Bitcoin's mining difficulty has now spent more time below its all-time high than at any other point in the network's history — a record stretch that underscores how difficult conditions have become for miners.

Economist and author Saifedean Ammous flagged the milestone on Saturday, writing that Bitcoin difficulty has been below its all-time high for more than a year, and adding:

"A 95% price drawdown in 2011 & the China mining ban weren't as bad. It's a new world for bitcoin mining."

Difficulty measures how hard it is to find a new block. The network recalibrates it roughly every two weeks, or every 2,016 blocks, so that blocks keep arriving at intervals of about 10 minutes no matter how much computing power is directed at the chain. Because the metric only updates once per epoch, it works as a lagging gauge of miner participation: hashrate estimates can swing day to day, but the all-time-high line only moves when a shift in computing power persists across a full adjustment period.

The Claim, Verified On-Chain

Bitcoin.com News checked the claim against Mempool.space data and found that the difficulty quotient set its record of 155.97 trillion (T) at block 921,312 on Oct. 29, 2025. Every adjustment since has landed below that mark. As of press time, that is 374 days.

How It Compares to 2011 and 2021

The previous record dates to Bitcoin's early years. After difficulty peaked on Aug. 1, 2011, it took until July 30, 2012, to set a new high — a gap of 364 days, according to the same Mempool.space adjustment history. That stretch coincided with the 2011 crash Ammous referenced.

The 2021 China mining ban, which forced a huge share of the world's miners offline, produced a shorter gap. Difficulty peaked on May 13, 2021, and recovered to a new high by Jan. 21, 2022, about 253 days later, while the industry relocated machines to other jurisdictions.

This time, the decline was milder but has lasted longer. Difficulty bottomed at 124.93T in mid-June 2026 after a 10.09% cut, roughly 20% below the peak — a move Bitcoin.com News covered at the time as mining difficulty dropping 10% to its lowest level since July 2025.

The Recovery Stalled Just Short

The gap had been narrowing, as difficulty jumped 5.92% on Oct. 16 and rose another 5.54% on Oct. 29 to 148.36T, about 4.9% below the record. The network's seven-day hashrate also returned to 1 ZH/s (zettahash per second, or 10^21 hashes per second) in late October after nearly eight months below that level.

The next adjustment, however, points the other way. Mempool.space estimates a drop of about 3.7% when the current epoch ends, roughly six days from now — an outcome that would push any new all-time high further out.

Why Miners Are Struggling

The pressure stems from bitcoin's lackluster price action as well as rising overheads. At press time, bitcoin trades just under $76,000, well below the levels that made last year's buildout pay off. The squeeze is also structural: new bitcoin is issued on a fixed schedule — 3.125 BTC per block since the April 2024 halving — so every rise in difficulty splits the same flow of rewards across more computing power, and revenue per unit of hashrate only holds up if price and fees keep pace.

Publicly listed miners have also been selling coins and pivoting toward AI. Bitcoin.com News reported earlier this week that Riot Platforms sold $750 million in bitcoin while Hut 8 sold $250 million. Similarly, Keel Infrastructure dumped its entire $192 million treasury, while Terawulf and IREN bet big on AI as mining revenue continued to shrink.

Politics has added another layer of risk: after the midterm sweep, Democrats are pushing data center limits that could hit Bitcoin miners competing for the same power.

What It All Means

A long stretch below peak difficulty does not mean the network is weaker. Hashrate is back above 1 ZH/s, and blocks are still arriving on schedule. What it does show is that the relentless growth in mining power has hit a wall.

The next difficulty adjustment, due around Nov. 13, is the near-term test. Until the ratio clears 155.97T, each two-week readout doubles as a status check on whether mining capacity is still contracting or starting to grow again. A strong rebound in bitcoin's price could bring miners back online and help push the difficulty ratio toward a new high again.