Data presented by the Hashrate Index indicates that the 5.62% drop in Bitcoin mining difficulty is the biggest since May. However, the data revealed that mining difficulty had risen since Jan 2024 (70.34T), with the largest spike experienced in February. Coinwarz data disclosed that the highest difficulty was recorded at 88.10T between April and May. 

Also read: Miner ‘capitulation’ in the Bitcoin network nears FTX implosion levels, CryptoQuant 

According to Coinwarz, Bitcoin’s current mining difficulty (79.5T at block 851, 050) has not changed in the last 24 hours. Coinwarz claims that the next difficulty adjustment will be on July 19, in 12 days. 

Notably, Coinwarz revealed a 5% decrease in Bitcoin mining difficulty in the last 7 days, a 5.11% decrease in the past 30 days, and a 4.37% decrease in the last 90 days.

Bitcoin mining profits remain uncertain as prices fluctuate

👷‍♂️ Today, the #Bitcoin mining difficulty was reduced by 5%, to 79.50 T.

In the current difficulty epoch, what will profitability be at different price levels? Refer to the table below.

⛏️ With a $BTC price of $54k, ASICs with Unit Power of 26 W/T or less can make a profit. We… pic.twitter.com/b5DmdmMTpo

— f2pool 🐟 (@f2pool_official) July 5, 2024

FinTech expert Same Festo asserted that the reduction in mining difficulty can be attributed to the decline in ‘the initial interest of Bitcoin Runes’ and this year’s Bitcoin halving. Crypto analyst James Van Straten also revealed that the drop in mining difficulty would only favor large mining companies as inefficient and weak miners would be purged from the network.

According to f2pool, only ASICs that are more efficient than 26W/T at a rate of 0.07/kWh will be profitable if prices stay above $54K. Crypto investor Peter Romano pointed out that mining company, CleanSpark Inc., had exceeded its mid-year operational hashrate target of 20EH/s. CleanSpark achieved this feat after acquiring five new Bitcoin mining sites in Georgia, USA.

“Bitcoin miners must produce a hash that has a value *below or equal to* the current difficulty to mine a valid Bitcoin block. The higher the Bitcoin’s difficulty, the harder it is to find a block.”

–Hashrate Index 

According to Hashrate Index, Bitcoin’s hashprice changes with every block added to the blockchain. The crypto analytics company also disclosed that the hashprice value is positively correlated with changes in price and transaction fee volume. However, hashprice is negatively correlated with changes in Bitcoin mining difficulty, as shown by the Hashrate Index. As of the time of writing, the hashprice, according to Hashrate Index’s data, was $0.04737.

Bitcoin miners remain hopeful amid unfavorable market metrics        

According to NFT collector and crypto investor Anvvy.eth, the average Bitcoin production cost had dropped by $11,668 between June and July. 

Also read: Pixelverse rides on PixelTap’s boom to launch PIXFI token on TON 

However, while the latest drop in Bitcoin mining difficulty allowed more machines to be profitable, Anvvy.eth disclosed that only the most efficient ASICs would remain profitable, with break-even Bitcoin prices ranging between $39,581 and $54,424. 

“Bitcoin Miners are the most flexible load on the grid. With hashprice at an all-time low, miners will be incredibly price sensitive this summer w/ many miners curtailing when wholesale prices reach $0.10 per kwh & 95% curtailment above $0.25 per kwh.”

Lee Bratcher, President of the Texas Blockchain Council

However, all BTC miners would still have to struggle to make profits amid fluctuating prices and rising production costs.

 

Cryptopolitan reporting by Collins J. Okoth