Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Sees First Decrease in 2 Months
On-chain data shows that Bitcoin’s mining difficulty was lowered to 31.36 trillion hashes at a block height of 756,000.
Despite this, the Bitcoin ecosystem is still guarded by the most secure blockchain network.
According to data from BTC.com, the Bitcoin mining difficulty adjustment decreased by approximately 2.3% on September 28th.
The latest decline comes two weeks after the figures tapped an all-time high of 32.04 trillion hash after four consecutive increases.
The price of the crypto-asset managed to surge past $20,000 yesterday, during which ensued a mass profit-taking session as certain sections of traders resorted to offloading their bags.
The jump was short-lived as Bitcoin lost around 6% and was struggling below the psychological support level.
Nevertheless, the asset’s mining activity appears to be thriving, with competition among miners continuing to amplify.
Bitcoin’s hash rate remained at 220.75 EH/s hovering near its peak of 231 EH/s despite concerns about profitability.
The rising hash rate also comes amid a heightened focus on Bitcoin’s carbon footprint. The power consumption criticisms have prompted a renewed effort to regulate the asset class.
Existing miners are increasingly transitioning to renewable sources to stay in good books with regulatory agencies.
According to a new study published by Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), fossil fuels account for almost two-thirds of the total electricity mix used for Bitcoin mining (62.4%), whereas sustainable energy sources are 37.6% (of which 26.3% are renewables and 11.3% nuclear).
Additionally, renewable energy sources in Bitcoin mining declined by nearly 30% % in 2021 from over 40% in 2020, which triggered the greenhouse gas emissions to increase by a whopping 63%.
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