According to the explorers of Bitcoin (BTC) network, the difficulty level of the flagship blockchain has set a new record today, Sept. 20, at 5:55 a.m. UTC. Now, the Bitcoin (BTC) difficulty is up 40 percent since January.
New all-time high for Bitcoin (BTC) difficulty
After another periodic adjustment, Bitcoin (BTC) network difficulty has gained 11.35 percent. That brings the total number to a previously unseen 19.314 T. According to estimates of Glassnode analysts, this adjustment is the third most positive one in the last two years.
#Bitcoin mining difficulty increased today by 11.3%, hitting a new all–time high!
— glassnode (@glassnode) September 20, 2020
It is the 3rd largest positive adjustment in the past two years.
Live chart: https://t.co/rAbIw8seYy pic.twitter.com/buzjPJJ0mP
Thus, only two adjustments increased Bitcoin (BTC) network difficulty more impressively. However, the most powerful increase—registered in June—followed a 16 percent drawback. The second one reflected an upsurge in mining activity during the short Bitcoin (BTC) rally of June-July 2019.
Normally, positive hashrate adjustments reflect the enthusiasm of miners who increase activity waiting for the profits. By contrast, the most significant pullbacks follow after painful price drops.
For instance, crypto's Black Thursday of March 2020 resulted in a decline in Bitcoin (BTC) difficulty by 15 percent, while three negative adjustments in a row during Crypto Winter in late 2018 stole almost 33 percent.
September 2020 is challenging Bitcoin (BTC) bulls
The difficulty indicator showcases how difficult it is to mine one Bitcoin (BTC) block. Difficulty reflects how many miners are participating in the process of Bitcoin (BTC) mining—competing for hash disclosing. Though this number is not stable, the average time required for Bitcoin (BTC) block mining is about 10 minutes.
To shield it from fluctuations, Bitcoin (BTC) difficulty is adjusted automatically every 2,016 blocks, or roughly once every two weeks.
This September is really challenging so far for Bitcoin (BTC) holders. After a second failed attempt to hold above $12,000, Bitcoin (BTC) plunged 15 percent in two days. However, as covered by CryptoComes, September normally shows no mercy for Bitcoiners.
According to Mr. Avi Felman, a trader at the investment firm BlockTower Capital, during the last seven years, Bitcoin (BTC) managed to gain in the month of September only twice. The first months of Q4 in 2017, 2018 and 2019 resulted in eight percent, six percent and fifteen percent Bitcoin (BTC) drops, respectfully.