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Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Is Set to Reach Record High Amid Surging Hashrate
Bitcoin’s difficulty is projected to rise over 4% to a record 126.95T as hashrate nears an all-time high despite low transaction fees.
Updated May 30, 2025, 1:32 p.m. Published May 30, 2025, 1:14 p.m.
What to know:
- Bitcoin’s seven-day average hashrate has climbed to 918 EH/s from 840 EH/s in just two weeks, approaching the previous peak of 925 EH/s.
- Despite growing mining power, transaction fees remain minimal around 2 sat/vB ($0.30) signaling weak on-chain activity.
- The increased difficulty is a sign more mining power is being devoted to securing the blockchain, and a vote of confidence in its value.
Bitcoin mining difficulty is on track to reach a new all-time high sometime around midnight UTC in a sign of increased participation by miners that makes the blockchain more secure.
The adjustment is likely to finalize within the next 100 blocks, with projections showing the measure will rise about 4% to 126.95 trillion (T), eclipsing the current 123 T record. Difficulty was 109 T at the start of the year, according to Coinwarz.
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The increase reflects growing long-term confidence in bitcoin’s value, even as on-chain activity and transaction fees remain low.
Difficulty is adjusted every 2,016 blocks, and is driven by the network hashrate, which measures the total computational power dedicated to securing the network. The hashrate's seven-day moving average is now 918 exahashes per second (EH/s), having risen from 840 (EH/s) over the past two weeks. With previous peaks at 925 EH/s, any further increase would mark a new record high in hashrate.
Despite the increase in mining activity, transaction fees remain exceptionally low. A high-priority transaction currently requires only 2 satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB), equating to roughly $0.30. The higher the fee, the faster a transaction will be confirmed, as miners prioritize transactions that pay more.
These figures suggest that while transaction demand on the Bitcoin network is subdued, mining power continues to scale to new heights, highlighting a divergence between usage and infrastructure growth.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
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