Bitcoin price slumps as mining hashrate and difficulty reach ATHs

The Bitcoin mining difficulty level rose to an all-time high in its latest adjustment on Friday while the total Bitcoin hashrate also reached an all-time-high during a global cryptocurrency sell-off.

Fast facts

• The mining difficulty level rose by 9.32% to 26.64 trillion at block height 719.712, reflecting its most difficult level in history, according to data from BTC.com.

• The total hashrate reached an all-time high of 198.86 exahashes per second on Thursday, Blockchain.com data show, with its latest reading at 191.3 EH/s on Sunday.

• Bitcoin mining difficulty is a measure of how hard a miner would have to work to verify transactions on the block, meaning larger difficulty levels lead to less profits for miners.

• The total hashrate has steadily recovered since July after China’s crypto ban sent miners fleeing to more hospitable destinations.

• Bitcoin’s price dropped below US$40,000 on Friday and is now trading at US$35,606, according to CoinMarketCap data.