{"id":94488,"date":"2026-02-20T11:19:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T08:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=94488"},"modified":"2026-02-20T11:20:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T08:20:23","slug":"mining-difficulty-rebounds-by-15-as-hash-price-falls-below-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/mining-difficulty-rebounds-by-15-as-hash-price-falls-below-30\/","title":{"rendered":"Mining Difficulty Rebounds by 15% as Hash Price Falls Below $30"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following the latest adjustment, the mining difficulty<\/a> of the leading cryptocurrency rose by 14.73% to 144.4 T.<\/p>\n

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Source: CloverPool<\/a>.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This marks one of the most significant changes since 2021, when China’s ban on digital asset mining led to network disruptions, followed by a 22% increase as stability returned.<\/p>\n

The current rise was preceded by an 11% drop<\/a>, triggered by a decline in hash rate amid a winter storm in the United States. Due to adverse weather conditions, many large miners temporarily halted operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As of February 19, Bitcoin’s hash rate remains above 1 ZH\/s, with the seven-day moving average at 1.01 ZH\/s.<\/p>\n

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Source: Glassnode<\/a>.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Foundry USA holds the largest share of the global hash rate at 33.62%<\/a>, with AntPool at 14.35% and ViaBTC at 12.42%.<\/p>\n

The hash price<\/span> has decreased over the past day from $33.5 to $29.7 per PH\/s.<\/p>\n

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Source: Hashrate Index<\/a>.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the decline in profitability<\/a>, players with access to cheap energy continue to expand their capacities. For instance, the unrealized profit from Bitcoin mining in the UAE has reached<\/a> $350 million.<\/p>\n

Such well-capitalized and efficient companies maintain a high hash rate even amid the low price of the leading cryptocurrency, which at the time of writing is approximately $67,900 (CoinGecko<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Race for Megawatts<\/h2>\n

The 14 largest mining companies plan to introduce around 30 GW of new capacities aimed at AI workloads, reports TheEnergyMag<\/a>. This is nearly three times their current capacity of 11 GW.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Source: TheEnergyMag.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The reason is the declining profitability of cryptocurrency mining amid a persistently low hash price. Companies are eager to redirect their main asset\u2014access to energy\u2014towards the more lucrative AI infrastructure market.<\/p>\n

However, most of these megawatts currently exist only as plans, connection applications, or early-stage projects. Analysts estimate that on paper, this infrastructure is comparable to the energy supply of a small country, but actual deployment may be significantly lower.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDeclared megawatts are not a guarantee of success, but merely a formal figure,\u201d noted TheEnergyMag.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

According to analysts, the industry is undergoing a structural transformation. Previously, competition was about the efficiency of ASIC miners and electricity costs, but now the key factors are:\u00a0<\/p>\n