- The Bitcoin network difficulty eased to about 146.4 trillion in the first 2026 adjustment.
- “The next Bitcoin difficulty adjustment is estimated to take place on Jan 22, 2026, 04:08:12 AM UTC, increasing the Bitcoin mining difficulty from 146.47 T to 148.20 T,” according to CoinWarz.
- Average block times are 9.88 minutes, slightly under the 10-minute target, which points to a modest upcoming difficulty increase as shown by CryptoQuant.
- Difficulty remains below the November all-time high of 155.9 trillion, despite 2025’s record increases.
- Miners faced severely squeezed margins in 2025: miner hash price fell below breakeven in November, dropping under $35 per petahash-second per day according to Hashrate Index.
The Bitcoin network’s mining difficulty fell slightly to about 146.4 trillion on Thursday in the first difficulty adjustment of 2026. “The next Bitcoin difficulty adjustment is estimated to take place on Jan 22, 2026, 04:08:12 AM UTC, increasing the Bitcoin mining difficulty from 146.47 T to 148.20 T,” said CoinWarz. Average block times are roughly 9.88 minutes, a touch below the 10-minute target, which supports a small upcoming rise in difficulty per CryptoQuant.
Difficulty climbed to new highs across 2025, and the year’s final adjustment slightly increased the level, but it still sits well under the 155.9 trillion peak recorded in November. Higher difficulty means more competition to add blocks, increasing pressure on mining operations that already faced headwinds last year.
Miners endured sharp margin compression in 2025 after the April 2024 halving cut the block subsidy by 50% and macroeconomic factors reduced revenue. Miner hash price — expected revenue per unit of computing power — fell below breakeven in November 2025, according to Hashrate Index.
Industry breakeven is roughly $40 per petahash-second per day, and the metric dropped below $35 in November, a multi-year low. Tariffs enacted by Donald Trump added supply-chain concerns for miners, and a market downturn that began in November followed a sharp October flash crash that cut BTC prices by over 30% to a low just above $80,000; prices have recovered since but remain well below the October peak of over $125,000.
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