Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Hits Record 374 Days Below Its Peak
Bitcoin mining difficulty has stayed under its October 2025 high for 374 days, the longest gap on record, Bitcoin.com News and Wu Blockchain report.
Bitcoin's mining difficulty has now stayed below its all-time high for 374 days, the longest such stretch in the network's history, according to Bitcoin.com News and Wu Blockchain. The peak of 155.97 trillion was set at block 921,312 on Oct. 29, 2025, and every adjustment since has come in lower.
Economist and author Saifedean Ammous drew attention to the milestone on Saturday. Bitcoin.com News said it checked the claim against Mempool.space data.
How it compares with earlier gaps
Difficulty is the measure of how hard it is to find a block. The network resets it roughly every two weeks, or every 2,016 blocks, to keep block times near 10 minutes whatever the level of mining power.
The previous record was 364 days. Difficulty peaked on Aug. 1, 2011, and did not make a new high until July 30, 2012, according to Mempool.space history cited by Bitcoin.com News. After China's 2021 mining ban, the gap ran from May 13, 2021, to Jan. 21, 2022, about 253 days.
Bitcoin.com News said the current drop has been milder than those episodes but has lasted longer. Difficulty bottomed at 124.93 trillion in mid-June 2026 after a 10.09% cut, roughly 20% under the peak.
Price and miner pressure
Both outlets linked the long plateau to weak bitcoin price action, with BTC around $76,000, and to rising overhead costs. Wu Blockchain said these pressures have pushed listed miners to sell bitcoin reserves and redirect site power toward AI colocation.
Bitcoin.com News gave examples from its earlier reporting: Riot Platforms sold $750 million in bitcoin, Hut 8 sold $250 million, and Keel Infrastructure sold its whole $192 million treasury. It said Terawulf and IREN are leaning into AI as mining revenue shrinks. The outlet also noted that Democrats are pushing data center limits after the midterms, which could affect miners competing for the same power. It added that bitcoin briefly fell below $75,000 on Friday, its lowest since Aug. 21, during a U.S.-led tech stock sell-off.
Bitcoin.com News stressed that a long stretch below peak difficulty does not mean the network is weaker. Seven-day hashrate returned to 1 ZH/s in late October after nearly eight months below it, and blocks are still arriving on schedule.
What comes next
Recent adjustments had been narrowing the gap. Difficulty rose 5.92% on Oct. 16 and another 5.54% on Oct. 29, reaching 148.36 trillion, about 4.9% under the record.
The next change is expected to reverse that. Mempool.space estimates a drop of about 3.7% when the current epoch ends, around Nov. 13, roughly six days away. That would push a new all-time high further out. Bitcoin.com News said a strong price rebound could bring miners back and help difficulty move toward a new peak, but neither source gives a timeline for that.
Sources
- Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Has Never Stayed Below Its Peak for This Long Bitcoin.com News
- Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Has Remained Below Its ATH for 374 Consecutive Days, Setting an All-Time Record Wu Blockchain
Written with AI assistance from the sources above and checked against them. Not investment advice.