Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Drops 10% as Hashprice Exceeds $30

Bitcoin’s mining difficulty fell by 10.09% on Sunday, easing one of the main cost pressures facing miners as the network recalibrated to a drop in hash rate. Data shared by Galaxy Research indicates difficulty moved down from 138.96 trillion to 124.93 trillion at block 953,568.

The adjustment comes as June has been challenging for the sector: Galaxy Research said Bitcoin’s price is down about 15% so far this month, a move that it believes “squeezed miner margins.” In the background, the most recent adjustment window also ran longer than usual—15.6 days rather than the typical 14—because some mining capacity was taken offline.

Key takeaways

• Bitcoin mining difficulty dropped 10.09% to 124.93 trillion at block 953,568, marking the 11th-largest decline on record.
• Galaxy Research attributes the reset to falling hashrate and weaker margins amid roughly a 15% Bitcoin drawdown in June.
• Hashrate has declined meaningfully in recent months, which reduces competitive pressure and helps individual miners mine blocks with less difficulty.
• Hashprice rose to $33 per PH/s/day after the difficulty decrease, pushing more efficient fleets toward gross breakeven.
• The next difficulty adjustment is expected around June 27, with Coinwarz projecting a modest increase.

Difficulty declines as mining capacity drops

Mining difficulty is designed to keep block production relatively steady even when the network’s total computing power changes. When hashrate falls, difficulty is lowered at the next adjustment so the remaining miners can still find blocks at the expected pace.

Galaxy Research said the latest epoch—the time between difficulty adjustments—lasted 15.6 days instead of the standard 14. It linked the extension to hashrate coming offline before the recalibration, leading to a larger-than-normal reduction in difficulty.

According to Galaxy, this Sunday’s move was the second biggest difficulty drop of 2026 so far. It also represented about a 20% decrease from the peak level reached in November, suggesting that miners are working through a broader adjustment phase rather than a one-off fluctuation.

Hashrate trends and what miners may earn next

Beyond difficulty itself, overall network hashrate influences how competitive mining is in practice. Blockchain.com data cited in the reporting shows total hash rate at about 886 exahashes per second (EH/s). That figure is down roughly 12% since the start of June and down 23% from its October peak.

With competition reduced as hashrate declines, miners can often expect better returns per machine relative to a period when the network is more heavily saturated. Crypto trader Merlijn Enkelaar said the remaining miners now earn around 9% more per machine, reflecting the combination of lower difficulty and a less crowded mining environment.

Hashrate levels remain a key variable to watch because difficulty only responds at set intervals. If hashrate continues to fall quickly, the next adjustment could again move in a direction that benefits miners—though the timing of the response depends on how long the downturn lasts within the epoch.

Hashprice rises and the cost-benefit line for older fleets

While “difficulty” is a protocol parameter, hashprice is a practical metric that estimates how much miners can earn from a given amount of hashrate over a day. After Sunday’s difficulty drop, hashprice increased by 13% and is currently $33 per Petahash per second per day, according to Hashrate Index.

Hashprice matters because it is closely tied to gross economics: electricity costs, maintenance, and power procurement typically determine whether a mining fleet stays online. The Energy Mag reported that this higher hashprice level pushes more operators toward gross breakeven, meaning efficient miners should be able to keep generating profit even if broader market conditions remain tight.

The same report warned that older-generation machines—often burdened with higher electricity and operating costs—are more likely to be idled when hashprice is not high enough to cover expenses. In other words, difficulty declines can extend the runway for some miners, but they may also sharpen the split between efficient and inefficient fleets.

Historical context and the next adjustment date

Bitcoin has experienced large difficulty declines before, usually during periods when hash rate drops faster than expected or when mining economics worsen abruptly. The article notes that difficulty fell by more than 11% in February, a move linked to storm curtailments and a separate 25% BTC price crash. It also references the steepest historical drop in July 2021, which followed China’s mining ban and the subsequent exodus of miners from the country.

Looking forward, the next difficulty adjustment is expected on June 27. Coinwarz’s difficulty chart projection calls for a slight 1.69% increase to roughly 127 trillion, implying that the current epoch may not produce another difficulty reset of the same magnitude. Still, that outcome depends on how stable hashrate remains between now and the adjustment.

Miners and investors should watch two things next: whether hashrate continues trending down (which would keep difficulty pressure lower) and whether hashprice can hold above the $30 threshold long enough to support less efficient machines. With the next adjustment only weeks away, the network’s capacity trajectory could quickly determine how much of Sunday’s relief is sustained.