Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Falls 7.8%… “Miner Exodus Widens Amid Shift to AI”

Bitcoin (BTC) network mining difficulty has dropped sharply, accelerating changes across the mining ecosystem, according to a report.

According to crypto media outlet The Block on the 22nd, Bitcoin mining difficulty fell 7.76% in the latest adjustment to about 133.79 trillion (T), marking the second-largest decline so far this year.

The decrease was an automatic adjustment triggered by the average block time significantly exceeding the target of 10 minutes. In the previous period, the average block time reportedly lengthened to about 12 minutes 36 seconds.

The network hashrate is also trending lower. It currently stands at roughly 903–948 exahashes per second (EH/s), below the 1 zettahash per second (ZH/s) level recorded in 2025.

The market sees not only short-term price factors but also strategic shifts among mining companies as contributing to the move. Some publicly listed miners are turning data-center infrastructure toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC).

At the same time, hashprice—a key mining profitability metric—has reportedly fallen to around breakeven. With expected returns declining relative to mining hardware performance, analysts say the trend is encouraging miners to exit.