Bitcoin mining difficulty, or the relative difficulty of adding new blocks to the blockchain, reached 148.2 trillion after the last adjustment in 2025.
In early 2026, the difficulty level of Bitcoin mining is expected to rise again. This reflects the continuous development of the computing power required to secure the blockchain.
According to Coinwarz data, if the current trend continues, the next difficulty level in early January 2026 will rise to 149 trillion.
Currently, Bitcoin's block time is 9.95 minutes. Block time is the average time needed to create a new block in a blockchain. For Bitcoin, the ideal block time is 10 minutes.
Block time determines the adjustment of mining difficulty. If miners are too fast or too slow in creating blocks, adjustments will be made so that block time returns to the target of 10 minutes. Adjustments are generally made every 2016 blocks, or about once every two weeks.
A high mining difficulty level means that miners must use more energy and computing power. This is because the cryptographic problems that must be solved become more complex. As a result, creating a block is slower.
The mining difficulty level is a core mechanism for keeping the Bitcoin blockchain stable and decentralized. This adjustment system ensures that no individual or group can dominate the network by suddenly adding computing power.
Without adjustments, anyone with sufficient resources could create blocks much faster than others, thereby receiving more token rewards.
This year, Bitcoin mining difficulty reached its highest level several times. Two sharp increases occurred in September, during a rally period for Bitcoin.
This happened just a few weeks before the price of Bitcoin plummeted in October. As a result, many mining companies were stuck with increased operating costs and decreased income.
Mining is the process of solving complex cryptographic puzzles to add new blocks to the blockchain and receive crypto rewards. How does mining work? Learn more through the article What Is Mining: How It Works, Types, and Roles in the Crypto World.
