A First for the Bitcoin Network Since 2021: Mining Difficulty Declines Year-on-Year
Bitcoin mining difficulty recorded a rare year-on-year decline in the network’s history, revealing that miners are reducing capacity due to economic pressures and a shift toward the artificial intelligence sector.
Mining difficulty on the Bitcoin network reached a historic milestone by declining year-on-year for the first time since the China ban in 2021. Weak economic data in the mining ecosystem and the migration of hashing power to the artificial intelligence (AI) field have significantly slowed the network’s growth rate.
According to current data, mining difficulty has dropped to the 126.23 trillion level following a recent 0.74% decrease. This figure remains 1.1% below the level from a year ago and represents a 19.1% pullback from the all-time high of 155.97 trillion seen in November 2025. This mechanism, which updates approximately every two weeks, indicates that competition on the network is decreasing and less computing power is competing for block production.
Why Are Miners Throwing in the Towel?
Among the primary reasons behind this decline are the pressure on the Bitcoin price and the significant squeeze on mining revenues. According to Luxor data, hashprice—which represents the expected revenue per unit of hashing power—neared bottom levels at $27.66 at the end of June. This value, currently hovering around $31.7, proves that miners are struggling to maintain operations. Additionally, power outages in regions like Texas and the shift of capital to more profitable high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructures are causing mining hardware to be unplugged.
Industry analysts state that miners do not expect a meaningful revenue recovery for the remainder of 2026. Luxor’s futures market estimates indicate that the average hashprice value will remain around $31.85 until December. While this situation allows the network to provide breathing room for remaining miners by lowering difficulty through its self-regulating mechanism, it suggests that the risk of miner capitulation could remain on the agenda for some time. The operating costs of massive facilities with complex and expensive cooling systems, as seen in the image, are pushing the limits of sustainability under the current revenue outlook.