BTC Mining Difficulty Set to Reach Record High Amid Surging Hashrate
May 30, 2025
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By James Van Straten, AI Boost|Edited by Sheldon Reback
Updated May 30, 2025, 1:32 p.m. Published May 30, 2025, 1:14 p.m.
- Bitcoin’s seven-day average hashrate has climbed to 918 EH/s from 840 EH/s in just two weeks, approaching the previous peak of 925 EH/s.
- Despite growing mining power, transaction fees remain minimal around 2 sat/vB ($0.30) signaling weak on-chain activity.
- The increased difficulty is a sign more mining power is being devoted to securing the blockchain, and a vote of confidence in its value.
Bitcoin
mining difficulty is on track to reach a new all-time high sometime around midnight UTC in a sign of increased participation by miners that makes the blockchain more secure.
The adjustment is likely to finalize within the next 100 blocks, with projections showing the measure will rise about 4% to 126.95 trillion (T), eclipsing the current 123 T record. Difficulty was 109 T at the start of the year, according to Coinwarz.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
The increase reflects growing long-term confidence in bitcoin’s value, even as on-chain activity and transaction fees remain low.
Difficulty is adjusted every 2,016 blocks, and is driven by the network hashrate, which measures the total computational power dedicated to securing the network. The hashrate’s seven-day moving average is now 918 exahashes per second (EH/s), having risen from 840 (EH/s) over the past two weeks. With previous peaks at 925 EH/s, any further increase would mark a new record high in hashrate.
Despite the increase in mining activity, transaction fees remain exceptionally low. A high-priority transaction currently requires only 2 satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB), equating to roughly $0.30. The higher the fee, the faster a transaction will be confirmed, as miners prioritize transactions that pay more.
These figures suggest that while transaction demand on the Bitcoin network is subdued, mining power continues to scale to new heights, highlighting a divergence between usage and infrastructure growth.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
James Van Straten is a Senior Analyst at CoinDesk, specializing in Bitcoin and its interplay with the macroeconomic environment. Previously, James worked as a Research Analyst at Saidler & Co., a Swiss hedge fund, where he developed expertise in on-chain analytics. His work focuses on monitoring flows to analyze Bitcoin’s role within the broader financial system.
In addition to his professional endeavors, James serves as an advisor to Coinsilium, a UK publicly traded company, where he provides guidance on their Bitcoin treasury strategy. He also holds investments in Bitcoin and Strategy (MSTR).
“AI Boost” indicates a generative text tool, typically an AI chatbot, contributed to the article. In each and every case, the article was edited, fact-checked and published by a human. Read more about CoinDesk’s AI Policy.
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