I noticed that Bitcoin miners are currently in a very difficult situation. It’s evident from the hash rate price — it has fallen below the breakeven point, even down to $35 per petahash per second per day in November last year. When crypto prices crashed by 30% in November, BTC dropped below $80K, and for many miners, that became a critical point.

And now, mining difficulty continues to increase, albeit at a slower pace. At the beginning of the year, it decreased to 146.4 trillion — the first adjustment in 2026 — but an increase to 148.20 trillion is already expected. Interestingly, the average block time is now 9.88 minutes, slightly below the target of 10 minutes, so the system automatically raises mining difficulty to balance.

Overall, 2025 was a hellish year for the industry. The halving in April 2024 already cut the reward in half, and then macroeconomic factors and regulatory challenges compounded the situation. Mining difficulty in November reached a record 155.9 trillion — the highest level in history. Even now, although the price has fallen, competition for blocks has not weakened.

External factors have also contributed — tariffs, equipment shortages. Miners are reassessing the feasibility of continuing operations. Although Bitcoin later rebounded from its low, it is still far from the October high above $125K. The current price is around $81K, and profitability remains under pressure. It turns out that increasing difficulty amid such a price scenario is just another challenge for the industry.