[Bitcoin network difficulty breaks out of three-month downward trend, setting new ATH]
The difficulty of creating the Bitcoin blockchain increased by more than 10.5% on August 1, further increasing the cost of mining operations. From May 9 to July 30, Bitcoin network difficulty dropped significantly, reducing the computing power required to confirm transactions. Although higher network difficulty requires higher computing power to process transactions, this effectively protects the network from external attacks.
Several miners, including Bitfarms, saw an increase in monthly revenue in July due to reduced computing power and infrastructure upgrades. However, network difficulty rose sharply on July 31 and reached a new all-time high of 90.66 MB on August 1, a 14% increase that is expected to have a negative impact on miners' near-term earnings.
Over the past six months, the Bitcoin network has maintained a computing power of 630 petaflops, a security metric determined by the total number of blocks mined and relative network difficulty. Amid growing financial pressure, Bitcoin mining companies are currently holding on to their BTC rewards in hopes of selling them at higher prices in the future.
Cointelegraph previously spoke with Marathon’s chief financial officer Salman Khan to understand when miners decide to accumulate Bitcoin and when to put it on the market. Khan explained: “There are market dynamics to consider […] In the short term, Bitcoin prices may fluctuate, which may affect your decision-making.”
Marathon currently holds 18,536 Bitcoins worth more than $1 billion, a 48% increase from 12,538 in 2023.
