Bitcoin Hashrate Holds the Line as Difficulty Slides for the Third Time and Revenues Remain Tighter Than Ever
Miners have successfully kept the network from slipping below the 1 ZH/s threshold, equivalent to 1,000 exahash per second of total hashrate. As of this weekend, aggregate hashpower is moving along steadily at 1,125.48 EH/s. The uptick follows a modest 0.74% difficulty adjustment recorded this week at block height 927360.
Bitcoin miners have experienced three difficulty reductions since Nov. 12, yet the combined 5.06% pullback has not outweighed the 6.31% increase recorded on Oct. 29 at block height 921312. Even so, hashrate shows little sign of easing, a persistence that has accelerated block production. Data from Dec. 13 show the average block interval currently stands at 9 minutes 25 seconds.
As a result, the next difficulty epoch is expected to trend higher, though it remains some distance away, with just 18% — or 369 of the 2,016 blocks — completed so far, leaving ample room for the final adjustment to diverge from the current projection of more than a 6% increase. Notably, the elevated hashrate and faster block intervals are unfolding even as miner revenue remains thin.
The hashprice, or the expected value of a single petahash of hashrate, is 9.85% lower than it was 30 days ago on Nov. 13, 2025. At that point it stood at $42.70 per petahash per second (PH/s), and today it sits at $38.49, reflecting softer bitcoin prices and the fact that onchain fees now make up only a sliver of the block reward.
Over the past 24 hours, data from Luxor’s hashrateindex.com show onchain fees well below the 1% threshold, accounting for just 0.54% of a block reward during the period. Even so, miners are once again displaying their resilience, a reminder that this kind of pressure is far from unfamiliar territory. Time will tell whether pricing conditions improve for miners or whether added strain awaits as 2026 gets underway.
FAQ ⛏️
- What is bitcoin’s current network hashrate?
Bitcoin’s total hashrate is holding above 1.1 zettahash per second, with aggregate hashpower measured at about 1,125.48 exahash per second. - Why has bitcoin difficulty declined recently?
Bitcoin difficulty has adjusted lower three times since Nov. 12 as mining conditions shifted, even while overall network hashrate remained elevated. - How fast are bitcoin blocks being produced right now?
As of Dec. 13, average block times are running at roughly 9 minutes 25 seconds, faster than the 10-minute target. - Why are bitcoin miners under revenue pressure in late 2025?
Lower bitcoin prices and minimal onchain fees, which recently made up just 0.54% of block rewards, have weighed on miner earnings despite high hashrate.
