Bitcoin mining difficulty drops sharply as profitability pressure mounts
Bitcoin’s mining difficulty fell 10.09% over the weekend to 124.93 trillion, marking the 11th largest downward adjustment in the network’s history and the second double-digit drop this year, according to Galaxy Research. The recalibration, which occurred at block height 953,568, brings difficulty to its lowest level since July 2025.
The adjustment follows a period of declining prices and reduced mining profitability, which forced some operators to shut down unprofitable machines and led to a noticeable drop in network computing power.
Lower prices and shrinking margins drive adjustment
Bitcoin’s price has fallen roughly 15% in June, putting pressure on mining economics. As revenues dropped, some operators powered off inefficient hardware, slowing block production and extending the mining cycle to around 15.6 days, above the typical 14-day target.
The network responds to such slowdowns with an automatic difficulty reduction, ensuring blocks continue to be produced roughly every ten minutes.
Galaxy Research said the latest adjustment reflects weakening sector profitability, similar to earlier corrections this year. The new difficulty level increases bitcoin rewards per unit of computing power by about 11%, offering some relief to remaining operators.
Hashrate declines as weaker operators exit
Network hashrate dropped from above 1,000 exahashes per second in late May to around 861 EH/s before partially recovering. Over the past week, it averaged about 894 EH/s.
This reduction signals that less efficient operators have exited the network after daily revenues briefly fell below the critical $30 per petahash threshold. By Sunday, profitability showed slight improvement, with revenue rising to $32.31 per petahash, up from the high $20s earlier in the month.
The shift also aligns with a broader trend of some firms reallocating resources toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads.
Mining conditions remain challenging despite relief
Despite the adjustment, mining remains under financial strain. Data from Checkonchain estimates the average production cost at roughly $84,300 per bitcoin as of mid-June, while the asset traded near $63,780, about 25% below that level.
When prices remain below production costs, operators often sell bitcoin holdings to sustain operations, adding supply pressure to the market. The latest difficulty cut may reduce that pressure slightly by improving operational margins for active miners.
Stabilization begins, but outlook uncertain
Mining activity has started to stabilize following the recalibration, with average block times returning close to the ten-minute target. Early projections suggest the next adjustment, expected in late June, could bring a modest additional decline of around 0.8%.
This year has already seen multiple notable difficulty reductions, including drops of 11.16% in February and 7.76% in March. While February’s adjustment was linked to weather-related disruptions, the current trend reflects sustained economic pressure.
The latest changes suggest that the most financially strained operators may have already exited. Whether difficulty rises again will depend on bitcoin’s price trajectory and whether sidelined machines return online or remain offline.
Want a deeper breakdown of how miners react when difficulty drops? Explore our detailed guide in deep-dive bitcoin mining now.
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