Bitcoin mining difficulty slightly increases at year-end… further rise expected in January 2026

The Bitcoin (BTC) network's mining difficulty slightly rose in the final adjustment of 2025, and an additional increase is expected in January 2026.

On the 29th (local time), Cointelegraph reported that in the recent adjustment Bitcoin's mining difficulty rose to the level of 148.2 trillion. In the next difficulty adjustment scheduled for January 8, 2026 at block height 931,392, it is expected to increase further to about 149 trillion. The current average block generation time is about 9.95 minutes, slightly faster than the network target of 10 minutes.

Over the course of 2025, Bitcoin mining difficulty reached all-time highs. In particular, in September — when the price was rising — difficulty surged twice, and it remained high even during the market crash phase in October. An increase in difficulty means that the computational power投入 to the network has increased.

As mining difficulty rises, miners must投入 more computational resources and energy to obtain the same rewards. This acts as a factor that further increases the cost burden on the mining industry, which is already capital-intensive. Less profitable miners are also more likely to be pushed out of the market.

Bitcoin mining difficulty adjustments occur approximately every 2016 blocks, typically once every two weeks. If block generation speed speeds up, difficulty rises; if it slows down, difficulty falls. This keeps the block generation cycle steady.

This kind of dynamic difficulty adjustment is regarded as a key mechanism for maintaining network decentralization. It serves to control situations where a particular miner rapidly increases hash power in the short term to dominate the network or monopolize block rewards to exert selling pressure on the market. As a result, by maintaining a steady issuance rate, it functions to protect the Bitcoin network's stability and price structure.