Bitcoin mining difficulty hits a new record as miner revenues rise and equipment shortages bite

Bitcoin mining difficulty rose by 10.79% after the latest adjustment, reaching a new record of 20.61 T.

The BTC.com service forecasts another increase in difficulty of more than 10% (to 22.84 T) following the next difficulty adjustment.

Data: BTC.com.

The new record comes as no surprise, given the ongoing rise in miner revenues, said Edward Evenson, Braiins’ business development manager.

Over the past four months, Bitcoin miner revenues have grown at an accelerated pace.

In November and December 2020, miner revenues rose by 50% and 30%, respectively. Data: ForkLog, Coin Metrics.

Alongside rising difficulty and revenues, the Bitcoin hash rate has also increased.

Bitcoin hash rate dynamics since the start of 2020. Data: Glassnode.

“I think this trend will continue in the first half of 2021,” the expert said.

According to him, demand from mining companies for ASIC equipment clearly exceeds supply.

“Only in the fourth quarter were ASIC device manufacturers forced to cancel orders for mining hardware worth more than half a billion dollars. The supply chains are currently overloaded with enormous demand,” emphasised Evenson.

Riot Blockchain expects Bitmain to supply 15,000 Antminer S19 Pro and S19j Pro devices for a total of around $35 million.

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