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Bitcoin Cash Eases Mining Difficulty as Blockchain Adjusts
CoinDesk contributor Jimmy Song gives an update on changes in Bitcoin Cash's mining ecosystem and why they might be of note for investors.
By Jimmy Song
Updated Sep 13, 2021, 6:48 a.m. Published Aug 7, 2017, 8:05 p.m.
Bitcoin Cash adjusted its mining difficulty over the weekend, a move that comes just under a week after the alternative version of the bitcoin blockchain was created.
As a result of both blocks (478,647 and 478,648) having a Median Time Past (MTP) that was 12 hours greater than the six blocks prior, each block adjusted difficulty down by 20%. A special rule to the network, Bitcoin Cash implemented the measure as part of its hard fork last week.
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As a result, Bitcoin Cash is now 16.7% as difficult as bitcoin to mine.
This has lead more blocks to be found, both because it's easier and because more bitcoin miners are now mining Bitcoin Cash. Since the difficulty adjustment, Bitcoin Cash is averaging about 18-minute blocks, implying a hash rate of around 650 PH/s.
At this rate, we can expect another difficulty adjustment in about 13 days, at which point, the network should have roughly 10-minute blocks, like bitcoin, assuming the hash rate stays constant.
Note that economically, it's still more rational for a miner to mine bitcoin, as Bitcoin Cash needs to be worth about 1/6 of bitcoin's price to be as profitable, which sets the target at $566 at the time of writing.
Bitcoin Cash is currently trading at around $328.
Tiny miners via Shutterstock
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