The Bitcoin mining difficulty level jumped 10.26% on Monday morning in Hong Kong, hitting an all-time high reading of 37.59 trillion, as several U.S-based miners came back online from recent winter storms that forced them to unplug, according to data from BTC.com.
See related article: Bitcoin hashrate drops nearly 40% as deadly U.S. storm unplugs miners
Fast facts
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Bitcoin’s difficulty reading this time last year was at 26.64 trillion, almost 30% lower than the latest adjustment. Bitcoin’s value at that time was more than double its price today.
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Bitcoin was up 2.1% to US$21,146 in the 24 hours to 1 p.m. in Hong Kong on Monday.
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Bitcoin mining difficulty started to fall in late December as miners across the U.S. were forced to shut down their operations due to deadly blizzards that claimed the lives of at least 60 people.
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Bitcoin mining difficulty, which determines how much computing power is required to verify blocks on the blockchain, changes roughly every two weeks.
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The rising mining difficulty and low Bitcoin prices have damaged the profitability of mining businesses. U.S.-based miners Compute North Holdings Inc. and Core Scientific Inc. both filed for bankruptcy late last year.
See related article: Bitcoin mining difficulty drops more than 7% as cash crunch hits miners
