Bitcoin's mining difficulty decreased by 2.43%, affecting profitability as miners face economic challenges amid low network activity.
On April 17, Bitcoin's mining difficulty experienced a 2.43% reduction, settling at 135.59 trillion hashes. At the same time, the average hash rate was reported at 988.7 EH/s, with block times now averaging under ten minutes.
Data from Glassnode indicates that the 7-day moving average of hash power increased from approximately 978 EH/s to around 992 EH/s since the start of the month, though it has yet to surpass the critical threshold of 1 ZH/s since March.
As reported by Hashrate Index, the recent decrease in Bitcoin's mining difficulty, coupled with a price recovery to $78,000, has led to an uptick in hash price from around $35 to over $36 per PH/s per day. The cryptocurrency's fluctuations have caused profitability metrics to oscillate between these values.
Concerns Over Mining Economics
According to DL News, low network activity and stagnant Bitcoin prices are hindering miners' ability to break even. The Block notes that miners' revenue from transaction fees has diminished significantly, dropping below 1% last year and nearing 0.5% recently.
Total mining revenue plummeted from $1.62 billion in October 2025 to $948 million in March 2026. Luxor CEO Nick Hansen commented on the dire outlook, stating, "The situation is not very good. There are no positive factors encouraging further investments in new mining ventures." He also pointed out the growing trend of miners diversifying into the AI sector as a potential threat to traditional mining operations.
In a worrying sign for the industry, public mining companies sold 32,000 BTC in the first quarter alone, surpassing their total sales for all of 2025, raising the concern level to a rating of six to seven on a scale of ten.
