Bitcoin hashrate remains near record highs as the network prepares for a 4.6% mining difficulty increase. Learn how this adjustment impacts miners and Bitcoin’s overall stability.
Bitcoin Hashrate Nears Record Levels as Mining Difficulty Set to Rise
Bitcoin’s hashrate remains steady near record highs, with the network currently operating at 825.85 exahash per second (EH/s), just below its peak of 844 EH/s recorded on Feb. 4, 2025. As block times average 9 minutes and 36 seconds, Bitcoin is on track for a 4.6% difficulty increase by Feb. 9.
Bitcoin’s Mining Landscape and Transaction Backlog
As of Feb. 5, 2025, Bitcoin’s mempool holds 12,957 unconfirmed transactions, representing an estimated backlog of eight blocks. Despite this, transaction fees remain low, with high-priority fees at just 4 satoshis per virtual byte (sat/vB). Miners currently earn $57.56 per petahash per second (PH/s) daily, a slight decline from recent highs but still above the Jan. 5 benchmark.
Four Mining Pools Dominate the Network
Four major mining pools contribute 78% of Bitcoin’s total hashrate. Foundry leads with 260 EH/s (32.4%), followed by Antpool (20.21%), Viabtc (14.85%), and F2pool (10.73%). Other active pools include Secpool, MARA Pool, Spider Pool, SBI Crypto, Luxor, and Braiins Pool.
The upcoming difficulty adjustment will put additional pressure on miners. Increased computational requirements could push some operations to upgrade their equipment or exit the market altogether, further shifting mining competition dynamics.
Unusual Block Delays Highlight Network Variability
While block production has been steady, recent data from Dune Analytics shows unexpected delays. Blocks 882,331 and 882,332 were separated by an 88-minute gap, one of four intervals exceeding 60 minutes in February 2025.
Bitcoin’s self-regulating nature ensures long-term stability, but rising difficulty could challenge miners, particularly if Bitcoin prices remain stagnant.
With mining difficulty set to increase, Bitcoin miners must adapt to evolving network conditions. Investors and industry stakeholders should monitor hashprice trends and mining pool shifts in the coming weeks.
