Bitcoin mining difficulty slipped to 146.4 trillion on Thursday, marking the network’s first difficulty adjustment of 2026.
The metric measures how hard it is to add a new block, and it adjusts periodically to keep block production near the 10-minute target.
Next adjustment estimate
CoinWarz estimated the next difficulty adjustment will occur on Jan. 22, 2026 at 04:08:12 AM UTC.
The site projected difficulty rising from 146.47T to 148.20T.
Average block times were about 9.88 minutes at the time of writing, slightly faster than the 10-minute target, which typically leads to an upward adjustment.
2025 difficulty highs, still below November peak
Mining difficulty pushed to new highs through 2025, with the final adjustment of the year ticking higher.
Even so, difficulty remained below the all-time high of 155.9 trillion set in November.
Rising difficulty increases competition for block rewards and can tighten conditions for miners.
Miners faced record margin pressure
Some are describing 2025 as the “harshest margin environment” on record for miners, citing the April 2024 block subsidy halving that cut issuance by 50% and broader macro pressures.
Miner hash price, a key profitability measure, fell below breakeven levels in November 2025.
Bitcoin also fell more than 30% in November after an October flash crash, bottoming just above $80,000 before rebounding.
Prices were still below the October all-time high of over $125,000.
