Bitcoin mining difficulty increases by 3.4%
Bitcoin has witnessed an increase in mining activity since August 31, according to data published by BTC.com.
The report showed that Bitcoin’s mining difficulty increased by 3.4%, which is down from the previous jump of 9.26% on August 31. However, it is the fourth positive adjustment in a row.
The data also showed that the Bitcoin mining difficulty on August 18 was 0.63%.
While Bitcoin mining difficulty on July 22 was at negative (-) 5.01%, according to BTC.com.
BTC.com tracks network mining issues. It also posts an update as adjustments take place about every two weeks.
According to The Block, the significant drop in mining difficulty earlier this summer was due to Bitcoin miners shutting down their machines in response to conservation requirements during peak power demands due to extreme heat.
The intricacies of the process behind mining define mining difficulties. During mining, miners often try to find a hash below a specified level.
Miners who “discover” this hash win the reward for the next one transaction blockand the difficulty is adjusted every 2,016 blocks (roughly every two weeks) in sync with the network’s hash rate.
Regardless of the increase in mining difficulty, many private sector bitcoin mining firms have expanded their crypto operations.
In August, CleanSpark expanded its crypto mining operations to take advantage of the opportunities that have emerged in the ongoing bear market.
According to a report by Blockchain.News, CleanSpark revealed that it entered into a definitive agreement with Waha Technologies, a low-carbon Bitcoin miner, to purchase a Bitcoin mining site (owned by Waha), which includes the mining facility and machines.
The American Bitcoin mining company also bought an active Bitcoin mining facility located in Washington, Georgia for $16.2 million along with about 3,400 of the latest generation Antminer S19 series of machines for about $8.9 million from Waha Technologies.
However, along with the difficulty of mining, cryptocurrency mining companies have several fixed costs, such as power, property and rigs that help with the actual mining of crypto, which in turn is why it can be tough on their margins when the market reduces the value of funds they held in crypto like Bitcoin significantly.
According to a report by Blcockchain.News, many listed Bitcoin mining companies collectively sold more Bitcoin in June than they mined in May, when the value of Bitcoin fell 45%. In June, Bitfarms also sold 1,500 Bitcoins for about $62 million and used the proceeds from the sale to reduce debt.
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