Difficulty Spike and Hashrate Drop Lengthen Block Times

After the network achieved an all‑time high of 926 exahash per second (EH/s) and experienced a 1.42% difficulty bump to 123.23 trillion, roughly 52 EH/s have exited the network since April 17.

Bitcoin's hashrate has eased since last Thursday, when it nearly touched an all-time high of 926 exahash per second (EH/s) and experienced a 1.42% difficulty bump to 123.23 trillion.

Hashrate drops by 52 EH/s since April 17

After the network achieved an all-time high of 926 exahash per second (EH/s) and experienced a 1.42% difficulty bump to 123.23 trillion, roughly 52 EH/s have exited the network since April 17.

This shift coincides with increased mining profitability over the past 24 hours, as the hashprice—or the estimated spot value of one petahash per second of hashpower—rose from $43.53 to $45.73 by 11 a.m. Eastern time on Monday.

Bitcoin's move beyond the $88,000 threshold has lifted the hashprice and mining revenue.

Conversely, on April 19 at block height 893,088, the network's difficulty increased to a record 123.23 trillion. It marked the fourth difficulty adjustment since block 887,040, making block discovery substantially more challenging for miners.

These fluctuations illustrate how miner behavior responds swiftly to economic signals and protocol adjustments, reflecting a subtle tug of incentives and challenges. As profitability rises and difficulty tightens, the network's equilibrium continually evolves, demonstrating the flexibility, resilience, and tenacity of Bitcoin's engine.

Following the latest difficulty bump and hashrate retreat, block intervals now hover near 10 minutes, 57 seconds on average. This impedance hints that the next difficulty retarget could translate into a hefty reduction, yet it’s too soon to confirm, with the recalibration slated for around May 4, 2025. Presently, however, projections foresee a notable 8.7% reduction.