The Bitcoin network has inked its highest difficulty level in more than a month, a move that suggests mining activities on the blockchain is regaining its momentum. The network’s difficulty level is readjusted every 2 weeks or at the attainment of the 2,016 blocks and as of early this morning, the difficulty is up 7.3% and at the time of writing, it is pegged at 15.56T, atop an hashrate of 112.11 EH/s according to data from BTC.com.
The mining difficulty is greatly influenced by the number of distributed computing systems that are plugged into the network. The higher the number of computers/miners, the more the difficulty and the lower the miners online, the network adjusts itself and the accompanying difficulty level.
The ban of Bitcoin miners resident in China as initiated by Chinese authorities back in May resulted in the largest migration of miners in the history of the network. With millions of mining machines offline, the mining difficulty was automatically adjusted by the network back in July where we say a massive 28% decline in the difficulty level. Following the slash, solving a block was averaged at 10 minutes.
Restoring Miners Offline Crises
With the Chinese ban, a number of miners as reported started shipping their hardware and mining gears to new Bitcoin friendly nations particularly Kazakhstan, Canada and the United States. The logistics involved in moving the miners from one region to the other, and in settling might have contributed to the time span when the mining difficulty stayed low. However, as the miners are beginning to find new homes, ending the offline crises, the difficulty level is beginning to get the needed boost.
While the difficulty level implies that more work has to be put into securing the Bitcoin reward, it also largely signifies network strength and security. With more miners plugged into the system, the possibility of recording the 51% attack on the blockchain becomes more unlikely, helping to maintain the trust in the network.
The mining difficulty is bound to return to its highest levels in May, as firms like Black rock Petroleum is set to host a million miners in its renewable energy plant in Canada for Optimum Mining Host Limited Liability Co. Upon the full deployment of these miners, as well as the other data centers welcoming new mining machines as the days go by, the chances of increasing the difficulty level becomes higher.
Disclaimer
The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
About Author
