Bitcoin’s mining difficulty reached an all-time high of 101.65 trillion on Nov. 5, surpassing 100 trillion for the first time. This marks the 23rd difficulty adjustment this year, with 14 increases pushing the total difficulty by 40%. As difficulty increases, Bitcoin’s hashrate, or the network’s combined computational power, also hits record levels.
A higher hashrate strengthens the network but makes mining more challenging. This encourages miners to invest in more advanced, energy-efficient equipment to stay competitive. According to CoinShares’ Q3 report, the average cost of producing one Bitcoin across public mining firms reached $49,500 in Q2, up from $47,200 in Q1.
Despite these challenges, Bitcoin’s market price around $69,000 makes it profitable for many miners to maintain their current operations.
