Bitcoin News Today: Bitcoin Difficulty Set to Drop 4.97% Amid Hash Rate Volatility

The Bitcoin network is preparing for a significant difficulty adjustment, with the next recalculation expected to reduce mining difficulty by 4.97% in approximately nine days. This development follows a period of intense hash rate volatility, which has driven frequent difficulty recalibrations over the past eleven weeks. As of block height 907200, the difficulty stands at 127.62T after a 1.07% increase. The projected decrease would be one of the largest declines of the year, only surpassed by a 7.48% drop recorded at block 903168 earlier this year [1].

The hash rate, a key determinant of difficulty, has shown significant fluctuations in 2025, with peaks above 1,000 EH/s and intraday dips as low as 700 EH/s. The moving average of the hash rate (Hashrate MA) indicates a gradual upward trend since early April, aligning with a notable 7.96% difficulty increase at block 905184. However, this growth was preceded by a 7.48% difficulty drop, reflecting reduced operational capacity and temporary mining outages [1].

From mid-April onward, both the raw and moving-average hash rates have remained in a higher range, oscillating between 850 and 950 EH/s. These movements have directly influenced a series of difficulty adjustments aimed at maintaining Bitcoin’s 10-minute block interval. For instance, the difficulty saw a minor -0.45% correction at block 901152, followed by a 4.38% increase at block 899136 and a 2.13% rise at block 897120, illustrating the network’s dynamic recalibration in response to short-term throughput changes [1].

The orange moving average line in the hashrate and difficulty graph reveals a brief plateau in May, despite sharp daily hashrate spikes likely driven by intermittent hardware uptime among large-scale mining operations. The current 1-week average stands at 891.7 EH/s, placing it in the mid-range of the observed 2025 band. As Bitcoin’s difficulty adjusts based on a rolling 2,016-block average of block times, the recent volatility has triggered more aggressive corrective cycles [1].

If the upcoming 4.97% difficulty drop materializes, it would signal a reversion from a period of sustained computational strain. The adjustment reflects the network’s self-regulating mechanism in response to hash rate fluctuations. Despite the increased volatility, the current technical trend remains within protocol norms, ensuring Bitcoin’s operational tempo stays consistent with its design [1].

The frequent hash rate spikes and retracements observed in recent months underscore the dynamic nature of the Bitcoin network, with miners adapting to changing conditions through hardware optimization and operational adjustments. The interplay between hashrate and difficulty continues to shape the mining landscape, with significant implications for mining profitability and network security [1].

Source: [1] [Bitcoin Difficulty Predicted to Fall 5% as Hashrate Dips](https://cryptoslate.com/bitcoin-difficulty-predicted-to-fall-5-as-hashrate-dips/)