Bitcoin Mining Difficulty Sees Double-Digit Adjustments Twice in 2026

Bitcoin mining difficulty underwent two double-digit shifts in 2026, dropping 11.16% after storm-induced outages and rising 14.7% upon recovery.

Woofun AI data shows that Bitcoin mining difficulty adjusts every 2016 blocks to maintain a 10-minute target block time. In February 2026, Winter Storm Fern forced shutdowns in Texas, causing the hash rate to fall from nearly 1.13 ZH/s to 663 EH/s. On February 7, difficulty decreased by 11.16%. As operations resumed and hash rates approached 1 ZH/s, difficulty increased by 14.7% on February 19, reaching 144.4 trillion. On June 13, difficulty dropped by 9.91% amid a 15% Bitcoin price decline, leading some miners to pivot to AI computing. Early July data indicates a potential 1.2% decrease in the next adjustment.