With the network’s hash rate exceeding 600 EH/s, Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty increased by 1.5% today, reaching 84.4 trillion. This increase follows growing optimism for potential spot Ethereum (ETH) ETF approval in the US, which has driven up cryptocurrency prices and consequently Bitcoin’s hash rate.
Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Increased
Following Bitcoin’s fourth block reward halving on April 20, the last adjustment on May 9 saw a 5.9% decrease in difficulty due to reduced miner rewards, marking the largest drop since December 2022.
Bitcoin mining difficulty measures how hard it is to find a new block compared to the easiest it can be. This measurement is automatically adjusted every 2016 blocks, approximately every two weeks, to ensure a new block is found every 10 minutes on average, regardless of the number of miners. An increase in the number of miners raises the difficulty, while a decrease lowers it, balancing the network.
The last adjustment was initially expected to remain unchanged, but growing optimism for spot Ethereum ETF approval and the subsequent price increase saw Bitcoin’s seven-day moving average hash rate jump to around 606 EH/s today. This increase indicates rising mining participation driven by market confidence and high cryptocurrency prices.
Hash Price Also Recovered
Bitcoin’s hash price, a measure of expected earnings from a certain hash rate, also recovered. After dropping below $50 per day per PH/s on April 29, the hash price reached $55 per day per PH/s on the first day of the week. This recovery reflects increased miner earnings under current market conditions. Bitcoin is currently trading around $70,000, experiencing a 5% rise over the past 7 days.
Meanwhile, altcoin king ETH is trading at $3,826, up about 25% since Bloomberg ETF analysts raised the likelihood of spot Ethereum ETF approvals from 25% to 75%. This rise follows significant signs of a shift in the stance of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), making the cryptocurrency market a growing political issue.
The SEC is expected to announce its decision on VanEck and Ark Invest‘s spot Ethereum ETF applications today and tomorrow. Other applicants include Hashdex, Invesco, Fidelity, BlackRock, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, and Bitwise. The market eagerly awaits the SEC’s decisions, as they could impact the cryptocurrency market and mining activity.