experienced a significant decrease of over 5%, plummeting to a quarterly nadir of 79.50 terahashes per second (TH/s). This marked the most substantial reduction since March, when it briefly dipped below the 80 TH/s threshold.

Oscillations in Mining Difficulty

From March to May, the difficulty level surged, peaking at an unprecedented 88.10 TH/s before gradually declining to its present state.

The Mechanics of Mining Difficulty

Bitcoin mining difficulty is quantified by hashrate, which represents the volume of attempts a mining apparatus must perform to solve the cryptographic puzzle required to unlock new Bitcoins. Hashrates are recalibrated every 2,016 blocks, an interval of approximately two weeks. Historically, with minimal deviations, the hashrate has shown a consistent month-to-month increment throughout Bitcoin’s existence.

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Historical Hashrate Trends

In 2014, the hashrate was around 1.1 gigahashes per second, a level manageable by most desktop PCs. However, as the hashrate increases, more powerful and energy-efficient mining rigs become necessary to remain profitable. By the end of 2017, the hashrate reached the terahash range for the first time. As of July 6, 2024, it stands at 79.5 TH/s, awaiting the next difficulty adjustment.

Profitability in Current Conditions

Under the prevailing difficulty measure of 79.5 TH/s, F2Pool estimates that an ASIC rig with a watts per terahash efficiency rate of 26 or lower can remain profitable, provided Bitcoin’s price does not fall below the $54,000 mark.